DAILY LOBO new mexico
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monday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
October 5, 2009
GPSA won’t back firing Locksley
Jumping to a Greek occasion
by Sean Gardner Daily Lobo
Gary Alderete / Daily Lobo Members of the dance group Kefi perform Sunday at the Grecian Festival at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church. The annual event takes place over the first weekend in October.
The GPSA wants to give head football coach Mike Locksley a second chance. The Graduate and Professional Students Association passed a resolution Saturday urging the University not to terminate the coach, who is under fire after he had an altercation with assistant coach Jonathan “J.B.” Gerald Sept. 20. The GPSA passed the resolution with 13 in favor, none opposed and two abstentions. The graduate student government recommends Locksley go to anger management, engage in mediation with Gerald and attend peer mentoring-group meetings. “The GPSA feels strongly that coach Locksley’s violent behavior should not be condoned,” according to the resolution. Locksley said on Sunday that he wasn’t aware the GPSA had passed the resolution. However, the coach said he would take whatever measures are necessary to clear his name, even if it means accepting further sanctions after the investigation by the University’s Human Resources department.
“I’m willing to do whatever Human Resources dictates I do,” he said. “I’m willing to do anything to mend a relationship with a friend. As far as what their outlines are, I don’t know much about the resolution. Just as a person, I’ll do anything that I need to do to improve as a head coach.” GPSA President Lissa Knudsen said several groups asked for the graduate student government’s opinion on the issue. “I got a couple of calls from a couple different departments that were not council reps,” she said. “All expressed interest in finding out how graduate and professional students felt about this issue. They felt like we should take some kind of stance on this.” GPSA member Michelle Touson said at the meeting that Locksley staying on at the University would teach his players to adapt to challenges. “I would like to see coach Locksley stay around simply because the best example he can show his young men is that you can rebound from mistakes,” Touson said. Before the GPSA passed the resolution, members discussed whether they should speak out on the incident.
see GPSA page 5
Hokona Hall resident: Fire alarms took 20 minutes to sound by Andrew Beale Daily Lobo
When a dryer in the Hokona Hall laundry room caught fire last week, the smoke alarms either went off immediately or a half hour late, depending on whom you ask. “I could smell the smoke in my room about 20 minutes before the fire alarm went off, and I live on the third floor,” said student Axie Papp. Bobby Childers, Residence Life and Student Housing public affairs representative, said the alarms functioned exactly as they were supposed
to. He said it wasn’t possible that it took the alarms a half hour to go off. “No, that’s completely inaccurate,” he said. “All our alarms and evacuation were handled excellently.” Papp said she first thought someone had burned food in the kitchen, but she became suspicious when the smell got stronger. “When I started to smell smoke I figured someone was baking in the study and had forgotten to turn the oven off or take their food out,” she said. “When the smell got stronger I proceeded to check around my room: That is how strong the smell was.”
Papp said she could see large amounts of smoke flooding out of the building before she heard the alarms. “When the smell got even stronger I looked out the window and saw clouds of smoke coming from the basement and people evacuating the building,” she said. “About three to five minutes later the alarm went off.” The fire filled all three floors of the building with smoke, and all residents were evacuated for several hours on Sept. 25. Papp said the evacuation should have been handled better. “When people start evacuating
the building before the fire alarm has gone off, there is something wrong,” she said. “Obviously, this is just my opinion and I actually have no idea what the state of the fire alarms were, but if three floors fill with smoke before the fire alarms sound, there is an issue.” Childers said the alarms functioned as they were supposed to and firefighters commended the Residence Life and Student Housing staff on their safety measures. Some residents of Hokona Hall said the fire caused other problems as well.
Student Stephanie Hunter said some of her property was damaged by the smoke that filled the building. Hunter said the University outlined a procedure for her to get reimbursed, but it was confusing. “First, they told me I was not going to get reimbursed, but then they told me later to keep all my receipts,” she said. Childers said students have to file claims for property damaged, and they should keep the receipts for everything they bought so they can
see Alarms page 5
Tsunami hits UNM grad’s town by Abigail Ramirez Daily Lobo
Andrew Ah Young, who graduated from UNM in May, said his family felt the earthquake that hit his hometown in American Samoa before the tsunami waves washed everything away last week. Tsunami waves poured over American Samoa on Sept. 29 after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck the small cluster of South Pacific islands. Young said he started to panic as he learned there were casualties. “It wasn’t until I noticed that people had gone missing and some dead that I began to break down,” he said in an e-mail. “I felt powerless, helpless, scared, angry, sad and very lonely. My whole family is in Samoa. I have no
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Daily Lobo volume 114
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one else.” Young said the tsunami wreaked havoc on coastal villages, such as Fagasa and Faleniu. Young’s family lives in Fagasa. Many of his family members were left homeless and some are living with his parents in Faleniu, he said. “Because the earthquake was so strong, it shook homes,” he said. “No one was safe, not even people living inward of Samoa. My mom says there are cracks in our house — things fell apart during the earthquake.” Young’s aunt knew a tsunami was on its way to the island because the tide had receded about half a mile and she could see the entire ocean floor. She told the family to get to higher ground. “They drove to higher elevation and in a few minutes huge waves
“I felt powerless, helpless, scared, angry, sad and very lonely. My whole family is in Samoa. I have no one else.” ~Andrew Ah Young came crashing down on their houses,” Young said. “They watched as the whole village was wiped away.” Young graduated from UNM in May with a bachelor of science
see Young page 5
Courtesy of Philip Murphy A building in a Catholic church complex in American Samoa was torn in half Sept. 29 by tsunami waves that hit the South Pacific islands following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake.
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Slamming it home
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