Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Men’s soccer, club sports receive UNM funding By Justin Garcia Alanie Rael @Just516garc @AllyRael After being cut from the University of New Mexico’s budget, the UNM Men’s Soccer team along with other UNM club sports are getting a financial and institutional upgrade, courtesy of the President’s discretionary funds. The “enhanced club-sport program” would include Men’s Soccer, Men and Women’s Rugby, Lobo Hockey and the yet-to-be established Men and Women’s Ski. The program, funded by the President and the Department of Recreational Services, would grant the clubs access to additional financial and institutional resources — such as practice facilities. Terry Babbitt, chief of staff for UNM President Garrnett Stokes, said there wasn’t a set budget for the program yet. However, sources close to the matter have told the Daily Lobo that Stokes may spend up to $300,000 to support the program. “If you had robust interest in a lot of sports and they really want-
ed to take as far as the could, a $250,000 or $300,000 budget certainly is easy. That doesn’t mean it’s funded or that there is a set plan,” Babbitt said. “[$250,000 to $300,00 is] probably what it would take to support a really robust club-sports program.” He added that the immediate budget would likely be much less. In August 2018, the UNM Board of Regents voted to cut men’s soccer, men’s and women’s skiing, and women’s beach volleyball in order to comply with Title IX and to address budget concerns, as reported in the Daily Lobo. The cut was recommended by Athletics Director Eddie Nuñez and Stokes. The decision was met with boos and jeers at the time it was made. “This is the money that the administration wants to use to replace those varsity teams,” Recreational Services Director, Jim Todd told the Daily Lobo. Todd’s department will be managing the program. “I’m hoping that it is more than that and that it becomes more than that. I don't want to be told I can only fund those clubs. I’m hoping that I can have the authority to spread the wealth,” Todd said.
Babbitt said the President’s decision to send her discretionary funds toward this project came after “listening to the community.” It’s unclear if the discretionary funds will be recurring, according to Tim Gutierrez, an Associate Vice President, Student Services, who oversees the Department of Recreational Services. He brought up the possibility of the club sports or the program going through the Student Fee Review Board (SFRB.) Todd and Babbitt both emphasized that the program would be student-led. They also brought up the necessity of a board similar to the Student Publications Board or Student Union Building Board. This board would govern the allocation of money wherever it might come from. However, the process had not been worked out, according to Gutierrez. Not all club sports will be eligible for this program. According to Todd, only club sports chartered through the Student Activities Center and registered with a competitive league will be eligible for this type of University money. For example, Women’s Rugby is regis-
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Last year, the sport was cut with four others from UNM Athletics. The club soccer team was founded in February of 2019, and will now be receiving funding alongside other athletic cluibs.
tered with USA Rugby, who governs their members and impose rules on joining. Babbitt said, as of the publica-
tion of this article, only the position of club sport’s coordinator was
see Sports Funds page
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BRIEF
Instructor creates BOR halves buzz on native bees number of By Makayla Grijalva Alanie Rael @AllyRael @MakaylaEliboria Environmental design instructor Danielle Bilot is creating a buzz about native bees in Albuquerque. Bilot spoke to Burqueños on Wednesday about how to increase the diversity of native bee species in urban environments. “It’s our responsibility to change it because we did it to them, whether honey bees or native bees,” Bilot said. “We did this to them, so now it’s our chance to fix it.” Bilot is an instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder and the founder of the Forgotten Hive, a course at the university focused on creating habits for native bees in under-utilized urban areas. According to Bilot, many bees are unable to get from one food source to the next because the food source is farther than their maximum flight distance, which could potentially kill them. Due to their abundance in urban settings, she suggests that parking lots could be the answer to creating diversity in the bee population. In her presentation, she spoke
to this idea and the way native bees need sustainable resources to pollinate properly. She says it’s not enough to just have native plants in parks, but there has to be more diversity of areas for bees to choose from. Bilot demonstrated the projects that she has done at the University of Colorado with architecture and design students who were passionate about creating habitats for native bees. She went through several steps in order to begin creating her native pollinator habitats. First, she conducted research on the native bees in the area around campus. Then the students in her class presented design blueprints based off of their research for the site they are working on. Finally, after making final design plans, the building process began. It is complete with organic soil, and native flowers and plants. The team adds signs about the Forgotten Hive on the site to get the community involved as the cherry on top of the project.
see
Buzz on bees page 3
meetings
By Justin Garcia @Just516garc
The University of New Mexico Board of Regents unanimously voted to reduce their total number of meetings from 12 to six per year. The reduction came after the Board unanimously approved a resolution expressing their desire to change the schedule. It’s unclear what the schedule will look like next year, according to UNM Spokesperson Daniel Jiron, but the issue will be taken up during the next meeting in September. Regent President Doug Brown said the purpose of the reduction was to alleviate the burden on staff for attending the monthly full board meetings and monthly committee meetings. The Regent’s also established an ad-hoc “Governing Committee,” to be chaired by Regent Robert Schwartz. The committee’s purpose will be to address issues that emerge with Regent’s Policy.
Inside this Issue GRIJALVA: UNM Welcome foreign students despite travel advisories
Justin Garcia / @Just516garc / Daily Lobo
Regent President Doug Brown during the first Board of Regents meeting of the 2019 school year.
News Editor Megan Holmen contributed to the reporting of this article.
Justin Garcia is the Editor in Chief of the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.
On the Daily Lobo website GARCIA: ASUNM tables President Pro Temp vote