DAILY LOBO new mexico
A spring in 3,000-year-old steps see page 13
summer The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
July 26-August 15, 2010
Graduation rate at UNM lower than peer schools
FRACTAL FANATIC
Poor completion statistics attributed to nontraditional student body by Tricia Remark Daily Lobo
Vanessa Sanchez / Daily Lobo Jonathan Wolfe holds fractals drawn by school children. Check out page 18 for a profile of the man who dedicated his life to the fractal phenomenon.
Only about 42 percent of UNM students graduate within six years. But there may be several underlying reasons for the less-than-impressive graduation rates, said Wynn Goering, vice provost of Academic Affairs. “One of the things we’ve learned about our students is that they have far more off-campus obligations than students in similar places,” Goering said. UNM students have far different lives compared to students at peer institutions, including the universities of Arizona and Colorado at Boulder, Goering said. According to fall 2009 surveys conducted by UNM, 43 percent of incoming freshmen care for a dependent, compared with only 19 percent of students at other schools. And 22 percent of UNM students work more than 20 hours a week at an off-campus job, compared with just 5 percent of students at comparable schools.
see Graduation page 7
Pot grower shortage forces patients to seek alternatives by Ruben Hamming-Green Daily Lobo
New Mexico’s medicinal marijuana program is running dry. The state has only 11 growers to satisfy the demand of the 2,000 patients prescribed cannabis for chronic illness. This position leaves many patients rationing medication or turning to the illegal market, while the state wants to ensure that its program for growing cannabis remains
legal, said Len Goodman, executive director of NewMexicann, a nonprofit organization that grows medicinal marijuana. Goodman said his company distributes to about 750 patients but said he cannot provide enough for all of them. “There are not enough licensed producers to handle the patients, and it’s been this way since the program was instituted,” he said. “Patients can’t get sufficient medicine for their needs.” Deborah Busemeyer, a
spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said the state hadn’t anticipated the high demand. “We did recognize that the supply was not going to be enough for the patients in our program,” she said. After medical marijuana was legalized in New Mexico in 2007, it took the state two years to authorize marijuana growers. In March 2009, the first nonprofit organization was approved to grow marijuana. In November, four more were authorized, with each organization being allowed to grow 95 plants.
Busemeyer said legal tensions are partially responsible for the slow authorization of nonprofit marijuana growers. “Because this program is legal under state law and illegal under federal law, it takes more consideration in putting it together and making sure it’s going to work for New Mexico,” Busemeyer said. “We have to go through the process really slowly and thoughtfully, because if we don’t develop a program that is sustainable, that gives patients access to the medicine they need without jeopardizing
Construction jams campus traffic by Chelsea Erven Daily Lobo
Back-to-school traffic and parking around UNM’s main campus can be unpredictable, but this August there will be an added complication. Road construction in the Yale Boulevard and Las Lomas Road area for the new Yale parking structure will restrict traffic through August 31. The construction will affect Northbound Yale Boulevard between Lomas Boulevard and Las Lomas Road, as well as both lanes of Las Lomas Road between Yale Boulevard and Stan ford Drive. Parking and Transportation Services recommends that drivers find alternate routes for getting around campus. Shuttle services around campus will also
Inside the
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be re-routed, so students should expect delays, said PATS spokesman Brian Kilburn. “There will be access to the affected areas, but there will be no access for through traffic,” he said. Kilburn said PATS is trying to minimize the disruption the project will cause and will have updated infor mation available on campus or online about the impacted areas and how long construction will be going on. He said infor mation on re-routed shuttles will also be available at shuttle stops around campus. Dong Glenn, PATS operation manager, said construction will mostly consist of connecting the water lines from main campus to the new parking structure and only students attempting to
enter campus southbound will experience problems. “There will be an issue trying to use Yale to exit Las Lomas onto Lomas, but students wanting to exit campus onto Lomas can use Stanford or University instead,” Glenn said. UNM junior Lyndsey Holland said she has already ridden on shuttles that were re-routed. “I was on the Q-lot bus the other day, and it goes all the way out and around now before taking me to my car,” she said. “It took longer than usual, and I’m thinking of changing to the south lot shuttles just so I don’t have to deal with it.” Holland said the construction
see Construction page 12
Armstrong allegations
In the spotlight
See page 30
See page 2
safety of the patients, producers and public, we could jeopardize our entire program.” On July 9, the state authorized six more medical cannabis producers to help meet the growing need. But Goodman said it will take anywhere from three to five months for the newly licensed providers to begin selling their product, and it still will not be enough to accommodate the 100 to 200 patients Busemeyer said are approved every month.
see Marijuana page 12
MORE INSIDE Indian artists compete with fakers
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Used but not forgotten
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Alford’s contract extension
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