DAILY LOBO new mexico
Student Spotlight see page 2
February 8, 2011
tuesday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Housing reps search for input Show’s casting call sets bar too high Torres: University not sure why attendance was low
Attendee Numbers for Housing Forums
by Elizabeth Cleary and Shaun Griswold
by Chelsea Erven cerven@unm.edu
Sign-in sheets show that fewer than 40 students attended Lobo Development Corporation’s openhousing forums held since March, prompting officials to try a different approach. The University created a housing blog that allows students to track housing updates, ask questions and communicate more effectively, since just 112 people attended the LDC’s 17 forums, according to documents obtained from the Office of the Custodian of Public Records. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, UNM Student Affairs vice president, said the blog will create an avenue for further dialogue. “It was created because of the many questions and misunderstandings on what our plans are for Student Housing …,” he said. Other than University officials, only one person attended a Sept. 9 meeting, three UNM community members were at an Aug. 8 meeting, and six students or community members showed up to a Sept. 2 forum. Twenty-one students, five community members and the UNM Parent Association president attended a Nov. 30 meeting, a few weeks after
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Santa Ana dorm residents became concerned they’d be kicked out of the dorm over winter break to allow the hall to be demolished. Several students attended more than one forum, and one sign-in sheet was incomplete. UNM Real Estate Director Kim Murphy didn’t return phone calls Monday. In an effort to get student input, Lobo Development administered online surveys to the student body using “Student Voice,” according to the company’s “strategic housing plan.” The survey was open for 16 days in
May 2009 and received 880 completed responses. To increase student participation, LDC gave away a Wii and iPods, and the 3.5 percent response ratio of the 25,000 person student body was considered an “ideal sample,” according to the housing plan. Lobo Development’s website also listed dates, times and locations for its forums, but at a November Board of Regents meeting, students expressed concerns about the company’s lack of communication over housing plans. Student Bethaney Fehrenkamp
see ACC page 3
“America’s Next Top Model” might have walked the catwalk at the SUB Atrium on Monday evening — if she was tall enough to reach the stage. More than 80 women auditioned for the hit reality series at the casting call hosted by Albuquerque’s local CW affiliate, but dozens of others who showed up were told they didn’t measure up. Before hopefuls could audition, they had to be at least as tall as the “model stick,” which meant they had to be at least 5 feet 7 inches. Emily Burshard, who auditioned at the casting call, said she was surprised there were so few contestants, but saw women turned away because they didn’t meet the height requirement. “They were disappointed, but if the judges are looking for a certain type and they don’t fit that type, then it’s understandable,” the 6-foot-2inch Burshard said. Looking at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s numbers, it’s no wonder New Mexico women don’t stack up. A little less than half of New Mexico’s population identify as Hispanic, according
THE RESTLESS’ UPRISING
to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the average Hispanic female is 5 feet, 2 inches, two inches shorter than the national average for females, according to the CDC. CW Creative Director Chris Iller said representatives wanted at least 100 audition tapes from the casting call to give producers. He said he was disappointed with Monday’s turnout, and he said more than 1,000 women auditioned in Albuquerque after the show’s producers dropped the height requirement for one season two years ago. “The producers said they will not accept anyone under 5-7 because that is the height requirement for the cycle that they are looking for,” he said. “Those are the girls that will make it to the show.” Channelle Barelas showed up at the SUB Atrium only to be told she was too short to for the show. Although she couldn’t audition, Barelas, an avid “America’s Next Top Model” fan, decided to stay and watch the women who were tall enough. “It hasn’t looked too promising,” she said. “I’ve only seen one girl who I think deserves to be on the show. They all just kind of blend in together, and all of them have been kind of scared. It’s like the whole fishbowl
see Models page 3
AP LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS
Solar energy commercial reaches Super Bowl viewers A New Mexico company is taking advantage of Super Bowl Sunday by unveiling a new television ad it hopes will shine a spotlight on solar energy. Sacred Power Corp. teamed up with a production company called halflife digital to create an ad that features human photons streaking from the sun toward a solar array mounted on an Albuquerque rooftop. The commercial then cuts to football fans watching the game on a television powered by solar energy. It finishes by flashing the company’s logo.
Manager: McDonald’s does not tolerate hate
Emilio Morenatti /AP Photo Egyptian anti-Mubarak protesters rest next to the tracks of a tank Sunday at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Egypt’s vice president met a broad representation of major opposition groups for the first time Sunday and agreed to allow freedom of the press and to release those detained since anti-government protests began.
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
issue 94
Toppling act
What a drag
See page 4
See page 5
FARMINGTON — The owner of a McDonald’s restaurant in Farmington says he was extremely disturbed by an incident last spring in which three former restaurant employees were accused of branding a swastika on a developmentally disabled Navajo man. John Bronson says he has “zero tolerance” for such behavior. An Albuquerque lawyer filed a civil lawsuit last week against McDonald’s and Bronson, saying the employees were hired in violation of corporate policies requiring a safe environment for customers. In a statement released by the McDonald’s regional marketing office, Bronson says the actions of the three Farmington-area men don’t reflect his values or the values of his organization.
TODAY
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