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Monday, Februar y 28, 2022 | Vo l u m e 1 2 6 | I s s u e 2 6
Stokes’ State of University address covers COVID-19, new projects By Madeline Pukite @maddogpukite
On Thursday, Feb. 24, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes delivered her annual State of the University address. Like last year, the COVID-19 pandemic was at the forefront of topics covered within the address. “Over the last two years, we've found many new ways of doing things in the interest of keeping our community safe — different ways of communicating, learning, collaborating and even different ways of celebrating,” Stokes said. Despite the ongoing pandemic, she said the University has made strides to return to a somewhat normal college experience, citing both the recent in-person fall commencement ceremony and having students be able to come back fully to campus. She credited the ability to do this to the Vax the Pack initiative and the continued requirement of masks on campus. “What has been made clear to us over the last two years, however, is that online services are certainly appreciated, but when given the choice, our students clearly also want face-to-face,” Stokes said.
Stokes did not speak on UNM’s current vaccination rates. The University mandated a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for the current semester, but only about half of enrolled students have a confirmed booster status. On enrollment, Stokes said while overall university enrollment decreased by 2%, the enrollment of incoming freshmen increased by 10% in fall 2021. In terms of development, UNM has partnered with the city of Albuquerque on several projects: Innovate ABQ, which is a plan to create an innovation district in downtown Albuquerque to promote economic development and job opportunities, and turning south campus into a tax increment development district, which would put gross receipts tax collected from the area back into the development of the area. “A public collaboration between UNM and the city of Albuquerque to enhance community services, create new jobs and stimulate economic activity, the TIDD will revitalize an underutilized, unsightly portion of the city but more importantly, we expect it to spur the creation of more than 4,000 new jobs with over 3 billion in wages,” Stokes said. Stokes talked about various con-
By Madeline Pukite @maddogpukite
Courtesy Photo
UNM President Garnett Stokes poses for a photo. Photo courtesy of UNM Newsroom.
struction projects around the campus, including the new addition to the UNM Hospital, which includes a parking garage, utility plant and a 96-bed hospital tower. Among numerous accomplishments coming out of the University, Stokes noted that the cancer treatment and research facility was one of 51 centers in the nation to be awarded the comprehensive cancer center designation from the National Cancer Center Institute. Stokes recognized that UNM senior Emma Hotz was
awarded the Truman scholarship. Stokes spoke about the accomplishments of the branch campuses, including UNM-Taos receiving $500,000 from the New Mexico agriculture department to continue the work they are doing for local food and small-scale farming. “These campuses not only enrich us with their history and vibrancy but they embody our commitment to educational excellence in a more prosperous state,” Stokes said. On the sustainability front,
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SRC construction causes unexpected disturbances for residents By Gabriel Saiz @gsaiz83
Construction on the University of New Mexico Student Residence Center stairwells has caused complaints from residents on the lack of advanced notice of the project and early morning noise pollution. The first stairwell repairs began on buildings D, F and G Dec. 20, 2021 and are scheduled to finish by May, according to project superintendent Manuel Jimenez of ESA Construction, the general contractor hired by UNM. The Board of Regents approved the three-phase repair project on Aug. 19, 2021 after an inspection found the stairwells to be “very
deteriorated and in need of immediate attention for repair and replacement,” according to the Board’s meeting minutes from that day. The repairs include demolishing the old concrete steps, attaching new metal steps within the original frame and adding a new coat of paint, according to Jimenez. “(The SRC stairs) are rusty, there’s holes in them (and they have) a few safety concerns,” Aaron Baker, the resident advisor for building D, said. “I know that we need it, but it is inconvenient.” Multiple SRC residents, including Gavin Moughan, a resident of building F, and Zachary May, a resident of building G, could not remember ever receiving an email
ASUNM key advocate for legislative funding for UNM scholarships, infrastructure
from Residence Life and Student Housing notifying them about the construction. Moughan and May were unable to find any such email in their inboxes. Maddie Gomez, a resident of building D, received just two notices about the construction: a flyer placed inside the apartments over winter break and a Dec. 13 campus-wide email from the UNM Parking and Transportation Office alerting readers that several spots in A-lot would be cordoned off for ESA Construction. Neither notice included the anticipated May completion date for buildings D, F and G nor the daily construction work hours, which Jimenez said are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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“At some point things have to be replaced and I get that, but it just makes it hard when you weren’t really given much notice and it affects you a lot more than you think it would,” Gomez said. Construction doesn’t always adhere to this schedule and sometimes starts closer to 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., according to Baker. “We’ve talked about that a few times with the other staff,” Baker said. “They’re supposed to start at 9, but they oftentimes do not, which I think is the biggest inconvenience.” Multiple SRC residents, including Gomez, reported sleep disturbances as a result of the
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SRC page 2
In the New Mexico legislative session that concluded mid-February, multiple bills were passed aimed at helping higher education students in the state, specifically for the University of New Mexico. Individuals from the Associated Students of UNM advocated for funding for the lottery scholarship, the opportunity scholarship and infrastructure improvements at UNM. The bills are currently awaiting signatures from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to officially become law. These initiatives were advocated for in large part by the ASUNM Governmental Affairs department, whose team spent time during the legislative session in Santa Fe lobbying for funding. The funding for the lottery scholarship in House Bill 2 totals $140 million and ensures total coverage of tuition for the next five years. The funding for the opportunity scholarship in Senate Bill 140 totals $85 million and will ensure funding for the next year. ASUNM chose to advocate for the lottery and opportunity scholarships to help provide security for students who are reliant on the scholarships to attend school, according to Suha Musa, director of the Governmental Affairs department. “I think the lack of certainty was just a huge motivator for us to work towards more permanent funding options,” Musa said. The opportunity scholarship is open to all New Mexico residents taking 6-18 credit hours and who maintain a 2.5 GPA. The scholarship completely covers tuition and fees after other state financial aid is applied. It was a big priority for ASUNM because it can also help cover other fees that the lottery scholarship may miss along with helping students continue their education who may have lost the lottery scholarship due the academic requirements, according to ASUNM
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SCOTT: Lobos men’s basketball secures win over Air Force 69-65 (pg. 8) KLEINHANS: UNM softball team dominates Lobo Classic with four wins at home (pg. 10) SALCIDO: Lobos track and field teams compete in Mountain West indoor championships (pg. 11) UNM sports recap (pg. 11)