Colin Peña - The Daily Lobo

Opinion

A guide to hiking in central New Mexico

Colin Peña | November 24

From climbing massive mountains then skiing down them up North, to desert backpacking and rock climbing down South, there are outdoor activities year-around in New Mexico. For many students at The University of New Mexico, these outdoor activities are popular, but it is not always necessary to take a three-hour drive to have a good time outside. Exploding 5,000 feet above the Rio Grande, the Sandia Mountains sit in Albuquerque’s backyard. No Albuquerque local can find the eastern direction without looking for them, but the Sandias are often forgotten when talking about New Mexico’s natural beauty.

News

UNM to terminate internet service at SFH

Colin Peña | November 20

The University of New Mexico provided internet service at the Student Family Housing (SFH) apartment complex will be terminated in July 2020 — leaving residents to pay for their own internet. SFH is an off campus UNM Resident Life & Student Housing complex of 200 apartments designed specifically for “UNM students, both undergraduate and graduate, with spouses, domestic partners or families,” according to the UNM housing website. According to an internal survey conducted by the SFH community, most of the residents at the SFH are graduate students and are employed by the University as teaching assistants or graduate assistants.

2014 election ballot features three General Obligation Bond questions.

News

All general obligation bonds pass in city election

Colin Peña | November 7

During the Nov. 5 Albuquerque municipal election earlier this week, 12 general obligation bonds and two propositions on the ballot. In unofficial results — with all precincts reporting — all of the bonds passed by a 58% or greater margin. The results keep with past Albuquerque election trends that pass most General Obligation bonds. The bonds total $128.5 million towards services provided by the city. The bonds go towards various city maintenance and improvement projects for public transportation, parks, libraries and public safety buildings.

News

The name is bond, G/O bond

Andrew Gunn and Colin Peña | November 4

If past bond election performance is indicative of future results, the City of Albuquerque should rest easy come election day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Put up to a vote every two years, general obligation (G/O) bonds are part of this year’s consolidated local election. School and college bonds for Albuquerque Public Schools and Central New Mexico Community College will be put to voters, and a measure to continue a property tax for APS building renovation and upkeep appears on the ballot. There is also a proposition that would drastically alter campaign finance, among other ballot items.

News

New scholarships to address teacher shortage in NM

Colin Peña | October 31

The University of New Mexico is the recipient of two new state scholarships designed to address the shortage of teachers at all grade levels of the New Mexico public educational system. A study by New Mexico State University estimated that there were 644 teacher vacancies in New Mexico in 2019. The study hypothesizes that some factors contributing to this shortage include a comparatively low starting wage for educators and the dependence of teaching positions on student test scores in the state.

Sports

UNM women's soccer brings in Dyche's 50th win

Colin Peña | October 7

The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team beat the University of Nevada with a score of 3-1 on Friday, Oct. 4 in a lopsided game that improves UNM’s Mountain West Conference standing. The match between canid mascots began with the Lady Lobos maintaining constant pressure on the Wolfpack’s defense. Early shots by Jessie Hix and Alesia Garcia were stopped by leaping saves from Nevada keeper Kendal Stovall. In the 13th minute, a New Mexico pass was managed into the box without any Nevada defenders nearby and Lobo midfielder Maysa Walters was able to smash it past Stovall for a 1-0 Lobos lead.

News

PAÍS building completes construction

Colin Peña | October 2

Located at the intersection of Yale and Redondo and overlooking Central avenue, the Physics & Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science (PAÍS) building recently finished construction. But classes and research won’t be starting so soon. “We’ll be fully up and ready to serve everyone in the spring semester and we’ll probably do a formal ribbon cutting in March but it is being occupied today,” Mark Peceny, the dean of the college of arts and science said. The $67 million project was mainly funded through an institutional bond pay for by an uptick in student fees, as well as a $27 million from a state general obligation (GEO) bond, according to Peceny. “This new building is constructed in a way that allows people to do 21st-century science,” Peceny said.

News

Initiatives make UNM buildings more green

Colin Peña | October 2

A concerted effort on the part of the University of New Mexico has brought many of the existing buildings around campus as well as new projects into line with the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) building code and has reduced UNM’s energy usage. The LEED building code run by the United States. The Green Building Council is a certification that “provides independent verification of a building or neighborhood’s green features,” according to their website. If a structure has energy efficient features, such as effective insulation and windows to reduce heating and cooling usage, it can be given LEED certification. The LEED certification process gives several levels of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Following an executive order from Bill Richardson in 2009, UNM began to renovate its buildings with a focus on energy use and efficiency. Specifically any new buildings must meet at least the LEED Silver certification.

Culture

Species in Peril: Downtown exhibit spotlights biological crisis

Megan Holmen and Colin Peña | October 2

Inside of the 516 ARTS gallery in Downtown Albuquerque, the Species in Peril art exhibit aims to bring recognition and acknowledgement to the pressing issue of biological extinction focusing on the Rio Grande watershed. The collaborative project is centered in Albuquerque but has satellite exhibits up and down the Rio Grande watershed. Along the 1,885 mile long span of the river, thousands of species are threatened by human activity directly or indirectly. Human activity often reduces their habitats, threatening them with extinction. These species include large mammals like the American bison, which historically lived on both the river in the United States and Mexico, and the endangered silvery minnow, which used to have an expansive range but has now been reduced to just a few miles in central New Mexico.

Sports

United's momentum halted in 3-1 loss to Reno 1868

Colin Peña and Dan Goodwin | September 23

In a 3-1 defeat that stayed close for most of the match, New Mexico United lost to Reno 1868 FC at Isotopes Park on Friday, Sept. 20. As a result of the defeat, United dropped to eighth in the USL Championship Western Conference standings, while Reno stayed in second and clinched a playoff berth. Even as the Friday night match attracted only 10,518 supporters — a small crowd for New Mexico in their inaugural season — the stadium began full of excitement. Because the sound system during the singing of the national was unresponsive, rendering the singer inaudible, the home crowd filled in with their own rendition and the game began. The excitement of the game began in the seventh minute as New Mexico forward Santi Moar controlled a pass into the box from UNM alum Devon Sandoval and slotted it into the close corner for a goal.