DAILY LOBO new mexico
I’d eat it see page 4
wednesday August 29, 2012
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Coach kicks second Lobo off team
WHERE’S THE FIRE
Davie: Player was dishonest about arrest, been in trouble before
David Vega
by Thomas Romero Salas and Svetlana Ozden sports@dailylobo.com
Juan Labreche / Daily Lobo
Albuquerque Fire Station 3 firefighter Dale Knighton returns a serve from a fellow firefighter Tuesday evening. Knighton says firefighters from Station 3, located on campus on Girard, frequent Johnson Field and the volleyball courts on campus a couple of times per week to exercise. “We come with the trucks (to campus) and park them there so we can be available to respond to calls.” Shortly after this photo was taken, Knighton said they had to rush off to respond to a call at a retirement home on Indian School and University.
Partnership aims to cut drop-out rate by Sydney Tellez and Svetlana Ozden news@dailylobo.com
In an effort to improve high school graduation rates, a new program at UNM will help prepare high school students for college a year before they graduate high school. A partnership between UNM, NMSU and Rosemont Leadership Institute, a nonprofit organization funded by real estate and investment company Rosemont Realty, will allow New Mexico high school seniors to improve critical thinking and leadership skills before they attend the University. In May, former UNM President David Schmidly and NMSU President Barbara Cou ture signed a memo ran dum that outlines a partnership with the Rosemont Leadership Insti tute. Rosemont Realty CEO Dan Burrel said the goals of the organization include decreasing the high school dropout rate, increasing college graduation rates and producing alumni who are more confident and career-oriented. According to Albuquerque Public Schools, only 63 percent of high school
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Daily Lobo volume 117
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students graduate high school in four years. According to the UNM Enrollment Management Division, only 45 percent of students graduate from UNM in six years. Burrel said the partnership is a longterm investment with the community that will help New Mexico thrive economically and that improving high school graduation rates should be the first strategic goal of New Mex ico during the next decade. “With one-third of the state’s high school students dropping out, New Mexico is strug gling to realize its full economic potential,” Burrel said. “That is why I am launch ing Rosemont Leadership Insti tute.” Representatives from Rosemont Realty said students participating in the program, called fellows, will take part in leadership training sessions at both UNM and NMSU throughout their senior year of high school. Participants who successfully complete the program will be awarded a $25,000 scholarship to UNM or NMSU that will be distributed over the course of four years. A joint committee composed of UNM
officials and Rosemont Realty staff will select 30 high school students to participate in the program next year. Representatives said that in order to maintain the scholarship, students must maintain a 3.0 GPA, take at least one leadership course per year, belong to a stu dent organization on campus, par ticipate in a program to shadow a leader and mentor high school stu dents who are follow ing them in the pro gram. Anderson School of Management Dean Doug Brown said that Rosemont Realty provided both universities with a $750,000 scholarship commitment. He said the scholarship funding will not be the only benefit of UNM’s partnership with the company. “This is a wonderful opportunity I took a particular interest in because it’s an opportunity for internships and permanent employment with the company (Rosemont Realty), which has become a substantial force in the local economy,” Brown said. “We want to make sure we provide excellent communication and support for the program. We have an active interest.”
A whole brook
It’s more than talent
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Less than a week before the first Lobo football game, a second football player was arrested and suspended from the team this week. Lobo football player David Vega was arrested after an incident in which police were called to the scene early Sunday morning. The Daily Lobo was unable to obtain a copy of the criminal complaint by Tuesday evening. On Monday Lobo football player Devonta Tabannah was suspended after he was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Tabannah was arrested and charged with DWI, failure to obey a traffic control device and failure to provide registration, a driver’s license or proof of insurance. UNM football coach Bob Davie said he learned about Vega’s arrest Tuesday afternoon shortly after a team meeting. He said Greg Archuleta, the assistant director of communications for Athletics, called Davie to notify him about a report that Vega had been arrested over the weekend over a “minor in possession about how he (Vega) didn’t show his ID.” Davie said he immediately went to the quarterback meeting to confront Vega about his arrest and suspended him from the football team until further notice. “I asked him if was true … and he started stuttering a little bit,” he said. “I said ‘you’re gone.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry, but based on your past performance and based on the fact that it happened on Saturday night and you didn’t come forward to see me, you’re gone. Go pick up your stuff out of your locker.’” Davie said the loss of another football player is unfortunate, most importantly because Vega does not have a football scholarship. “His family made a pretty good sacrifice to get him here and he made a sacrifice to get here,” he said. But when asked how much Vega’s suspension would affect the team, Davie said “zero.” Davie said Vega’s suspension might have been avoided had Vega been honest about his arrest and if he hadn’t already been suspended only two weeks prior. On Aug. 11, Vega and defensive backs Zoey Williams and Tim Foley were suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules. The players were immediately sent home from football camp in Ruidoso, and Vega and Foley were reinstated on Aug. 20, the first day of classes. “To be quite honest, if it wouldn’t have been for his former actions and the fact that I don’t trust him very much right now, I don’t know if I would have suspended him immediately based on the facts he told me, but it’s too late for that now for him,” Davie said. “He doesn’t have to convince me because I’m not listening. All that matters to me is that he had a previous incident with me and he didn’t tell me when it happened.” But Davie said Vega’s suspension may not be permanent and depends whether Vega is found innocent. “I’m certainly going to give him the chance to prove his innocence, but he won’t be on this football team until he does,” he said. “The moment I heard it, he was gone. His pads were pulled and his locker was cleared out without the chance of even asking.”
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