NM Daily Lobo 102610

Page 1

DAILY LOBO new mexico

Erroneous zones? see page 3

tuesday

October 26, 2010

The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895

Event offers helping hand to homeless veterans by Sofia Sanchez sanchez@unm.edu

Justin Evans / Daily Lobo Homeless veterans set down their bags and blankets before getting aid from the Veterans Integration Center event “Stand Down and Project Hand Up” on Monday. The event offered assistance to more than 400 veterans.

The UNM Veterans Resource Center hosted the Stand Down and Project Hand-Up 2010 to assist homeless veterans. The project helped more than 400 homeless veterans with VA claims, counseling, food, health, showers, free haircuts and provided a warm breakfast and dinner, VRC Director Elise Wheeler said. “We can offer a hand to those who have raised their right hand,” she said. The VRC, located in Mesa Vista Hall, teaches student veterans how to get benefits and transition from active duty to student life. The transition is tough, she said. “It’s like someone dropped all your stuff in the Grand Canyon, told you to go down to the bottom and get it, climb out the other side and figure out what you’re going to do,” Wheeler said. Student Maria Veronica Yzeta, an eight-year U.S. Army veteran, said the military is structured and disciplined, so coming to a university environment can be challenging. “We are taught not to think in the military. Here you decide what you want to do, when you want to do it,” Yzeta said. According to the VRC, veterans have about a 26 percent college graduation rate, but the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill could change that.

see Veterans page 2

Gerald’s lawyer: Trial ‘inevitable’ UNM awaits ‘OK’ to by Isaac Avilucea

managingeditor@dailylobo.com

If its latest legal maneuver is any indication, UNM would rather endure potential costly court proceedings than enter into settlement discussions with former wide receivers coach J.B. Gerald. Citing qualified immunity, University Counsel motioned Aug. 25 to dismiss Gerald’s three-count complaint. Gerald claims he was punched and choked during a September 2009 physical altercation with head football coach Mike Locksley, but the University says in its dismissal motion that Gerald’s legal team has failed to “nudge their claims across the line from conceivable to plausible.” A hearing on the motion is schedule for Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. at the U.S. District Court in New Mexico. The complaint, filed July 30 and amended Sept. 16 to include Athletics Director Paul Krebs as a defendant, contends that Gerald was assaulted and discriminated and retaliated against, all charges the University denies. The original complaint named UNM, the Board of Regents and Locksley as defendents. University spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said Monday that the case is in litigation, and the motion “speaks for itself.” McKinsey couldn’t say whether the University would settle with Gerald if the motion is struck down in court. Dennis Montoya, Gerald’s attorney,

Inside the

said in a phone interview Monday that parts of the complaint could be thrown at the motion hearing. “I think if the University’s defense attorneys are doing what defense attorneys always do in civil cases — that is to try everything they can think of to get the case thrown out,” he said. “That’s kind of the standard thing to do for the defense.” In court documents obtained by the Daily Lobo, the University said that New Mexico tort laws protect public employees from liability against assault and battery claims and that Gerald relies on “threadbare recitals and conclusory evidence” to support his discrimination claim. In a response filed Sept. 8, Montoya said the Tort Claim Act only protects public employees who are acting within the “scope of his duties,” and in allegedly assaulting Gerald, Locksley acted outside of the scope of his duties and therefore isn’t afforded governmental immunity. Montoya said previously that UNM downplayed Gerald’s allegations because of racial factors. “When an African-American is in a career that he or she likes in athletics, (there’s the attitude) that ‘Boys will be boys,’ and they should not rock the boat if they are treated in a completely unacceptable manner,” he said. The dismissal notice says, “The notion that the situation at issue involved any racial component at all is highly implausible given the person complaining and the subject of the complaint are both African-American.”

Puzzled

Daily Lobo volume 115

issue 45

See page 7

Because of the motion, Montoya said, no depositions have been taken in preparation for a future trial. “It freezes all discovery,” Montoya said. This legal episode reflects just the latest back-and-forth between Gerald

and the University. Over the course, Gerald has been steadfast that Locksley punched and choked him during a coaches meeting, but a Human Resources investigation

see Trial page 3

PHOTO REEFER

sell booze by Barron Jones

bjones36@yahoo.com

Junfu Han / Daily Lobo Visit DailyLobo.com for the fourth, and perhaps most personal, episode of the “A Simple Question for You” project. This edition was filmed at Old Town Plaza.

Too many pieces See page 4

UNM is inching closer to receiving an exempt waiver that would allow it to sell alcohol at The Pit, University Stadium and the SUB. The New Mexico Alcohol and Gaming Division recently denied UNM’s request for a liquor license because UNM representatives failed to produce the proper identification waiver. The waiver allows the University to circumvent a state law that limits alcohol sales within 300 feet of a school or church. Albuquerque City Council President Ken Sanchez said UNM’s liquor license applications raise questions regarding discrimination and public safety because alcohol would only be sold in restricted areas. “Why should other people be discriminated against because they can’t afford to purchase a

see Booze page 2

TODAY

62 | 48


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.