DAILY LOBO new mexico
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January 31, 2012
tuesday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Students support Lottery Scholarship at UNM Day by Luke Holmen holmen@unm.edu
About 200 UNM students are expected to travel to Santa Fe today to advocate on behalf of the University during the New Mexico legislative session’s annual UNM Day. Students attending UNM Day through ASUNM’s Governmental Affairs Office will receive a free round-trip Rail Runner ticket, free lunch at Tomasita’s Mexican restaurant and a letter excusing them from class for the day, but Florencio Olguin, executive director of ASUNM Governmental Affairs, said he hopes students are coming because they believe
they can help improve the lives of current and future students. “UNM Day is important for students because it gives us an opportunity to voice our concerns on issues that affect us,” he said. Olguin said ASUNM’s 2012 legislative priorities include advocating for the continuation of the Legislative Lottery Scholarship, eliminating the legislative tuition tax credit and requesting funding for improved lighting on campus and a new commuter shuttle. Along with New Mexico State University, UNM is supporting House Joint Memorial 14 and Senate Joint Memorial 27, which propose creating a task force to study Lottery
Scholarship funding options, Olguin said. “It would include three students representing New Mexico institutions of higher education … to (discuss) how to keep the Lottery scholarship solvent,” he said. “We think this is a positive step for eventual solvency of the scholarship.” GPSA Lobby Committee co-chair Travis McIntyre said the committee is looking forward to working with their undergraduate counterparts from UNM during the 2012 state legislative session. McIntyre said a member of the Lobby Committee has been at the Legislature every day since the session started. “We will talk about our No. 1 issue, the
tuition credit,” he said. “The tuition credit is the amount the government says you need to increase tuition by, because they are going to give you that much less money. It’s basically a tax on students.” McIntyre said the Lobby Committee will also advocate for a proposed new funding formula, which would determine UNM’s budget based on student performance, rather than enrollment numbers. He said he also plans to advocate for the reinstatement of graduate student funding in the form of grants. Since 2002 the state has given
Violent protests erupt in Oakland
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Day PAGE 3
by Terry Collins
The Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — It started peacefully enough: A midday rally at City Hall and a march. But as the day wore on, Oakland was hit by the most turbulent protests in weeks as Occupy demonstrators clashed repeatedly with police, leaving more than 400 people arrested. The demonstrations in downtown Oakland broke a lull that had seen just a smattering of people taking to Oakland’s streets in recent weeks for occasional marches that bore little resemblance to the headline-grabbing Occupy demonstrations of last fall. That all changed Saturday with clashes punctuated by rock and bottle throwing by protesters and volleys of tear gas from police, and a City Hall break-in that left glass cases smashed, graffiti spraypainted on walls and an American flag burned. AP photos showing the flag burning — including images of masked protesters touching off the blaze, a woman urging protesters not to burn it, and another of an officer stomping out the fire — drew attention on social networking sites. At least three officers and one protester were injured. Police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Thomason said there were more than 400 arrests on charges ranging from failure to disperse to vandalism. On Sunday, Oakland officials vowed to be ready if Occupy protesters try to mount another large-scale demonstration. Protesters, meanwhile, decried Saturday’s police tactics as illegal and threatened to sue. Mayor Jean Quan personally inspected damage caused by dozens of people who allegedly broke into City Hall, which reopened Monday. She said she wants a court order to keep Occupy protesters who have been arrested several times out of Oakland, which has been hit
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Daily Lobo volume 116
issue 89
AP Photo An Occupy Oakland protester is arrested by Oakland police during an anti-police protest, Saturday, in Oakland. Police said they arrested about 400 people as protesters spent a portion of the day trying to get into a vacant convention center. The protesters allegedly later broke into City Hall and tried to occupy a YMCA. repeatedly by demonstrations that have cost the financially troubled city about $5 million. Quan also called on the loosely organized movement to “stop using Oakland as its playground.” “People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior,” she said. Saturday’s protests — the most convulsive since Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment in November — came just days after the announcement of a new round of actions. The group said it planned to use a vacant building as a social center and political hub and threatened to try to shut down the Port of Oakland for a third time, occupy the airport and take over City Hall. After the mass arrests, the Occupy Oakland Media Committee
“People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior” ~Jean Quan mayor of Oakland criticized the police’s conduct, saying that most of the arrests were made illegally because police failed to allow protesters to disperse. It threatened legal action. “Contrary to their own policy, the OPD gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These
arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class action lawsuit against the OPD,” a release from the group said. Deputy Police Chief Jeff Israel told reporters late Saturday that protesters gathered unlawfully and police gave them multiple verbal warnings to disband. Earlier this month, a courtappointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included “serious concerns” about the department’s handling of the Occupy protests. Police officials say they were in “close contact” with the federal monitor during the protests. The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately. Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the
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cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities. Caitlin Manning, an Occupy Oakland member, believes that Saturday’s protest caught the world’s attention. “The Occupy movement is back on the map,” Manning said Sunday. “We think those who have been involved in movements elsewhere should be heartened.” In Oakland, social activism and civic unrest have long marked this rough-edged city of nearly 400,000 across the bay from San Francisco. Beset by poverty, crime and a decades-long tense relationship between the police and the
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