NM Daily lobo 111312

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DAILY LOBO new mexico

Square off

tuesday

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November 13, 2012

The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895

Students to prowl campus tonight

LOBO MEN’S BASKETBALL WINS 8681

Walk held to pinpoint dangers after dark

by Megan Underwood news@dailylobo.com

UNM students will roam campus tonight, checking for safety hazards and inadequate lighting at the semiannual Campus Safety walk. Student conduct officer and event organizer Rob Burford said the safety walks have been a UNM tradition since the ‘90s. He said students lost interest in the walks as time went on and that they were actually canceled for four years because the turnout was so low. “We couldn’t evaluate the whole campus with only 15 students,” he said. “It’s really student-driven.” He said students took a renewed interest in the activity after an incident in 2010 in which a young woman was stabbed outside the Anthropology building. The walks are now held in the fall and on the anniversary of the attack in the spring. “The situation in 2010 helped to revive this,” he said. “I think it’s a great thing for students to be a part of so they can have a say in campus safety, especially at night.”

“There’s a lot of areas on campus that people might not readily know are unsafe.” ~Mari Young resident adviser On the walk, students will patrol the campus, armed with flashlights, maps and pens. Participants will look for lighting outages; tripping hazards, such as uneven sidewalks or unruly shrubs; and places on campus that could use more lighting, blue emergency poles or other safety precautions. Students will write comments about potential hazards they notice on the walk, and circle areas and lights, represented by red dots, on a map to show damaged equipment. The suggestions and comments are then given to the Physical Plant Department, which makes repairs or installs new equipment. UNM student Grace Mayer said campus safety is a main

see Safety PAGE 3

Inside the

Daily Lobo volume 117

issue 60

Adria Malcolm / Daily Lobo Travis Swisher, right, and Tyler Swisher, dressed as Teletubbies, yell at the referees during the first half of the game versus Davidson Monday night in The Pit. The brothers said they dressed as Teletubbies because they did not want to look stupid. See photos of the game on Page 2.

UNDERGRAD SENATE ELECTION by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com

Undergraduate student government senate elections are on Wednesday. There are 10 open seats on the ASUNM Senate. Meet some of the candidates:

RISE slate

RISE, the sole slate running in this semester’s ASUNM Senate elections comprises five senators running for re-election and five new senate candidates. ASUNM Sen. Malika Ladha, a member of RISE who is running for re-election, said her slate represents a huge part of UNM’s student voice. “Together we represent over 50 different student organizations,” she said. “And lots of us are part of tons of organizations here on campus.” Ladha said her slate will focus mostly on improving the quality of academics at UNM, especially among freshmen. She said UNM has sought to improve education quality in the past through programs such as the UNM Success Through the Academic Year (S.T.A.Y.) Initiative, an academic coaching program, and the UNM Foundations of Excellence, an initiative by the provost’s office aimed at improving the freshman experience. “We lose 25 percent of our freshmen by the third semester,” she said. “That’s really a concern that really needs to be looked at. These programs really seek to enhance and to explore to see how we can improve … the experience of a freshman student.”

ASUNM Senate elections

Wednesday polling locations

9 a.m. to 7 p.m. SUB Zimmerman Library Dane Smith Hall Student Residence Center Johnson Center Ladha, who is an academic coach for the S.T.A.Y. Initiative, said RISE aims to improve in the academic coaching program. ASUNM Sen. Tyler Crawley, who is also running for re-election with the RISE slate, said he will lobby in the Legislature to remove tuition credits. He said that through tuition credits, the government taxes higher education institutions around the state based on their tuition rates. Because of UNM’s comparatively high tuition rates, it loses a large portion of its budget, Crawley said. “We want to continue lobbying in the state Legislature for the elimination of the tuition credit,” Crawley said. “Because we have the highest tuition, we get hit hard in regards of the tuition credit. Students should not be taxed to balance the state budget.” UNM’s tuition credit amounted to $3.86 million last school year. Crawley said RISE also aims to provide more funding for oncampus organizations to help increase student participation in University organizations.

We’ve got talent

Too little, too late

see Page 2

see Page 11

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Engineering Computer Pod Mitchell Hall

Noon to 7 p.m. Student Services Center (south campus) “We want to keep working to make sure that our student groups are funded the way they want to be funded,” he said. “We want to give them the tools they need to grow and succeed to help them reach a broader range of students.” Ladha said RISE is a group of hardworking candidates who persevered to get to their current positions in ASUNM. She said she was part of the Emerging Lobo Leaders program during her first semester at UNM, and since then has become actively involved with ASUNM. “Personally, we started at the bottom of the ladder,” she said. “And we’ve been able to work our way upwards. We have that passion. We have what it takes.” Ladha said students should vote for members of RISE because of the amount of experience and knowledge of the senate’s protocol that incumbent candidates already have. “UNM is in a state of transformation. We are moving fast, and we are moving quickly,” she said. “Having five incumbents, we have a different

experience and we have a different input that we can provide.” Other candidates in the RISE slate are incumbents Joe Stevens, Brandon Meyers and Holly Marquez, and new candidates Wesley Martinez, Taylor Bui, Earl Shank, Rachel Williams and Grace Liu. These eight remaining candidates were unavailable for comment.

Adrian Avila

Independent candidate Adrian Avila said he’s a first-generation college student and who’s been working since he was 14. He said these experiences means he understands the struggles students may face to become successful. “I know my journey to UNM is a common occurrence for many students,” he said. “We all struggled to get here and therefore the school should make every effort to support us through and post graduation, for if the students succeed then the University succeeds.” Avila said that because he was raised by a single parent, he shares the economic burden many students experience. He said ASUNM has the duty to encourage and help students financially during their college experience. Avila, who is triple majoring in statistics, history and psychology, said the biggest problem at UNM right now is a lack of connection between the various campuses and organizations within the University. He said

see ASUNM PAGE 2

TODAY

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