Daily Lobo new mexico
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Monday, Februar y 21, 2022 | Vo l u m e 1 2 6 | I s s u e 2 5
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Governor lifts state’s indoor mask mandate By Zara Roy
@zarazzledazzle Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced on Thursday, Feb. 17, that the statewide indoor mask mandate would be lifted effective immediately. During the press briefing at the New Mexico state Capitol where it was announced, Lujan Grisham explained that this decision was due to a projection of lower hospitalization rates despite continued high case counts. There has already been a 37% decrease in hospitalizations, which has freed up hospital resources, according to a Feb. 17 press release from the Governor’s office. “Given the continued drop in hospitalizations and the lessening of the burden on our hospitals, it’s time to end the mask mandate. With vaccines, boosters and effective treatment options widely available, we have the tools we need to protect ourselves and keep our fellow New Mexicans safe,” read a statement from Lujan Grisham in the press release. Masks will still be required in health care facilities such as hospitals, assisted living centers and hospice facilities, as well as in correctional facilities, accord-
ing to the updated public health order. K-12 schools’ mask regulations are now at the discretion of the school’s governing body. Privately owned businesses are also allowed to set their own mask requirements. New Mexico was one of the last states to end indoor mask mandates. Only four states are still universally mandating masks indoors: Washington, Oregon, Illinois and Hawaii.
UNM mask mandate pending review The University of New Mexico will maintain its mask mandate until further notice as of time of publication. The school’s mandate is currently under administrative review with no set timeline regarding when a decision will be made as to whether masks will continue to be required, according to UNM spokesperson Cinnamon Blair. “(The administrators) still have to review the public health order and look at the campus conditions that we have, which you can find on the dashboard,” Blair said. Currently, nearly half of the UNM student population has been confirmed to have received their booster shot, according to
the UNM COVID Dashboard. There has been a recent steady decrease in confirmed cases on campus, with the 7-day rolling average dropping from an all-time high of 34.429 cases on Jan. 22 to 3.714 cases on Feb. 19. The University will still be offering free mask options for students as the decision on the school’s mask mandate remains pending. The Associated Students of UNM are still working alongside the Lobo Prevention Pack to hand out masks, and they will continue to provide them to students at various locations on campus, according to ASUNM President Gregory Romero. “I personally appreciate the fact that they’re taking their time with this decision considering UNM is made up of so many different groups of people who obviously want different things and have different needs,” Romero said. Romero emphasized his trust in the University administration to make a shrewd decision on the mask mandate that will have the largest positive impact on students, staff and faculty. “I know that somebody will probably be upset either way but UNM, I think, made the correct decision when they first mandated the vaccine. I think they made the correct decision when they
Liam DeBonis / Daily Lobo / @LiamDebonis
A student puts on their mask as they walk into UNM’s Student Union Building.
first implemented masks again, and so I trust our administration to make the right choice here for the health and safety of students here at UNM,” Romero said.
Zara Roy is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @zarazzledazzle
African American UNM to begin grad union Student Services contract negotiations after PELRB petition approval hosts final 2022 Black By Madeline Pukite @maddogpukite Contract negotiations between the United Graduate Workers of the University of New Mexico and the University are in sight as the two jointly filed a petition, which specifies bargaining unit modifications, with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board on Monday, Feb. 14. The petition, which clarifies that only graduate students with assistantships are in the bargaining unit, is likely to be approved, after which contract negotiations will begin immediately. If PELRB accepts the petition,
UNM will drop their appeal dating back to November on the board’s decision that gave grad workers the right to unionize, according to UNM spokesperson Cinnamon Blair. Julie Hayes, a member of UGW’s bargaining committee, said the University waiting until the petition is approved to rescind their initial appeal is mostly based in formality and that negotiations are a near certainty. “It's just a procedural thing at this point … They are legally bound to bargain with us and this is the process of them complying with the law,” Hayes said. The University preparing to begin the bargaining process came as a happy surprise to many union mem-
Inside this Lobo SCOTT: NM senator calls for release of Air Force chimps (pg. 3) JUDE: UNM programs support first-gen students (pg. 3)
bers. Hayes said members were preparing for a long fight ahead as they thought UNM would continue to appeal the decision. “I think this was a quick, decisive turn in the right direction,” Hayes said. Union members showed up to UNM’s Board of Regents meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15 to voice their support for the Union in the public comment section. Third-year Ph.D. candidate Richard Maska, present on behalf of the grad worker union, said UNM withdrawing their appeal is the right decision. “I think both UGW and UNM admin should be delighted to be at the
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MUNERI: LETTER: addressed (pg. 4)
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History Month events By Megan Gleason @fabflutist2716
The University of New Mexico’s African American Student Services center has been hosting events throughout Black History Month and is wrapping up this week with “Our Black is Beautiful” on Thursday, Feb. 24 and “Black Grad Mixer” on Friday, Feb. 25. “Our Black is Beautiful” will be a discussion held at AASS led by UNM associate professor of law Sonia Gipson Rankin. She said the event will largely focus on the
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SCOTT: REVIEW: ‘The Worst Person in the World’ revives the rom-com (pg. 4) UNM sports recaps (pg. 5)
term “ubuntu,” which has African linguistic roots based on the premise that “I am because we are” and the connection “from person to person.” “I want us to use this year, the year of 2022, within the Black community to focus on this principle that we are all in this together, that we are all connected to one another,” Gipson Rankin said. Society is at a complex point in time that’s created unclear expectations for college students and graduates in a variety of factors, including concerns related to
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JUDE: UNM Art Museum opens ornate exhibition ‘Mysterious Inner Worlds’ (pg. 6) PUKITE, SCHWARTZ : Local tattoo artists navigate effects of COVID-19 (pg. 10) SCOTT: Lobos women’s basketball stomps Boise State on Senior Night (pg. 11)