NM Daily Lobo 09 12 14

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Daily Lobo new mexico

The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895

friday September 12, 2014 | Volume 119 | Issue 20

Yoga program encourages compassion Sand volleyball added as new sport

Jeff Nelson

By Liam Cary-Eaves With the addition of sand volleyball to its athletics slate, UNM hopes to draw more attention to the sport. The school announced Tuesday the sport will be added for spring 2014, making sand volleyball the 22nd intercollegiate team at UNM. It is the first new sports program since women’s soccer was added in 1993. “We’ve chosen to take a lead on it in the conference and in our part of the country,” head coach Jeff Nelson said. “Two years ago there were 12 teams, this year we expect 60 teams.” Nelson, who currently coaches the current indoor team, will be the director of volleyball and will coach the sand volleyball team in the spring. Sand volleyball games will be held at Stone Face Courts in northeast Albuquerque. “That was my agreement with Paul (Krebs). As part of the proposal, I would be coaching it for the next few years at least,” he said. Nelson said he will not receive a pay increase and will bring in hard court assistant, Lisa Beauchene to help get the program running without hiring any new staff members. No additional scholarships will be awarded to the program in the opening year. A statement from the Athletics Department said UNM will be adding $4,000 to the sports budget this year to get the program up and running. Adding sand volleyball could potentially cost the school an additional $120,000 when fully funded. A schedule is being worked out, Nelson said, but the spring sport already has a tournament lined up in Arizona. Although a major concern involving the quantity of available competition for the season, Nelson said starting the program will push other teams to add the sport. “If we can develop our part of the country, then we can have a lot of teams to play against,” he said. “We’re looking at getting the conference up to six teams so we can have a conference championship.”

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Volleyball page 2

Di-Linh Hoang / Daily Lobo / @DailyLobo

Amanda Dean meditates at United Methodist Church for the Compassion Project on Wednesday. Dean aims to provide the community with a free ongoing yoga and meditation project unaffiliated with any religious traditions.

Free Yoga and Meditation by The Compassion Project University Heights United Methodist Church 2210 Silver Ave. SE (Silver and Yale) Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday

By Marielle Dent A new program is working to inspire a greater sense of kindness in people by helping to develop mindfulness and fostering meaningful social interactions. Amanda Dean, alumna, started Compassion Project as a way to

provide the community with a free, ongoing yoga and meditation project that was unaffiliated with any specific religious tradition. Funded by a grant from the New Mexico Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, she said she began in July, with a few rooms made available by the United

Meditation: 6 p.m. Yoga: 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Free, Donations Appreciated

Methodist Church a few blocks from main campus. “Part of the inspiration for the Compassion Project was a commitment to inclusivity. The benefits of these practices shouldn’t just be available to people with money,” Dean said. “So if you’re a broke college student, it’s nice that

these things are still available, and that they’re close to campus.” Years of meditation and various philosophy courses inspired her to begin the project. Dean prefers to meditate in a group setting and is interested in multiple traditions

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Compassion page 2

Group giving support to struggling students By Matt Reisen

An organization on campus is reaching out to help students find a balance between college life and responsibility. The Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, which seeks to educate students on the dangers of drugs and alcohol, has started a new program called Diary of a Lady Lobo, aimed at curbing risky drinking in female students at UNM, John Steiner, COSAP Program Manager said. The aptly named D.O.L.L.S, rolls out its first big event Nov. 13 with tables offering useful information and plenty of goodies, Steiner said, including free cosmetics and massages. “The idea being, if you need to blow off steam, if you’re feeling

anxiety that school always seems to bring,” he said. “There’s other ways of blowing it off and working through it other than just going out and getting hammered all the time.” COSAP also seeks to increase enrollment in Designated Lobo, a program in its second year aimed at reducing the incidents of drunk driving by UNM students, Steiner said. Students can volunteer to be a designated driver for their friends by signing up at the COSAP office, he said, in return they are given up to five free movie passes for each occasion and are further entered into a drawing at the end of each year. The organization is launching a social media campaign on Facebook to try and encourage students to join in, he said.

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COSAP page 2

Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo / @DailyLobo

COSAP Project Manager John Steiner discusses the positive impact of COSAP’s prevention programs early Thursday morning. COSAP, located in the east side of Mesa Vista Hall, is open to all students who wish to receive assistance.


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NM Daily Lobo 09 12 14 by UNM Student Publications - Issuu