DAILY LOBO new mexico
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September 19, 2011
monday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Beers before tears: football tailgaters party hard by Luke Holmen holmen@unm.edu
While winning hasn’t been a consistent part of the UNM football season, tailgating has. Students packed parking lots this Saturday to tailgate prior to the Texas Tech home game. Some brought trucks, some brought barbecue grills, and still others brought body paint, but nearly everyone brought what student Joseph Vigil said is a tailgating necessity: alcohol.
“We are trying to get more people to stay, but the fact that people are leaving probably has to do with the lack of success of the team.” ~Lt. Robert Haarhues UNMPD spokesman “Of course you have to have beer,” he said. “It’s like, yeah, we come to get pumped for the game and we come to eat a burger and stuff, but really it’s about having a few drinks and trying to talk to girls.” UNMPD spokesman Lt. Robert Haarhues said tailgating presents occasional security issues, but most fans are responsible. “There are little skirmishes,” he said. “People aren’t parked right, arguments — we have had fist fights in the past just like any event. Sometimes one team is heckling the other team, but most people are good-natured.” He said UNMPD patrols the tailgating area every game, but does not often cite students for underage drinking.
Dylan Smith / Daily Lobo UNM students partake in pregame tailgating outside of the University Football Stadium on Saturday. According to University policy, it is legal to drink at south campus if a person is over 21. The Lobos lost 59-13 to the Red Raiders. “It’s not a huge problem that we have run into,” he said. “Everyone is supposed to have a ticket to get into the lot. We are going to do the same thing we have been doing for countless years, there will be a heavy police presence in both lots.” Haarhues said UNMPD’s biggest problem is intoxicated tailgaters leaving the parking lot without attending the game. “More people end up leaving than going inside to watch the game, and that can be a problem
with driving,” he said. “We are trying to get more people to stay, but the fact that people are leaving probably has to do with the lack of success of the team. If they were better, maybe more people would watch.” Haarhues said UNMPD respects the idea that the tradition of tailgating can be exciting and valuable to UNM. “Tailgating adds to the overall experience of college football. It’s a lot of fun as long as people are responsible,” he said.
A recent study by the University of Minnesota found about 40 percent of fans leaving baseball and football games consumed alcohol, and about 8 percent were above the legal limit. The study, published in January of this year, conducted voluntary breathalyzer tests of 362 adults at 13 baseball games and three football games. UNM policy prohibits consuming alcohol on campus except in special situations, and under section 2.5, 2140 of the University
Business Policies and Procedures Manual, tailgating is one situation in which alcohol is allowed. “Individuals of legal age (21 and older) who have tickets to UNM sanctioned athletic events may consume alcoholic beverages in privately leased or rented suites or at tailgate parties at the University south campus before the game, in accordance with University Athletic Department rules and regulations,” the handbook says.
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Protesters demand culpability for APD shootings by Michael Howland-Davis mnhdavis@unm.edu
Juan Lebreche / Daily Lobo Albuquerque City Councilman Rey Garduño, of District 6 spoke on the topic of police brutality yesterday during a rally put on by ANSWER NM at the Main Library downtown. The talks were held to increase community awareness regarding police brutality in Albuquerque.
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More than 60 people braved the rain Saturday to speak out against allegedly brutal police practices that have led to an abnormally high number of police shootings in Albuquerque. Albuquerque police officers have gunned down one person a month for 20 months — 14 of those shootings have been fatal. APD has defended the shootings in the past, but neither they nor Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry’s office were available for comments as of Sunday afternoon. “My son, Alan Gomez, was a union construction worker, a homeowner, he practiced mixed martial arts and was shot in the back by Albuquerque police officers,” Mike Gomez told activists
at the protests and speak-in at Albuquerque’s Main Library. “I’m here to speak out against the complete corruption in the Albuquerque Police Department. I’m no politician, just a guy whose son was killed.” According to news reports and information provided by the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Center Task Force on Social Justice for Public Safety, Alan Gomez was killed by APD Officer Sean Wallace on May 10 while walking into his brother’s home. He was carrying a plastic spoon. According to news reports, Gomez had taken his brother and his brother’s girlfriend hostage. A subsequent search of the home turned up a .22 caliber rifle. According to news reports, Gomez is Wallace’s third shooting and second fatality in four years. Wallace has also
been accused of milking the state of thousands of dollars while working for the state police. “This isn’t just about a call for justice for the 14 people killed by APD,” said Joel Gallegos, coordinator of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition of New Mexico. “This is about demanding justice for everyone. We are fighting against a system that shoots people, Tasers people and verbally abuses them. We are here to demand our rights for justice.” Gallegos and Gomez were joined by Rey Garduño, the district six city councilor, who said he plans to propose a new resolution at a City Council meeting tonight asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the 20 shootings and the culture and practices of APD. According to news reports, Mayor Berry vetoed a City Council
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resolution last month asking for a Department Of Justice investigation; the City Council failed to override the veto at the Sept. 7 council meeting. “Last month the mayor vetoed the resolution passed by the City Council,” Garduño told the crowd on Saturday. “This is cowardice.” Garduño said in an interview that an external investigation is vital in order to bring systemic issues to light. “The community needs to feel they have been listened to and respected,” he said. “The confidence of the community has been lost. No one is saying we have a rotten police department, but rotten procedures and the actions of a few have tainted the department, and we need to bring this whole thing out into the air and remove the taint from the Albuquerque Police Department.”
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