DAILY LOBO new mexico
Dancing diversity see page 13
August 23, 2011
MIP claims were exaggerated by Chelsea Erven
news@dailylobo.com Rumors of dozens of Minor in Possession charges handed out at Lobo Village swirled across the apartment complex last week, but UNM Police Department said no MIPs were given. UNMPD Operations Commander Christine Chester said UNMPD had responded to six calls at Lobo Village since Aug. 13. “The final [call] was a loud party call that involved minors in possession, but no citations were
issued or arrests made,” she said. Two security guards at Lobo Village said they don’t have the authority to issue MIPs. “If we see anyone drinking outside, it’s public intoxication, so we can take them inside or take the drinks away,” said Justin Rider of JLS Security. Rider said if a situation gets out of hand they can call for police backup, but they were instructed to call UNMPD rather than the Albuquerque Police Department. A spokesman for APD said UNMPD declined an APD offer to
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THE FLIP SIDE
help patrol the area. Lobo Village resident Robbie Medeiros said he saw police in the apartment complex Friday night. “We saw, like, a posse walking around of cops and RAs,” he said. Two of the six UNMPD calls to Lobo Village were traffic accidents and one regarded stolen money. Another call was a domestic violence situation in which an arrest was made, Chester said. Chester said UNMPD has also responded to on-campus calls since the dorms opened.
MatLab free, without piracy by Miriam Belin
mbelin08@unm.edu
For this month only, MatLab is free for students and faculty. The software will allow easier access to computing, math and science calculations, said Vanessa Baca, an IT spokeswoman. “Having MatLab provides an interactive link between math and science, students and faculty, allowing students to do computations and interact with programming languages like Fortran and C++,” she said. A combination of student fees, the Office of the Provost and Vice President of Research, IT and several academic departments funds UNM’s site license for the MatLab software Previously, students had to buy the software in CD format from the UNM bookstore for $99. Engineering, economics and
business students primarily use MatLab, but Baca said the UNM School of Medicine and researchers across campus use the software, too. Gregory Heileman, chairman of the Electrical Computer Engineering Department, said using MatLab makes solving math problems faster. “MatLab is one of the most important engineering analysis tools,” he said. “It’s a very powerful engine that allows you to solve math problems that would be very time-consuming to solve by hand.” The software was invented by Cleve Moler, a former math professor at UNM. Baca said a 2010 survey conducted by the IT Department asked students what software they wanted to have more readily available. “MatLab was one of the most highly requested and prioritized software applications identified in the student survey,” Baca said.
George Kelbley, a systems specialist in the computer science department, said easy access to MatLab will benefit students, faculty and UNM departments. “Having it be available more easily than it’s been in the past is going to be pretty nice,” he said. “I think a lot of departments were buying it individually and it makes a lot more sense for the University to buy it as a whole.”
To get
MatLab go to:
it.unm.edu /download/
Cashless meters spur change by Victoria Cardenas and Luke Holmen news@dailylobo.com
Juan Soche / Daily Lobo UNM Parking and Transportation replaced all coin -operated meters with credit card stations for the fall semester. The meters are a $1.75 per hour, and only hour-long increments can be purchased.
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 116
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Dylan Smith / Daily Lobo UNM Alumnus Camilo Brokaw practices his parkour maneuvers on the south side of the art building Monday afternoon. Brokaw is one of the many groups of parkour runners who flip and vault on campus.
Parking and Transportation Services has converted all of UNM’s paid parking to a cashless, cardbased pay system, but not everyone is excited about the change. Student Micayla Botwin said her main concern was cost. “We should make it easier for students to get on campus for little to no cost,” she said. “We are coming here to learn and we are already paying. It should be easier and less expensive to get on campus. I don’t mind paying with a credit card — that seems a lot faster — but I mind that the minimum is $1.75.” Danielle Gilliam, PATS Program Specialist, said the payment method will hasten the parking experience. “Now customers can get in and get out of Cornell [structure] with ease and save time,” she said. “Customers have reacted favorably to this improvement in service.” The machines print out tickets for display within vehicles. Customers pay electronically at $1.75 an hour. UNM Parking and Transportation’s newest project,
Record progress
What else are you gonna do?
See page 2
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Park Mobile, will allow students and staff to pay for hourly parking via their mobile phones. Students can add minutes to their parking spots if they are running late without having to return to their cars Gilliam said. “Whether you are using the app for Android, iPhone or Blackberry, or calling, this is something we are excited about,” Gilliam said.
“It seems more convenient than counting out quarters and dimes,” ~Jackson Sabol UNM Student The service will cost 35 cents per transaction in addition to the hourly fee, or you can enroll in a monthly plan. Students can find more details on the UNM Parking and Transportation website. Students and parents parked at the credit card-operated pay stations for the Class Crawl on Aug. 21. Several parents and UNM students
used the pay stations, and student Jackson Sabol said he favored the new system over the old one. “It seems more convenient than counting out quarters and dimes,” Sabol said. “I don’t mind switching to everything being electronic.” Parent Margaret Palmer said the stations were not as convenient as coin-operated machines for short visits. “What if you just need to run in and drop something off?” she said. “You can’t leave the ticket for the next person, so it doesn’t make sense.” Associate director for PATS Robert Nelson said he isn’t sure how much additional money the organization is bringing in by not allowing customers to pay for increments of less than an hour. “I don’t have any idea [how much money that would generate].” Nelson said PATS is considering offering fractionated parking, but said it presents technical difficulties. “We would be open to offering half hour parking if there is a demonstrated need for that, but some of our machines are unable to offer that.”
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