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Summer 2014 | Vo l u m e 1 1 8 | I s s u e 1 5 4
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Candidates figure scholarship fixes by Chloe Henson Three of the five Democratic primary candidates said they support using other sources of funding to subsidize the Legislative Lottery Scholarship. Lawrence Rael, Linda Lopez, Howie Morales, Alan Webber and Gary King participated in a debate in Las Cruces on Thursday. The five contenders will be on the ballot on June 3 as primary candidates for governor of New Mexico. This academic year, the scholarship fund fell short of covering tuition for students, and at the beginning of the spring semester UNM had to pay a portion of each student’s scholarship. The University expected the state government to allocate money to make up the deficit during the legislative session. When asked about a permanent solution to the scholarship,
Rael, King and Lopez said they would be willing to look at other sources of funding to support the program. “We may have to change the name and not call it the Lottery Scholarship anymore,” King said. “I think that we need to make sure that we’re willing to spend general fund money if we have to, and we have income streams that come from our natural resources in New Mexico.” Rather than allowing the Lottery Scholarship to drive up costs of higher education, Webber said the government needs to find a way to the cap increasing expenses. There also needs to be more options for higher education outside of four-year college degrees, Webber said. “(Some students) end up in a situation where they are taught
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TAKING A CLOUD DANCER’S REINS
Sergio Jiménez / Daily Lobo / @SXfoto Jeffrey deGraaff, 14, brushes Lady J at Cloud Dancers in Corrales on Thursday. Cloud Dancers is a therapeutic horsemanship program that helps children with disabilities learn how to ride and interact with horses. See full story on page 3.
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Voters to decide APD, AFD chief procedure by Chloe Henson
Di-Linh Hoang / Daily Lobo Albuquerque City Council Vice-President Trudy Jones, right, speaks with Diane Gibson from District 7 at a city council meeting on May 19. The council voted to allow Albuquerque residents the opportunity to decide if council members should have final say on future APD and AFD chiefs.
Voters will determine whether Mayor Berry will require the City Council’s approval when hiring a new police chief. The legislation that would put the question on the November ballot passed 7-2 at the May 19 Council meeting, said Ken Sanchez, Council president and co-sponsor of the legislation. If voters approve the proposal during the general election in November, the Council’s advice and consent will be required for the appointment of Albuquerque police chief and fire chief. It is vitally important that the Albuquerque community be able to vote on the initiative, Sanchez said. An amendment by Councilor Isaac Benton would also allow the Council to remove the chief with a two-thirds vote, Sanchez said. “We’ve heard from the public now for over four years on wanting to see change in the Albuquerque Police
Department,” he said. “We have an opportunity here to give the public that opportunity.” Brad Winter, a council member who co-sponsored the legislation, said he could not approve of the bill because of the amendment that would allow the Council to fire the chief with a two-thirds vote. “I don’t agree with that part; it changed the whole intent of what I had in mind when we started,” he said. Council Vice President Trudy Jones also voted against the bill. The Council rejected a similar measure that would allow voters to decide whether the chief of police should be elected by the Albuquerque community. Councilor Rey Garduño, who sponsored the bill, was the only affirming vote. Not all discussions about APD were so easily resolved at the meeting. The council postponed legislation that would eliminate the
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Donation aims to energize New Mexico researchers by Zach Pavlik
William Aranda / Daily Lobo / @_WilliamAranda Dr. Michael E. Coltrin of Sandia National Labs gives a keynote speech to members of New Mexico’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research during a NM EPSCoR meeting at the Science and Technology Park Rotunda on Tuesday afternoon. Members gave presentations to update others on the the EPSCoR-funded research project, “Energize New Mexico.”
Universities in New Mexico will receive $16 million over the next four years in a bid to permanently increase research funds in the state. The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research is donating the money for universities to focus on research in sustainable energy, said Mary Jo Daniel, Associate Director of the EPSCoR state office. She said the initiative, Energize New Mexico, will help increase the state’s capacity for research. The goal is to make the project fully collaborative across the various institutions in the state, said Daniels. Those directly
enjoying the resources brought by the funding are all faculty and students of New Mexico universities, but scientists and professionals from other labs and research facilities, such as Sandia National Labs, often serve as mentors to students and supply intellectual support, she said. Natalie Willoughby, EPSCoR’s public relations specialist, said UNM is not the only university in the state involved in the initiative, but that the University plays a unique and vital role in the program’s execution. “UNM is not only our kind of house, where we get paid from and we have our state office, but we also work with several
different departments and UNM and faculty members, including biology and economics, as part of some of the science components of the project,” Willoughby said. Alexandria Bazan, who graduated this spring with a degree in political science and environmental science, said she was first hired by EPSCoR as a student employee before she moved into a group focusing their research on the geothermal aspects of the sustainable energy initiative. Working with EPSCoR was an experience that allowed her to branch out and realize the scope
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Research page 2