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Thursday, Januar y 17, 2019 | Vo l u m e 1 2 3 | I s s u e 3 6
Lujan Grisham kicks off 54th NM Legislature By Anthony Jackson and Danielle Prokop @TonyAnjackson
@ProkopDani
SANTA FE — The marble halls of the Roundhouse were buzzing Tuesday, the first day of the 54th New Mexico Legislature, as thousands from around the state convened for opening-day festivities. Family members, lobbyists, constituents, journalists and activists came for the swearing-in of legislators, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s much-anticipated State of the State Address. People jammed the halls hours before noon as security guards searched bags and pockets before allowing people to sit in the House gallery. The 60-day session runs from Jan. 14 until March 15. Just under 500 bills were prefiled prior to the start of the session, all vying for funds from an oil and gas boom late last year that left this year’s Legislature flushed with cash — in theory. Minority Whip Sen. Bill Payne (R-Albuquerque) said despite the minority, Senate Republicans might have more input to stop socalled “popular legislation” — bills
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Legislature page 2
By Anthony Jackson/ @TonyAnjackson/ Daily Lobo
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham delivers her State of the State Address to legislators and guests at the opening day of the New Mexico Legislature on the floor of the House chamber.
Here’s who might be UNM’s next Student Regent By Kyle Land
UNM starts new semester with Welcome Back Day
@kyleoftheland One of Michelle Lujan Grisham’s first duties as the governor of New Mexico will be to appoint five nominees to the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, to then be approved by the State Senate. This includes the Student Regent, a current UNM student who will serve on the Board as a student representative. The process for selecting a new Student Regent differs from the process of selecting of any other person for the Board, with both the Associated Students of UNM and the Graduate and Professional Student Association producing nominees for the position. UNM President Garnett Stokes then interviews the candidates and sends the list to the Governor’s Office. Lujan Grisham will then pick one student as her official nominee, which acquires approval by the Senate. The Daily Lobo, upon request, obtained lists of nominees from both ASUNM and GPSA, who both had three each. The ASUNM nominees are: • Mason Martinez (former chief of staff for Noah Brooks) • Selina Montoya (current ASUNM senator) • Adrian Schmitt (former programs coordinator
Justin Garcia/ @DailyLobo/ Daily Lobo
The vacant Student Regent’s office in the Student Union Building.
for ASUNM Governmental Affairs) All three nominees have previously worked for ASUNM in some capacity. In a statement to the Daily Lobo, ASUNM Director of Communications Brendon Gray said 11 candidates took part in an interview with the selection committee, which began in October 2018. He said half of the candidates interviewed had prior experience in student government at UNM. The selection committee consisted of the ASUNM president, vice president, the joint council representative, the attorney general and
the chief of staff, according to the Office of the President. “I am confident the selection committee chose those candidates who carried the best qualifications to represent student interests on the Board of Regents,” Gray wrote. The GPSA nominees are: • Melissa Henry (former GPSA chief of staff ) • Tracy Mallette • Ivet Rosev (former GPSA chief of staff ) The Daily Lobo could not get confirmation of the makeup of the GPSA committee, but Gray said that it was of a similar makeup to
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Regents page 2
Megan Holmen/ @megan_holmen/ Daily Lobo
Students gather to share and learn more about their campus at Welcome Back Day.
By Megan Holmen @megan_holmen The University of New Mexico’s Spring 2019 semester is in full swing with the Spring Welcome Back Day, with the goal of making students feel right at home. Welcome Back Day is a long standing UNM tradition where students can learn more about departments, Greek life, student services and even jobs. On Jan. 16, students gathered in the Student Union Building atrium for complimentary drinks, snacks, free glam and a plethora
of different information. According to Megan Leilua Weston, a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, was tabling at the event in the hopes of recruiting more members. Weston said she was excited to be back at school and to start recruitment very soon. “We are really excited to welcome our new sisters. There are a lot of multicultural fraternities and sororities here and it's great to see everyone,” Weston said. In addition to Greek life tables, Weston said there were a variety of other groups there as well, such
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Welcome page 2
On the Daily Lobo website Garcia: NM worst in the nation in child well-being
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