DAILY LOBO new mexico
Reality check
monday
see back page
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
September 28, 2009
NMSU handles drive-by, bomb threat in one week by Kallie Red-Horse Daily Lobo
“There was a layer of soot over everything...” ~Stephanie Hunter Zach Gould / Daily Lobo Firefighters carry their gear out of Hokona Hall after putting out a fire in the dorm’s basement laundry room Friday morning. Residents and staff evacuated, and no one was injured.
Dryer fire smokes out students by Pat Lohmann Daily Lobo
A small fire broke out in the basement laundry room of Hokona Hall late Friday morning, damaging at least one dryer and causing smoke to circulate throughout the building. Dorm residents and staff evacuated the building, and no one was injured, said Kerry Horton, Albuquerque Fire Department battalion commander. “It looks like (the dryer) probably just overheated,” he said. “The fire was confined to the dryer. It looks like a big smoke event, because the ventilation system took it everywhere.” Residents were not allowed back into the dorm until 2 p.m. because of the danger of smoke inhalation. All of the residents and staff members in the building were evacuated at the time of the fire, Horton said. “Personnel and property representatives were good about getting everybody evacuated and stuff like that,” he said. “That’s a big help for us.” Teresa Ortiz, a Residence Life coordinator, said Hokona Hall had a fire drill on Wednesday, which helped everyone exit the building safely. “We do train our staff the very best we can every year, and they followed the procedure like we wanted them to,” she said. “I’m glad it was during the day when a lot of kids were already in class, so it helped not being in the middle of the night.” Freshman Jocelyn Rowse had just stepped out of the building when the fire started. Her clothes were still in the washer.
see Hokona fire page 3
On top of preparing for the Rio Grande rivalry this weekend, the NMSU community had to deal with a bomb threat and a drive-by shooting. The drive-by shooting on Monday started near the Doña Ana branch of NMSU and moved on campus. No one was injured, and one man is in custody for the shooting, said NMSU Police Department Deputy Chief Steven Lopez. Tuesday, the NMSU Police Department got a call at 8:30 a.m. from a student reporting a suspicious device. Whoever left the suspicious item attached a piece of paper that said “this is a bomb” to the cylindrical bottom of a bicycle U-lock. The supposed bomb was spotted in a planter in the main plaza on campus. Police inspected it and said it wasn’t dangerous. Lopez said his squad effectively handled the bomb threat through the university’s emergency textmessage system. “As we dispatched our officers, we also put out a warning to people in the area,” Lopez said. “When the officers got on scene, they were able determine safe distances and isolate the area without having to cancel any classes or evacuate the building.” NMSU student Brittney Martinez
said the university handled the incident well and warned students of the potential danger. “They did a pretty good job,” she said. “Pretty much everyone that I talked to that day had heard about it.” UNM Police Department Commander James T. Daniels wouldn’t give specifics about UNM’s bomb threat policy but said the department is more than adequately prepared for any situation. “We work hand-in-hand with APD, state and Bernalillo police,” Daniels said. “We can request assistance from their trained squads in any situation.” Freshman Kevin Hudson said UNMPD should defer to a more highly trained and experienced police squad in bomb-threat situations, rather than handle the situation on its own. “I do not trust UNM police,” he said. “They just don’t seem competent to me.” Daniels said bomb-threat situations tend to arise during finals week, because students call them in to avoid taking exams. “People don’t study for their tests, so they panic and call in a bomb threat,” he said. Lopez said both of the NMSU incidents are still under investigation. “There is currently an investigation in regard to both disturbances, but there is no information that we can release to the public,” he said.
Football
Zach Gould / Daily Lobo Fire-damaged dryers sit in the laundry room of Hokona Hall. Smoke from the fire, which started Friday morning, entered the building’s ventilation system and circulated throughout the dorm.
GPSA set to open council meetings by Andrew Beale Daily Lobo
Key members of the GPSA voted Saturday to follow the New Mexico Open Meetings Act to the letter. The Graduate and Professional Student Association, meeting as a committee-of-the-whole, voted in support of a constitutional clause that would require members to follow all provisions of the state law
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 114
issue 26
that requires legislative bodies to open their meetings to the public. “In recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be public policy of this state that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them,” the act reads.
A committee-of-the-whole cannot make official changes to the GPSA constitution. However, most of the GPSA members who will be present at the Oct. 3 council meeting, where the changes can be made, were present at the committee-of-the-whole meeting on Saturday. The committee-of-the-whole
Junfu Han / Daily Lobo NMSU’s Tony Glynn comforts Lobo wide receiver Daryl Jones after the Lobos’ disheartening 20-17 loss Saturday. UNM has yet to win a game this season. See the back page for more coverage.
see Open meetings page 3
Opinion: Taking action?
Philippine flooding
See page 4
See page 3
Today’s weather
79° / 54°