DAILY LOBO new mexico
Fashion Q&A
tuesday
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April 26, 2011
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Smoking ban is ‘tobacco totalitarianism’ Students missing out on work aid Smokers aren’t always utilizing designated areas by Luke Holmen holmen@unm.edu
It’s been more than a year and a half since UNM became a “smokefree” campus, but so far no one has been punished for smoking outside of designated areas. Student Conduct Officer Rob Burford said five or six people have been warned to obey the policy. He said punishments for continued tobacco violations include probation, community service and even suspension. “The policy is intended to be educational, not punitive,” Burford said. Anyone caught smoking where they’re not supposed to is reported to the Dean of Students Office, according to policy. The Dean of Students Office then conducts an investigation to determine whether a violation occurred, and corrective action is taken if necessary. The policy calls on faculty, staff and students rather than UNM campus police to report their peers. Student David Gutierrez said the ban is well-intentioned but inconvenient.
by Barron Jones
bjones36@unm.edu
Zach Gould / Daily Lobo From left to right: Katy Seiler, Myriah Otero, Sonora Werenko and Forest Sumrald smoke cigarettes while waiting for the UNM shuttle on Redondo Drive and Yale Boulevard. UNM’s smoke-free policy has gone largely unenforced.
“The policy is intended to be educational, not punitive.”
see Smoking page 3
~Rob Burford Student Conduct Officer
Work-study positions are available to thousands of UNM students, but so few students take advantage of the offer that some of the funds have been returned to help with statewide budget crises. Not enough students take advantage of work-study, a federally subsidized program that provides students with jobs, said Karen Kennedy, New Mexico Higher Education Department director of financial aid. “More students request workstudy than actually (go out and) do work-study,” she said. “Several years ago, NMHED received unused work-study funds back from all institutions to help with budget crises.” Student Employment Manager Marisa Castaneda said the number of students participating in the work-study program has declined
see Work-study page 3
Six-figure system still offline BYU-UNM brawl Safer, card-swipe entrances would replace dorms’ lock-and-key setup leads to suspensions by Elizabeth Cleary
by Isaac Avilucea
news@dailylobo.com
In fall 2008 UNM Housing spent $206,000 of student rent money to install a card-swiping system at Redondo Village, but it remains offline nearly three years later. Brian Ward, Housing’s Physical Plant manager, said officials opted to turn off the system because it ran on different software than cardswipe systems on the rest of main campus. He said if and when the system is ever turned on again, Housing would have to spend more money to install the correct software. He also said Housing was not able to secure proper technical support for the system. “No one on the campus uses that system apparently, and within our department we don’t have the IT expertise to manage that particular piece of software,” he said. “We don’t want to necessarily go to the expense of making that system work when it’s not the campus standard.” Housing Director Patrick Call said the system was tested during spring 2009, but that Housing had to turn it off in fall 2009 because it didn’t have the resources to keep it running. “We did not have a system in place for turning cards off or adding them to the systems or any after-hours re-
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
issue 144
managingeditor@dailylobo.com
Robert Maes / Daily Lobo The swipe-card system at Redondo Village was installed in 2008, but disconnected in fall 2009 and remains offline to this day. Housing spent more than $200, 000 on the system, but the software isn’t inline with the rest of main campus. sponse of any kind on the operational end,” Call said in an email. Ward said card-swiping systems on outer doors are safer for dorm residents than lock-and-key systems. “If a student were to lose an exterior door key, you normally wouldn’t change out every student’s key and change out every lock on that building because it’s just too many,” he said. “If a student lost their apartment key within RVA, we would
change all the keys there so that if someone found the keys and meant to do harm, they may be able to get into the building, but they wouldn’t be able to get into a student’s private space.” Nicole Perez, a freshman in Redondo Village, said she lost her keys in October. She said Housing charged her $100 for replacement
see Sensors page 5
Student spotlight
Johnson’s bid
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See page 5
The verdict is in. The Mountain West Conference on Monday suspended five UNM and four BYU baseball players after a heated exchange between UNM’s Quay Grant and BYU’s Chris Capper escalated into a bench-clearing brawl at the conclusion of Saturday’s matchup in Provo, Utah. The MWC reviewed tape of the brawl over the weekend before meting out discipline. All told, the conference punished 12 players, handing out everything from public reprimands to suspensions. Of the most serious, Grant, Luke Campbell, Jonathan Mata, John Twichell and Cory Maltz will serve a three-game suspension starting immediately. The MWC also shelved BYU’s Ryan Bernal, Bret Lopez, Brock Luker and Blake Torgersen for three games for their roles in the altercation. The four Lobos will miss today’s road opener against Texas Tech and Wednesday’s game in addition to the first game of UNM’s three-game series against UNLV, slated to start Friday. Lobo catcher Mitchell Garver was also issued a warning for flashing an obscene gesture, but will not
“Even though we’re a Christian school, there’s nothing wrong with competing. You can’t get pushed around.” ~Vince Law BYU Head Coach miss any action. BYU’s Wes Guenther was hit with a public reprimand for “unduly provocative actions” toward another player. Head coach Ray Birmingham said in a text Monday that he couldn’t talk about the brawl because of MWC rules. BYU head coach Vance Law was reprimanded by the conference for critical remarks he made following Saturday’s melee. He told the Daily Herald on Saturday that UNM provoked the brawl. “My office is right where they (New Mexico) walk through (after the game). I could hear comments they were saying to some of the family who wait outside my door for
see Brawl page 7
TODAY
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