DAILY LOBO new mexico
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The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
September 4, 2009
ASUNM balks at Veterans Day vote
Defaced
by Pat Lohmann and Tricia Remark Daily Lobo
Zach Gould / Daily Lobo A sculpture at Cornell Mall, seen Thursday, is vandalized with white paint. Report vandalism on campus to the UNMPD by calling 277- 2241.
Retiring dean nurtured respect for architecture by Andrew Beale Daily Lobo
Architecture Dean Roger Schluntz announced his plans to retire next year after a decade overseeing UNM’s School of Architecture. Schluntz made the announcement June 30. He said he will continue as a UNM faculty member, but said it was time to pass the responsibilities of dean on to someone else. “It’s a combination of ‘OK, I’ve probably done what I can do,’ and one has to realize there are other capable people,” he said. Schluntz, who was honored as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, will still be chair of the Design Review Board.
“I’m not actually retiring,” Schluntz said. “I’m shifting courses.” Among Schluntz’s accomplishments at UNM are the establishment of a degree program in Landscape Architecture and of two new graduate-level degrees — Historic Preservation & Regionalism and Town Design. Schluntz was also instrumental in building George Pearl Hall, the architecture building located across from the campus bookstore. Schluntz said the new space has helped bolster the position of the architecture department within the University. “This building has certainly become a national landmark,” Schluntz said. “Our visibility within the University has basically gone from inconse-
quential to the highest in UNM, because of our location and the quality of the building.” Architecture student Tim Castillo said Schluntz worked hard to get the building completed. “He’s been phenomenally instrumental in getting this building done,” Castillo said. “The building is phenomenal compared to where we were before. It’s night-and-day.” Virginia Raybon, another architecture student, said George Pearl Hall made the architecture department the face of the University. “It’s a world apart,” she said. “We were across the street in that terrible building. I love how we have a really prominent building on Central. We went from a shoebox across the street to this.”
see Retirement page 3
ASUNM sent a resolution that would allow the UNM community to take Veterans Day off back to committee during its first meeting Wednesday. Sixteen senators voted in favor of sending the vote back and four voted against. The same resolution passed during the Graduate and Professional Student Association meeting Saturday. The resolution asks the University to give students Veterans Day off, even if Nov. 11 falls on a weekend. The Steering and Rules Committee will vote on the resolution Wednesday. Zack Mutchler, president of Student Veterans of UNM, told the ASUNM senators that each person deserves the opportunity to decide how they want to spend Veterans Day. “Observance is a personal thing,” Mutchler said. “Some people at the University are saying that veterans should do some kind of memorial service. While that would be nice, it’s not a replacement, and it’s not acceptable to force someone to observe that way.” Mutchler said the Regents will ultimately decide if UNM students are given a day off in observance of
see Veterans Day page 3
Senior gets sign language award by Deyber Menchaca Daily Lobo
Senior Emily Haynes was so overcome with emotion when she received the first-ever Phyllis Perrin Wilcox Scholarship that she could only use sign language to express her gratitude. Haynes, a signed language interpreting major, received the scholarship through the linguistics department. Private donations completely funded the award, said graduate student Bryan Rasmussen. Haynes said the community’s support might strengthen the program itself by encouraging more students to enroll in it. “The growth of this program represents strides in the deaf community,” she said. “As this program grows and develops, we have better interpreters and more interpreters for our community.” Rasmussen and fellow graduate student Vicki Brown organized the scholarship fund after an anonymous donor gave $5,000 to the department. Jeffrey MacNutt, the development officer for the humanities department, said the community contributed to the final scholarship amount. “The real unique nature of this scholarship is that it has literally been contributions from everyone
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Daily Lobo volume 114
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within the community, which is rare. Endowments are generally big contributions from families in their own honor. This is just a labor of love … very grassroots,” MacNutt said. The scholarship is named for Phyllis Perrin Wilcox, who began the signed language interpreting program at UNM in 1983. Wilcox said Haynes received the scholarship for her scholastic achievements and commitment to the UNM sign language program. Haynes is a member of the Phi Betta Kappa Honor Society, is fluent in French and maintains a 4.0 GPA. She also attended the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Conference this summer. Haynes said her love for sign language began at age 14, when she volunteered at a camp for individuals with special needs. She said some of the campers were hard of hearing, so she used basic sign language to communicate with them. Hundreds of students register each semester for sign language courses, but Wilcox said only 15 students are accepted each year to enter the program as signed language interpretation majors. The scholarship will be awarded on a yearly basis — so long as there are enough donations — to a signed language interpreting student, based on his or her academic achievement, service to the community and ethical values.
Question of the week
Get in the game
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Emily Hunt, second from left, cries after receiving the Phyllis Wilcox Scholarship on Thursday. Mrs. Wilcox, far left, presented the linguistics department award at the Humanities Building. Pat Lohmann / Daily Lobo
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