DAILY LOBO new mexico
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The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
November 13, 2009
‘Techno Guy’ forced to pause his SUB tunes by Kallie Red-Horse Daily Lobo
Long Nguyen / Daily Lobo Joshua “Techno Guy” Arellano listens to music playing on his laptop Thursday at the north end of the SUB. Arellano used to play techno music on his boom box every Tuesday and Thursday, but since professor James Burbank filed a complaint against Arellano, he plays his laptop to keep the volume down.
Students passing the north end of the SUB on Tuesdays and Thursdays will have to find their own beat to walk to. The pause button has been hit on student Josh “Techno Guy” Arellano’s boom box after a faculty member complained about the music on behalf of UNM students. English professor James Burbank filed complaints with the Dean of Students about the twice weekly music shows, which he said are disruptive. This led Arellano to temporarily stop playing his music. Burbank said he did not mind the music itself, but it was too loud and inhibited students’ ability to learn. “I’m not against having music on campus, but the fact that everybody is supposed to have this forced on them seems inappropriate,” he said. “We need a university campus that recognizes and respects the study environment and that students and faculty get to participate all together in deciding what that is.” Arellano, who has occupied the
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ASUNM supports queer resource center Sorority hosts event by Mario Trujillo Daily Lobo
Five members of the Queer Straight Alliance stood in front of the ASUNM Senate Wednesday to make their case for adding a queer resource center at UNM. But by that time, the Senate was already sold on the idea, said ASUNM Sen. Joseph Colbert. The resolution skated through the vote 18-0-1. “I felt like most people out there would be on board with it, because there is nothing controversial about a resolution that calls for a resource center for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (people),” he said. Passing a non-binding resolution through the undergraduate student government is only a first step. Jeffrey Waldo, spokesman for QSA, said the process to get a queer resource center will only get more difficult from here. “GPSA still has to pass it,” Waldo said. “We have to ask for student fees. It is going to be way more complicated than this. But it is good to have the undergraduate student backing.” What Waldo and his peers are
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asking for is a few rooms, a staff member and two work study students to run the center, similar to the basement room the Women’s Resource Center was given 37 years ago when they first started. The resolution didn’t make it onto the GPSA agenda for Saturday’s meeting, but GPSA council chair Danny Hernandez said it should have no problem getting through the Senate in the next meeting. “I think it is going to pass easily,” Hernandez said. “I believe GLBT issues are extremely important right now. We are on the cusp of getting more rights for GLBT people. I think a lot of people are hip to that.” QSA already has the backing of the Women’s Resource Center. Director Sandrea Gonzales had already heard of the resolution’s success early Thursday morning. Gonzales has given the QSA her full support and has coached its representatives through the process, she said. “There are always people who will say, ‘Why do you need your own center?’” she said. “Now that is a question that always gets asked. They are going to need to be
prepared. They are going to have to get that research pretty solid. They are going to have to give a good presentation about why UNM would benefit from having this center.” The QSA, which has about 180 members, is drafting a proposal to give the student fee review board in early December to hammer out the budget needed for the center, Waldo said. “The queer resource center would be focusing more on people who are actually in the closet, who are facing internal hate because their parents tell them they are wrong,” he said. “Kids are still being told that they are monsters. That they are going to go to hell and they can’t come out. Many people are not out. There are many closeted people on this campus that I know personally.” At this point the QSA is student run and doesn’t have the resources to tackle those issues, Waldo said. The QSA has acted as more of a social network and older faculty and graduate students tend to shy away from it. With a resource center, the
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to boost literacy rates by Kallie Red-Horse Daily Lobo
Pi Beta Phi had members of the UNM community twisting their tongues to Dr. Seuss’ rhymes Wednesday in an attempt to fight illiteracy in New Mexico. Competitors in the sorority’s second annual First Book Speed Read paid admission to read books aloud to children as quickly as possible at the Pi Phi house. The event drew support for First Book, an organization that provides books for children from lowincome communities. Pi Beta Phi President Alex Roark said the issue of illiteracy in New Mexico is often forgotten. “It’s hard to market something like literacy and explain why it is important,” she said. “There are other organizations that do great things for issues that are easily marketable because you see the direct cause and the things that come from that, both good and bad.” According to a study published
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by the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy in 2007, one in five New Mexican adults is illiterate. Shauna Sulima, co-organizer of the event, said literacy has a direct impact on poverty levels in America. “If you are not literate, you are going to have issues throughout your life, and it’s a huge cause of poverty in our country,” she said. “So, focusing on literacy is important because it is going to guarantee a good future for children and help prevent poverty.” The sorority chose to donate its proceeds to the First Book organization because it is an effective way to raise literacy rates, Sulima said. First Book gives students books periodically throughout their high school careers and motivates them to complete their high school educations, she said. “The kids will have a book of their own and means of practicing reading, because the chances of a child going to a library on their
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