Top Stories
News
Student hiring rates steady despite sleepy economy
Kallie Red-Horse | December 9Unless you are a UNM student, the job market doesn’t look good these days. Though New Mexico’s unemployment rate is a staggering 8 percent, the University employs 5,050 students, a 1 percent increase from 2008, said Connie Dennison, of UNM’s Office of Institutional Research.
News
Building more than scenery for smokers
Chelsea Erven | December 9The large, stone-covered building just east of the Yale bus stop is known for being one of UNM’s four designated smoking areas, but a closer look at a main campus map reveals that it is actually a city water reservoir. Thousands walk by the reservoir every day, but few students know what the building is used for.
News
Retirees face benefit cuts
Ruben Hamming-Green | December 9UNM’s retiree health benefits may face some cuts. Helen Gonzales, vice president of Human Resources, announced in a UNM Today column the creation of a task force that will work to cut health insurance costs. Gonzales didn’t respond to repeated interview requests, but said in her column that UNM’s unfunded liability for retiree health insurance was $131.9 million in 2009, up from $91.3 million in 2007. “Given this increase in costs, UNM needs to reevaluate the retiree health plan,” Gonzales wrote.
Culture
Skaters Sharpen up for show
Andy Beale | December 9Some things come only once a year: Harry Potter movies, Christmas and the Outpost Ice Arena’s Christmas Show. Student Krista Keay will skate in the show, and she said it attracts about 100 spectators every year.
News
SUB barber cuts his losses
Shaun Griswold | December 8Paul Panas has the hook up on quality, inexpensive haircuts. Yet, UNM wants the small business owner to dig deeper into his pockets to continue trimming up students.
News
Funding for Castetter Hall addition dries up
Ruben Hamming-Green | December 8The Castetter Hall addition, the hulking construction project next to the Yale bus stop, will not be completed by its scheduled April deadline.
News
Students fight to protect NM site
Antonio Sanchez | December 6Just west of Carlsbad lies what may be New Mexico’s next national monument: Otero Mesa. Nathan Newcomer, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance’s associate director, said he has fought for Otera Mesa’s protection for nearly a decade.
News
Substance seminars replace penalties
Laurel Brishel Prichard | December 6Instead of being treated like criminals, students caught drinking on campus are being educated, not disciplined. The Campus Office of Substance Abuse and Prevention (COSAP) is combating underage drinking by requiring guilty students to attend a three-hour seminar about how drinking and drugs can have lasting effects. Since students caught drinking on campus aren’t given the typical off-campus citation called a “Minor in Possession,” Health educator John Steiner said the class highlights how alcohol and drugs can interfere with day-to-day activities. “(The class) isn’t so much about ‘Don’t do this,’” he said.
Sports
take nothing for granted
Shaun Griswold | December 5LAS CRUCES – It wasn’t pretty, but is it ever when the Lobo men’s basketball team plays at NMSU? All things considered, Saturday night’s contest between the Lobos and Aggies was sloppy, and UNM flirted with disaster but pulled out a 84-78 overtime victory at the Pan American Center.
News
GPSA discourages cuts from academics
Alexandra Swanberg | December 5GPSA passed two resolutions at Saturday’s meeting recommending economic decisions that do not sacrifice academic success. GPSA Council Chair Megan McRobert said the recommended changes have students’ best interests at heart. “The resolution that was passed urges GPSA representatives on that board and the SFRB (Student Fee Review Board) in general to ensure … that recruitment and retention and the well-being of students are at the forefront of their priorities,” she said. One resolution called for student fees to not be raised during the next fiscal year and asked to allocate student fees to programs related to education. As it stands, 30 percent of the fees go to Athletics, 25 percent to the Student Health Center, 20 percent to the SUB, and the remaining 25 percent is divvied up among other programs, according to GPSA President Lissa Knudsen The second resolution addressed recent budget cuts that will decrease graduate student positions.
News
Housing plan gets LDB’s go-ahead
Kallie Red-Horse | December 5UNM is moving forward with its American Campus Communities partnership. At the Dec. 3 meeting, the Lobo Development Board approved the “Strategic Housing Plan”. Kim Murphy, Real Estate director, said the plan is a document that provides ACC and UNM direction to enhance student housing.
News
Widowed student soldiers on for her kids, degree
Ruben Hamming-Green | December 3Jodi Carrasco wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and starts her day by running on a treadmill for a couple hours.
News
UNM introduces new bio degree
Chelsea Erven | December 2Likely starting fall 2011, UNM will offer doctoral and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering on main campus, making it the first university in New Mexico to do so. Steven Graves, associate director for the UNM Center for Biomedical Engineering, said the Ph.D.
News
Student no-shows irritate would-be attendees
Shaun Griswold | December 2It’s the hottest seat in town, but some ticket-holding students stay home. Students’ men’s basketball tickets are sold out until the Dec.
News
UNM soldiers on despite Schmidly’s absence
Chelsea Erven | December 2UNM President David Schmidly has spent more time out of office than any other president since at least the 1930s, but University communication, policy making and budget discussions have continued on main campus while Schmidly recuperates.
News
Frat on hold after club ordeal
Isaac Avilucea | December 2Agitated by a suggestion that other Kappa Alpha Psi members allegedly brawled with security at a downtown nightclub, the fraternity’s faculty adviser Richard White wanted to make one thing clear.
News
UNM opens probe into nightclub incident
Isaac Avilucea | December 1Little by little, the news continues to get worse for three UNM football players who were allegedly involved in a brawl at a downtown nightclub early Thanksgiving morning. The latest episode: Kim Kloeppel, with the Dean of Students, said the office is investigating the incident to determine whether UNM football players breached the University’s Student Code of Conduct in allegedly fighting with members of Lotus Nightlcub’s security staff. The three players, later identified as football players Julion Conley, Joe Harris and Bryant Williams, are a part of an on-campus fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Kloeppel said the office is also looking to determine if other fraternity members were involved in the scuffle. “At this time, I don’t have any specific answers as far as what the investigation has involved,” she said, adding that she would have more definitive information later this week. On top of that, Lotus Nightclub owner Brian Craig is threatening to file a civil complaint against the three players. He said it would have been a different story if his security were fully staffed the night of the incident.
News
Housing ‘plan’ confuses, worries community
Chelsea Erven | December 1The Lobo Development’s housing forum turned into a rapid-fire, question-and-answer session at the SUB on Tuesday night. ACC representatives did not present building plans, even though the forum was advertised as a public meeting to discuss American Campus Community’s main campus “Strategic Housing Plan.” “When folks hear ‘plan,’ they assume it’s a planning document and expect to see architectural deliverables and where buildings are going, and that’s not what the ‘Strategic Housing Plan’ is,” ACC representative Matt Stein said.
News
Witness: Drunk fan groped Lobo Lucy
Laurel Brishel Prichard and Shaun Griswold | November 29A drunk fan allegedly groped mascot Lobo Lucy at a home football game against TCU on Saturday, according to a UNMPD report.
