DAILY LOBO new mexico
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The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
October 21, 2009
Structure springs up to solve crucial parking problems by Pat Lohmann and Tricia Remark Daily Lobo
The empty space at Lomas and Yale boulevards is going from a lot of dirt to a lot of concrete. UNM began construction Monday to convert the Bureau of Business and Economic Research parking lot, or J lot, to a parking structure for 800 vehicles. The structure is set to be completed by fall 2010.
Those who have J and C lot passes will park in T or G lot during the construction, according to UNM Today. A statement written by a group of UNM Parking and Transportation Services representatives said the structure may create more traffic in the surrounding area, but only temporarily. “Utilizing traffic engineering studies, the structure was designed to be as functionally unobtrusive as
possible while mitigating the overall amount of traffic congestion,” according to the statement. “On opening, it may take a short while for people to get used to the new traffic patterns created by the structure, but we think this will just be a shortterm concern.” The structure will cost roughly $17 million to build, and the hourly fee is projected to be $1.75. Spruce Park Neighborhood Association President Valerie St. John
said she is concerned about increased traffic on Lomas Boulevard. She said UNM should consider different forms of parking and transportation, instead of building a parking structure that will bring more vehicles to the main campus area. “I think UNM needs to encourage other forms of transportation,” St. John said. “If you really study development of other large universities, there is a better system. It’s not
necessary to park right there on campus within walking distance. When I went to college, I had to park in a facility and take a shuttle bus in, but that was fine.” PATS representatives said the new structure does not aim to discourage alternative transportation, but is a solution to immediate problems. “The new parking structure is principally a solution to a specific,
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Films show children’s battles in
The final touch with fire
guerilla war by Ryan Tomari Daily Lobo
Gabbi Campos/ Daily Lobo Senior Marshall Hastings welds “Speedy the Violin,” an art project for the advanced sculpture class Tuesday in the Art Building. Hastings hastily adds finishing touches to the welded sheets of metal to complete his piece before class ends for the day.
First official class ring now available to students by Candace Hsu Daily Lobo
The UNM class ring is available after five years of careful design. The ring is available from Jostens, a nationwide college ring manufacturer, for $511 to $630, depending on the type of metal used and ring size. The same company makes Eastern New Mexico University’s ring for $408 and New Mexico Tech’s ring for $388 to $494. Debbie Morris, director of
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 114
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student activities, said the University ring has Hodgin Hall on one side and a Lobo on the other. “The rings are easy to identify as UNM,” she said. “Hodgin Hall was the original University, which shows some great importance. The rings can also be individualized with engravings inside the ring.” Only students who have earned 60 credit hours or more can get the ring. Karen Abraham, associate vice president of alumni relations, said she had the idea for the ring.
University ring Jostens.com
“The Alumni Association is very enthusiastic about the ring,” she said. “It has been a long
process. We gained input from students and alumni about what they wanted. Now that the ring is being launched, I am very pleased and excited to bring in this new tradition to build on.” The concept was taken over by student regent Cate Wisdom, who was Lobo Spirit Director at the time. “As director, I was in charge of
Where are we?
Spicing up the MLB
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The worldwide non-profit organization Invisible Children has reached the UNM campus. In early 2003, three young filmmakers from southern California embarked on a journey to Africa in search of a story they could share with the world. When Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole reached Uganda, they learned of an epic tragedy that shocked them and motivated them to make several documentaries displaying the hardships faced by Ugandans. The documentaries expose the plight of northern Ugandan child soldiers in the hands of Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army since 1989. The documentaries had a powerful and inspiring impact on two UNM students, Carol Payne and Kristin Sandine, who created Invisible Children UNM this semester. The Invisible Children UNM group had a free viewing of two of the documentary films, “The Rescue of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers” and “Together We Are,” on Monday in the SUB Movie Theater. Payne, vice president of Invisible Children UNM, said the organization aims at grassroots activism to fix a problem thousands of miles away. “We’re here to spread the word and to tell people that we care,” Payne said. “This non-profit organization has inspired me way more than any other program. It’s just because it’s real people doing real things. It’s also people doing things that you can see and feel.” The LRA is a guerrilla army that’s been abducting boys from Uganda, southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the documentaries. The children are forced to fight the Ugandan
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