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Thursday, August 23, 2018 | Vo l u m e 1 2 3 | I s s u e 3
Davie apprehensive ahead of new season By Cameron Goeldner @goeldfinger
Cameron Goeldner / @goeldfinger / Daily Lobo
Quarterback Trae Hall hands the ball off to running back Tyrone Owens as offensive coordinator Calive Magee looks on during drills on August 21, 2018.
With less than two weeks to go before the beginning of the 2018 football season, head coach Bob Davie said it’s time for some urgency from his team. “Today we didn’t have great energy or great execution,” Davie said following Tuesday’s practice. “It’s not time to panic right now, but it is time for urgency right now, because there’s a lot of things we might have a misconception that we think we can do, but I’m not sure right now that I saw anything out here this morning that I think we definitely can do.” Luckily for Davie and his staff, there’s still time to fix that, which is something that he says begins with the players and the team’s leadership to pull themselves out of a nose dive. He added that he was not disappointed, but simply concerned. The biggest change for the team this year is the offensive scheme under new offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, as the Lobos blend the triple option they’ve run for years with the spread option offense that Magee was in charge of at the University of Arizona. A coaching change, and a change in scheme, means that the offense is
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NM’s bird population plummets UNM selects Interim Title IX Coordinator By Kyle Land
@kyleoftheland
Bird populations in New Mexico are failing to take off — in fact, they’re nosediving. A study conducted by scientists at the Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) found that piñon pine trees are dying in growing numbers, which is having adverse effects on wildlife in the area — especially birds. Researchers believe climate change is one of the reasons. The study, conducted by Jeanne Fair and Charles Hathcock, concluded that “piñon mortality may
be a significant threat to bird communities in the southwestern U.S.” It also stated that piñon-juniper woodlands, in which piñon trees thrive, may disappear completely by the year 2100, according to a LANL press release. Piñon pines are the state tree of New Mexico and are found throughout the Southwest. “It’s really quite disturbing,” said Jonathan Hayes, vice president and executive director of Audubon New Mexico, a nature sanctuary in Santa Fe. “The Pajarito Plateau is named that for its bird abundance, so it’s really ironic that we’re seeing huge bird decline in that area.” Drought and hotter temperatures
Sarah Groth/ @sarah_groth/ Daily Lobo
A lone feather fallen at the Rio Grande Nature Center on Aug. 22, 2018.
both play a factor in the death of the piñon pines. Hotter temperatures have also lead to the proliferation of bark beetles, who Hayes said kills trees by cutting off their circulation. One species of bird afflicted by the decline is the pinyon jay. The bird nests in piñon-juniper woodlands, and has seen a significant loss of habitat as the trees continue to die. No pinyon jays were found at any of the study sites in the LANL study. According to Kristine Johnson, an associate professor at the University of New Mexico who studies pinyon jays, the bird and the trees have a mutualistic relationship — the birds spread the tree’s seeds and the trees provide birds with food. Her team studies pinyon jays in a separate part of the state from where the LANL study was conducted. Johnson added that, while no one knows exactly why pinyon jays are declining, there’s a hypothesis that the lack of piñon seeds for the birds to feed on may be part of the problem. However, the decline in piñonjuniper bird species is not excluded to the pinyon jay. New Mexico Avian Conservation Partners ranks birds species in New Mexico by their vulnerability, and seven piñon-juniper bird species appear on the list. They include the pinyon jay, juniper titmouse, woodhouse’s scrub-jay, black-throated gray warbler, gray vireo and the mountain chickadee.
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By Megan Holmen @megan_holmen
The University of New Mexico has selected Sara Cliffe as the Interim Title IX Coordinator at the Office of Equal Opportunity. Cliffe began working at UNM June 2018 as the OEO Compliance Manager. According to Francie Cordova, the director of OEO, Cliffe is well versed in Title IX, which was why she was selected for the position. Cordova said Heather Cowan, the previous Title IX Coordinator and long-time UNM employee, has accepted a position at the University of Michigan where she has lived before. Cliffe said she will be continuing several initiatives that UNM has been working on. This includes the campus-wide training initiative, which aims to keep campus safe and varies among students, faculty and staff, and the investigative reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault. “(The interim) role could last only two or three months, in which case Cliffe’s role is much more limited, however, if the selection process takes longer then her role will be much more broad,” Cordova said. The job listing for the perma-
nent Title IX coordinator has been posted. Finding a permanent Title IX Coordinator will involve a national search, Cordova said. There will be a search committee, which both Cliffe and Cordova will both be on, and interviews will be done over skype, and the final candidates will probably be flown into Albuquerque, if the they are coming from out of state. According to Cordova, UNM students, faculty and staff will be invited to meet the potential candidates and be involved in this selection process. “My biggest concern is ensuring that we have prompt and complete response to victims and responders in the investigation process,” Cliffe said. “We must respond to the matter and be attentive, complete and through.” Safety Week will also be a large focus in the school year, Cordova said. This year’s Safety Week will be Sept. 18 through 22. There will be trainings offered during the week and he said the OEO will continue campus climate surveys that has been an initiative for the past few years. Megan Holmen is the assistant news editor at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com, culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @megan_holmen.
On the Daily Lobo website Holmen — Norway travel column
Goeldner — Men’s Soccer: Seattle University and Washington previewse