Daily Lobo new mexico
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Monday, November 20, 2023 | Vo l u m e 1 2 8 | I s s u e 1 5
No body-cam footage from UNMPD
By Lily Alexander
Lauren Lifke @ llilyalexander @lauren_lifke A 2020 New Mexico statute – which requires most law enforcement agencies to use and have policies on body-worn cameras – may exempt the University of New Mexico Police Department. The statute says officers who regularly interact with the public and are employed by law enforcement
agencies should wear body-worn cameras while on duty. It defines a “law enforcement agency” as “the police department of a municipality, the sheriff’s office of a county, the New Mexico state police or the department of public safety,” not explicitly including university police departments. UNMPD officers undergo training at the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Police Academy, according to UNMPD’s website. Jennifer Burrill – president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association – said that UNMPD should be required to comply with the 2020 statute because of the officers’ training. “What matters is if they’ve gone through the police academy, and if they’ve been certified. So if they’re certified police officers, then yes, they’re held by that,” Burrill said. UNMPD also regularly interacts with the public, Taylor Smith said – a civil rights attorney with Smith & Associates who often takes on cases against New Mexico police departments. “There is no doubt that UNM is
an open campus. The public is there everyday, if not more than some of the student body,” Smith wrote. However, New Mexico American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director, Peter Simonson, had a different interpretation of how the law applies to university police departments. Because this definition does not list university police departments, they are not necessarily required to follow the law, Simonson said. “We have not had conversations with the UNM Police Department, but I’m guessing that they’re well
aware of the loophole,” Simonson said. “It’s probably the reason why they have not taken the step of implementing body-worn cameras.” A public records request by the Daily Lobo to the University for UNMPD body-worn camera footage from Aug. 1 - Oct. 30, 2023 yielded no responsive documents. Another public records request by the Daily Lobo to the Bernalillo County district attorney also produced no body-worn camera footage from UNMPD.
see UNMPD page 3
Prospective United stadium brings mixed emotions
Another win for men’s basketball
By Jaymes Boe @DailyLobo
As New Mexico United continues its search for a permanent home to host games, surrounding businesses and homeowners look towards the incoming crowds and form their gameplan. Currently, the City hopes to lease seven acres of land at Balloon Fiesta Park where New Mexico United would be able to build their stadium. The stadium itself would be funded privately and the team would be required to put down $30 million for it to be built, according to the City’s website. Jeff Jinnett, owner of the brewery La Reforma, spoke about his excitement surrounding the
Ella Daniel/ @ella_daniel7
Guard Donovan Dent (2) dribbles down the court at The Pit against UT Arlington on Wednesday, Nov. 16 (see pg. 4)
possibility of a new stadium. “As a business person in the area, I think it would be great. I think it’ll be good for our business and bring in more traffic to this area,” Jinnett said. The prospect of increasing foot traffic could reach well into the thousands, as the average attendance rate for United games during the 2023 season was 9,619 people. Through the 2023 season, a total attendance of 163,518 was logged over 17 games – all data coming from Soccer Stadium Digest. Ira Crawley – the store manager of Piñon Coffee House located just south of Balloon Fiesta Park – said it would be great for business but that she still has concerns about the possible increase in foot traffic.
see United page 3
The Indigenous Nations Library Program offers education and community By Kelsa Mendoza @kelsar4in Located on the second floor of Zimmerman Library, the Indigenous Nations Library Program is a service point for the University of New Mexico community that empowers Indigenous students. The space provides a safe learning environment, culturally relevant information services, Indigenous scholarship opportunities and social gatherings,
according to the INLP webpage. Janice Kowemy (Laguna) — who manages the space for INLP — offers research assistance and resources on Indigenous topics. “INLP is a space where people can feel comfortable and learn about Indigenous scholarship, the issues Indigenous communities face today and also utilize what’s available in our collection for their research, as well as advance their Indigenous studies,” Kowemy said. Kowemy said that all Indigenous students are eligible for the “Michael
Inside this Lobo
and Enokena Olson Memorial Scholarship” which awards two students $250 each semester. The program’s educational materials are a select assortment from Zimmerman Library’s catalog. Every month, INLP offers an array of themes related to Indigenous research to highlight different topics – most recently centering harvesting and the World War II code talkers. This is in an effort to focus on resources in bigger collections so students know what is available to them, Kowemy said.
Schwarts: PHOTO STORY: Walk-Out for Palestine (pg. 2) Grossetete: Men’s basketball: A nail-biting win in New Mexico (pg. 4) Grossetete: Cross country: Lobos on the national stage (pg. 4) Garcia: Public libraries provied community space for NaNoWriMo participants (pg. 5) Bernard: United Graduate Workers of UNM reach tentative compensation agreement (pg. 6)
“We have a small section of periodicals of Native American newspapers. We have the back issues of those, like the Cherokee Daily Times, Navajo Times and Jicarilla Apache,” Kowemy said. INLP also hosts a variety of activities as part of their community outreach, such as poetry slams, making gingerbread houses, cupcake decorating and their Indigenous food series which introduces people to dishes from Indigenous communities. “I think one of the main things is the student workers here who come
from various tribes. They offer a lot of their support and creativity as well. They are also involved on campus so it brings a lot of student groups here to utilize the space,” Kowemy said. In the program’s space, there are multiple murals created in collaboration with Indigenous artists from the collective Ansulala, Native American Studies students/professional artists and former INLP Outreach Librarian Mary Alice Tsosie (Dine’). The art is meant to symbolize planting seeds of knowledge, according
see Education page 3
Boe & Bolaños: Spring Senatorial & Presidential elections Combine in Constitutional amendment (pg. 7) Bulger: Women’s basketball: Lobos win close game against some familiar faces (pg. 8) Secor: REVIEW: The Marvels was indeed a marvel (pg. 9) Gomez: Free meals on Thanksgiving (pg. 10) Treat: PHOTO STORY: A taste of Bollywood (pg. 10)