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Monday, March 21, 2022 | Vo l u m e 1 2 6 | I s s u e 2 9
Immunocompromised community Incoming ASUNM and advocates speak out against president, vice end of UNM mask mandate president to focus
A mask lies in a trash can.
Liam DeBonis / Daily Lobo / @LiamDebonis
By Natalie Jude & Madeline Pukite @natalaroni @maddogpukite Since University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes announced the March 19 expiration of UNM’s indoor mask mandate at a majority of campuses and locations, members of the UNM community who are or who advocate for those who are immunocompromised are raising concerns that their safety was not taken into consideration in the decision-making process. Soph Colson, a UNM student on medical leave and a member of Crip Lib, a disability advocacy group on campus, said she feels dropping the mask mandate is dangerous to disabled students.
“The best social justice practice is to accommodate society around the most vulnerable impacted, and that would be just disabled people on campus, immunocompromised people on campus, the people of color on campus, and UNM is not doing that,” Colson said. In Crip Lib meetings, students have been able to voice their concerns about the COVID-19 protocols in a safe place, and many have said they already feel as if they are in fightor-flight mode with the nature of the pandemic and in-person classes, according to Colson. “We've had some people come in who have also said they're in fightor-flight while in class,” Colson said. ”They can't focus or concentrate because they're constantly sitting there anxious, sitting around so many people in such a tight close classroom,”
Colson said. Alyssa Martinez, another member of Crip Lib, said they feel as though the timing of dropping the mandate leaves many without alternative options and forced to deal with the conditions. “The decision to lift this mask mandate midway through the semester, when all of us have already paid our tuition, when we've already went out of our way to get housing near the University or whatever the case may be, to then jeopardize our lives by refusing to keep these mask mandates in place, it's just a slap in the face and shows how little that this university who claims to care (does) ... about its disabled and chronically ill population, which is such a large base of our campus,” Martinez said. The University is doing a disservice to the immunocompromised population, and as long as the University remains quiet on these issues, self-education is important, according to leader of Lobo Prevention Pack and Student Health and Counseling Health Education and Outreach Manager Tiffany Martinez-Durant. “We also have to be cognizant of people who are immunocompromised, who cannot get the vaccine,” Martinez-Durant said. “I wish people educated themselves more than just took (the University) at face value.” Colson said, ideally, they would
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on student outreach By Megan Gleason @fabflutist2716
The unofficial election results for the presidential and vice presidential roles of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico were announced on Wednesday, March 9 with Ian May and Krystah Pacheco winning to become president and vice president, respectively, for the 2022-23 school year. In their campaign, May and Pacheco focused heavily on student outreach, which reflects their future goals as well. Many initiatives in May and Pacheco’s campaign came not just from themselves but from conversations with students and student organizations about what they wanted to see in their next undergraduate student leadership. “The biggest thing is visibility. During our campaign time (approximately) a third of students didn’t even know what ASUNM was, and especially I think it’s really important we have that presence on campus,” Pacheco said. “Students are paying an ASUNM fee, we have a lot of programming, we have a lot of resources for students so I think it’s really important they know what their student government is but then beyond that
what we’re doing to serve students.” ASUNM can help fill in the gaps that UNM administration may be lacking in outreach, according to May. He said there needs to be more than just an open-door policy, which should be the bar of what is expected from student government; they should actually be going out and following up with students. “I think as the student government, it’s our job to facilitate that kind of connection because it doesn’t seem like the administrators are going to do that at the moment, and they’re so busy so I don’t even want to put the blame fully on them, but I do think there are some steps that need to be taken there,” May said. May has acquired knowledge on how student organizations work and what they need from his time serving on the ASUNM Finance Committee and Governmental Affairs Agency as well as helping run the World Affairs Delegation. Pacheco thinks ASUNM senators could be doing more for their relationships with student organizations, such as visiting them rather than just sending the required biweekly email. The goal is to “lay the groundwork” for this kind of student follow-up as well as teach other senators how to do
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Catopia Cat Café searches for fur-ever homes for cats By Megan Gleason @fabflutist2716 Nearly 700 cats have found their homes in the span of three years through Catopia Cat Café, a space that houses cats that are up for adoption in a cozy café environment. Around 20 cats roam the café at a time, laying on cat towers or meowing for customers’ attention. Customers can pay about $10 to get in for an hour and can also purchase food or drinks and relax on a couch or study at a table. All of the proceeds made in the shop go directly back to the cats. Catopia opened in January 2019 and works with shelters and rescue groups around Albuquerque to take in cats, who are all required to be spayed/neutered and have a list of vaccinations done beforehand. “The underlying purpose is definitely just to help ease the burden on shelters and rescue groups and try to help them find cats a good home,” owner Sandy Dierks said.
Cats can be adopted after a screening process with fees ranging from a donation up to $150, depending on the rescue or shelter the cat came from. Catopia strives to educate people on numerous topics in addition to adoption, whether that be helping people see cats as social creatures or realizing the necessity of regular vet visits, according to Dierks. Previous adopter Sarah Bodkin said the café and others like it are extremely important to help cats socialize as well as promote adoption. “The truth is that I see a lot of importance in cat cafés because they do such important work in being able to socialize cats, and it’s so beautiful and visually appealing here too that I feel like it brings people in, and it brings people in in a way that keeps them towards the idea of adopting rather than necessarily going to a breeder,” Bodkin said. Bodkin, a UNM student, worked at Catopia in 2019. Even after leaving, Bodkin kept visiting the shop and eventually adopted her cat Ziggy from there in September 2021.
“When I adopted Ziggy, it was really interesting because I took her home — and, you know, I’ve interacted with a lot of cats and I’ve loved all of them — but this has definitely been the first experience where it’s been like my heart outside of my body,” Bodkin said. “People have referred to her before as my ‘soul cat,’ and I feel like that’s just really resonant.” The cats tend to get adopted faster if they’re more outgoing, according to Dierks. However, she said that even with shy cats, “it’s amazing how they come around, like they can be super shy at first and then a few weeks later, they’re out sitting in someone’s lap. They’re resilient and they can adjust to the new situation.” “The thing about cats and what I’ve learned specifically about my cat, she’s a total empath. She’ll understand when I’m stressed, when I'm having a tough time, and will come over and just lay on my belly and purr for a little while, and it’s so beautifully therapeutic, and it’s such a great bonding experience,” Bodkin said. Dierks and Bodkin both said it’s nice just to be around the cats even if
you aren’t looking to adopt. “Most people come here just to enjoy the cats, and sometimes people come because they can’t have a cat because they(’ve) got someone allergic at home, but even (for) people who have six cats at home, it’s still fun to come see more cats. I think people appreciate that it’s supporting a good cause because all of the money does go toward the cats,” Dierks said. Dierks had a dream of opening a big cat sanctuary where cats set to be euthanized could live out the
rest of their days, and Catopia was the closest financial possibility to that. Dierks works full time at the shop as a volunteer. “My goal of being able to just help some cats has been worth all of the effort,” Dierks said. Catopia has maintained mostly steady business throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Dierks said around the time the pandemic first started in March 2020, there was a large influx
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Liam DeBonis / Daily Lobo / @LiamDebonis
Pikaboo sits on a table at Catopia Cat Café.