Daily Lobo new mexico
I can see clearly now see page 2
April 27, 2012
a new season, a new hope
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ASUNM group holds more events with less money by Svetlana Ozden sozden@unm.edu
Adria Malcolm/ Daily Lobo The Lobo football team congregates after practicing tackles Wednesday. Spring practices are over. See full story on page 8.
This year ASUNM Student Special Events put on more events with less money compared to 20112012 school year. SSE received $108,000 for FY 2011, according to the ASUNM funding request reports. SSE received about $105,000 for FY 2012 and for FY 2013 SSE will receive $101,000. SSE Executive Director Vanessa Atler said SSE was able to host 108 events this year compared to 95 2011-2012 school year. She said the focus was adding new events and catering to as many student special interests as possible. “This year we wanted to think outside the box, and I noticed that we’ve never had any sort of sport-related event, so we decided to host a visit from NFL player Demaryius Thomas (earlier this semester),” she said. “We had to find someone that the students would want to see but that we could still afford.” SSE Speakers Director Amir Chapel said Thomas’ visit cost about $5,500, which included a $4,800 speaking fee and advertisement and security
see ASUNM page 3
Photographer sacrifices money, safety to capture war by Svetlana Ozden sozden@unm.edu
Freelance combat photographer Jim Spiri wasn’t satisfied with the mainstream media’s coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, so he traveled to the Middle East to capture his own war images. Spiri will share his experiences with war photography today in his lecture, “The War Zones,” in Woodward Hall. Spiri said the mainstream media’s war coverage presents a filtered version of the truth. “People haven’t seen what I’ve seen and they’re forced to believe what they see on TV,” he said. “I want to explain how a nobody from New Mexico can go rub shoulders with the Katie Courics of the world.” Spiri said exposing the realities of war is difficult because he has to get permission to publish his photos, which comes from the public affairs office of the region he is in. He said the process is lengthy and his photographs have to be approved before they can be shared with the public. While on assignment, Spiri dealt with the realities of war head on. He was held at gunpoint in Afghanistan after he took a photo of a woman and had rocks thrown at him as he walked through open markets. “The reality of it is that usual-
ly when I entered a home, I was surrounded by soldiers and we went in on our own,” he said. “We were never invited.” Spiri said his passion for combat photography began when he was a child. He said he wanted to learn how the Vietnam War was photographed. “I figured out how to do it the wrong way and the right way in the past 30 years, and I want to share that with whoever is willing to listen,” he said. “The military system doesn’t cater to freelance photographers and there’s very little room for an unknown person to do it unless you’re willing to do it for free.” Spiri returned from Afghanistan, where he went for his last combat photography excursion, on April 5. He said he found soldiers he worked with in Iraq in 2010 and photographed them again in Afghanistan. Spiri said it is difficult to gain the respect or trust of military personnel. He said soldiers are often wary of photographers’ intentions and how a their actions can influence a soldier’s safety. “I think the soldiers trusted me more once soldiers saw me stand right next to them under fire and realized that I’ve had about 25 years of experience,” he said. “They saw me as more of a historian rather than a journalist.”
see Photographer page 3 Jim Spiri
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