Nikita Jaiswal - The Daily Lobo

Culture

NM nuclear fallout victims await federal compensation

Nikita Jaiswal | March 28

Bernice Gutierrez was eight days old when she experienced what many people believed was the end of the world. At 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, a plutonium based bomb detonated at the southern New Mexico Trinity test site, radiating more heat and light than the sun. The resulting fireball shot up more than seven miles high, and radioactive ash rained down for miles across the soil, water, animals and people. “We never knew what was happening,” Gutierrez said. “When my doctor asked me if I had been exposed to radiation, I had no clue.”

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Vaccination plan reaches nexus for UNM students and employees

Nikita Jaiswal | February 25

As the state continues to work through phase 1B of its vaccination plan, the University of New Mexico is strongly urging faculty and students to sign up for vaccinations. In an effort to help motivate registration, ASUNM senators passed legislation on Jan. 27 encouraging individuals to make plans for receiving the vaccine “to increase the vaccinated population and help provide for herd immunity.” “We want to inform the student population,” ASUNM senator Helen Zhao said. “Not many people know where to sign up for the vaccine, and some of the process is confusing.”

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Future bill would help hold New Mexico police officers more accountable

Nikita Jaiswal | January 25

New Mexican lawmakers are reacting to the galvanizing calls for police reform around the country by introducing legislation to clean up the state’s law enforcement academy regulations. The legislation focuses on transferring and creating deadlines for some of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy’s (NMLEA) responsibilities. The NMLEA currently has two primary responsibilities: training officers and suspending or revoking certification to serve as a peace officer. Representative Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, highlighted the clear contradiction of those responsibilities, noting that misconduct often goes unreported or without a hearing.

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State legislature poised to pass police reform bills

Nikita Jaiswal | January 11

After nearly a year of national uproar and calls for action sparked by the murder of George Floyd’s at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, law enforcement reform is on New Mexico’s spring legislative agenda for the 60-day session. “I anticipate at least six or eight bills dealing with police reform this session,” Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque and co-chair of the criminal justice reform subcommittee, said. Enraged by excessive police shootings and violence, hundreds of New Mexicans took to the streets last year calling attention to the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement and the need for change within police forces in the state, particularly the Albuquerque Police Department.

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Will NM legislators abolish qualified immunity?

Nikita Jaiswal | January 10

In the majority of police brutality cases, officers are not criminally prosecuted, and reform advocates contend that is in part because of something called “qualified immunity.” According to Merriam Webster, qualified immunity is “immunity from lawsuits that is granted to public officials (such as police officers) for acts that violate someone's civil rights if it can be shown that the acts do not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would be aware.”

Culture

LoboTHON raises over $80,000 for UNM Children’s Hospital

Nikita Jaiswal | November 12

After a postponement of several months, the University of New Mexico LoboTHON’s highly anticipated dance marathon finally occurred on Saturday, Nov. 7, raising $80,055 for UNM’s Children’s Hospital — $3,000 more than their target goal. LoboTHON is the largest student-run philanthropy organization at UNM. According to Noah Lucero, LoboTHON’s executive director, their goal is to raise money and awareness for UNM’s Children’s Hospital through creative events like dodgeball or bingo. Lucero said this year, due to COVID-19 concerns, the events shifted online. They included silent actions, social media events and “dine to donate” at restaurants. Leading up to the dance marathon, various student organizations around UNM helped to raise awareness about the upcoming events.

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The Daily Lobo election guide: Bonds and the art of city maintenance

Beatrice Nisoli , Alex McCausland , Megan Gleason , Maddie Pukite and Nikita Jaiswal | October 29

With early voting well underway — and set to end on Saturday ahead of Election Day — New Mexicans have a lengthy list of choices on the ballot designed to make improvements to the infrastructure, resources and livability of the city of Albuquerque itself. The following is a breakdown of what general obligation bonds are for, where the money would go if approved by voters and whether or not you should vote for a particular allocation of taxpayer-subsidized funding.

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COVID-19, flu season threaten to push hospitals over the edge

Nikita Jaiswal | October 7

U.S. health officials are bracing for a potential perfect storm as the flu season begins amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year influenza, or the common flu, poses a large burden on the health care system. Within the last year, New Mexico has seen several hundred deaths due to the flu. The state’s mortality rates follow closely with national mortality rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University of New Mexico Hospital is operating at critical levels, “well above the 85% average capacity threshold considered optimal for hospital efficiency,” according to a UNMH report. A heavy flu season could stagger hospitals already dealing with COVID cases, as both respiratory viral infections can require intensive care treatment.

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Contact tracers work to slow the spread of COVID-19

Nikita Jaiswal | September 20

A University of New Mexico student received a phone call from the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) late one Wednesday evening. The department was calling to tell her she had tested positive for COVID-19. “I was so shocked when I found out,” she said, “but talking to the contact tracer eased my worries.” Contract tracers play an important role in combating the coronavirus. When a person tests positive for the virus, contract tracers call and inform them of their test result, which begins the case investigation.