DAILY LOBO new mexico
Heart of dance
thursday
see page 7
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
December 3, 2009
Correction and apology
From the editor-in-chief
From the news editor
The caption published Wednesday with the photo of Crystal Quiñonez was inaccurate. Quiñonez is, in fact, a U.S. citizen who was studying at El Centro de la Raza on Tuesday. I apologize on behalf of myself and my staff for this error. I apologize to Crystal, her family, the staff and interns at El Centro de la Raza, and all UNM students for the distress this has caused. El Centro de la Raza, an invaluable part of UNM, serves more than 1,000 students on campus each year. Though it targets Latino and Latina students, the department welcomes anyone who comes in the door. The caring staff at El Centro de la Raza helps students with any problems they might have related to school, work or family. The organization encourages students to bring their lives with them when they come in, to be a complete person and a student. The consequences of the error on Wednesday’s front page are farreaching, to say the least. The Daily Lobo strives for accuracy, and changes in procedure have been made to ensure that no such error can happen again. The error occurred because several mistakes were made in the editing process for Wednesday’s edition. Every person involved in this process will be disciplined, according to his or her level of responsibility, in the form of suspension without pay. The caption was originally dictated by the photographer, who had no part in the error. The mistake began in the next step of our caption process: an editing session with the news editor and photo editor. The
I take responsibility for writing that Crystal Quiñonez was an undocumented student. Quiñonez is actually a U.S. citizen. Every video multimedia piece promoted on the Daily Lobo’s front page this year used a photo taken as a still from the video itself. In this case, however, the image used to promote the piece was a photo taken separately of a student studying in El Centro de la Raza. I operated under the assumption that the young woman in the photo was featured in the movie and, therefore, was an undocumented student who gave permission for her likeness and name to be printed. As a result, I wrote that she was an undocumented student. Quiñonez gave permission to have her photograph taken, but she was not in the multimedia piece and she is not an undocumented student. I take the issue of undocumented students seriously. I understand that students are not protected from questioning and potential deportation because they are on campus. The decision to label Quiñonez as undocumented came from simple, sound reasoning. However, by failing to check and double-check the information, I did not meet the journalistic standards I strive to uphold. I deeply regret my carelessness, and I understand the implications of my action. I am confident that the news section in every single issue of the Daily Lobo printed under my tenure was produced with care and attention to detail, and my commitment to accuracy and fairness will be reflected on the front page throughout the rest of my journalistic career.
Joey Trisolini / Daily Lobo Student Crystal Quiñonez studies in El Centro De La Raza on Tuesday. In Wednesday’s Daily Lobo, Quiñonez was misidentified as an undocumented student. The Daily Lobo regrets the error. news editor requested the opportunity to write his own apology and explanation of what happened, which can be found at right. However, the managing editor who read and approved the caption after the news editor wrote it should have questioned the caption. The copy chief who edited the caption after the managing editor should have questioned it as well. All who were involved apologize. We have spoken with Crystal Quiñonez and representatives from El Centro de la Raza to express our sincere regret. Upon further reflection, I believe the photo of Quiñonez should not have been published to announce this multimedia series, and the headline above the photo was also misleading. This mistake I also
regret deeply, and will discuss with my staff. The multimedia series will not be published. In sum, we have learned a valuable lesson. Though every single person who works at the Daily Lobo is vigilant, ethical and serious about journalistic integrity, we must try harder. Our goal is to provide you, our readers, with factually accurate information about your community and its leaders so that you can be an effective member of society with the tools you need to voice your concerns and change the world as you see fit. Thank you for giving us that opportunity. Sincerely, Rachel Hill Editor-in-chief
Second half seals the deal for Lobos
Respectfully, Pat Lohmann News editor
by Mario Trujillo Daily Lobo
Daily Lobo
see Victory page 3
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 114
issue 70
by Pat Lohmann Daily Lobo
A Nobel Peace Prize laureate has come to the desert to be an advocate for ice. Henry Pollack shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with his colleagues on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former Vice President Al Gore. Pollack is on campus today to promote his book, A World Without Ice, which was released in October. The book chronicles the history of Earth’s climate and polar ice caps. “It’s a book about climate change told through the prism of ice,” he said. “So it goes back in time to the last Ice Age when we had a lot of ice and few people and moves forward in time to today when we have much less ice and more people.” Pollack said the book makes a case for humans being behind rising global temperatures. “Humans don’t realize it, but they’re the most powerful geological agents on the planet,” he said. “And the book talks not only about climate change, but also about a lot of other weather things that humans are doing.” While Pollack recognizes the political debate raging about man’s influence on global warming, he said his book takes a standpoint outside of politics. “By telling the story through the prism of ice, it removes it somewhat from the political arena,” he said. “I
see Pollack page 3
ASUNM passes DREAM Act resolution with no contest
by Ryan Tomari The clock hit zero, and the buzzer sounded; Section 26 rushed Bob King Court, and students hoisted UNM guard Nate Garth above their shoulders at The Pit on Wednesday. The UNM men’s basketball team defeated No. 25 California, 86-78, as a noisy, near-capacity crowd of 13,549 fans filled University Arena. It’s the first time the Lobos played a ranked opponent at home since 2007, and it’s the first time UNM has beaten a ranked team at The Pit since the Lobos knocked off No. 13 Utah, 65-54, in 2005. “That had to have been a very
Nobel Prize laureate to discuss his new book
Junfu Han / Daily Lobo Jamal Fenton raises his arms to a boisterous throng of 13,549 fans after the men’s basketball team defeated No. 25 California 86-78 at The Pit on Wednesday.
With over 19 Senators and 40 spectators packed into the ASUNM Senate hall to debate a resolution to endorse the DREAM act, Sen. Zoila Alvarez asked everyone to keep the debate civil. “I understand that immigration is a very touchy subject,” Alvarez said. “I want to make sure whatever way the senators vote, it is not viewed as prejudice or racism because people are entitled to their vote and entitled to represent the entire student (body).” But the resolution passed with little debate and no contest, garnering 17 approvals and two abstentions. When anyone did speak up, it was in favor of the resolution.
Playing with fire
Caught reading
See page 6
See page 2
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act is a piece of national legislation that would allow undocumented students to remain in the country if they have earned a high school diploma or the equivalent, don’t have a criminal record and have spent two years in either a university or the military, according to OpenCongress.org. Michael Westervelt, ASUNM vice president, said the turnout in favor of the resolution supporting the Act was the largest he’d seen in his three years in the undergraduate student government. Extra chairs were brought in to accommodate the crowd. Key members of the Movimien-
see DREAM page 5
Today’s weather
34° / 19°