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President Abdallah honored with reception By Ludella Awad @ LudellaAwad
A reception honoring current University of New Mexico President Chaouki Abdallah was held Monday afternoon — just two days before incoming President Garnett S. Stokes is set to take office. Abdallah was named interim president in January 2017 and was officially named as the 22nd president by the Board of Regents on Feb. 13, 2018. A large crowd filled Popejoy Hall Monday, surrounding Abdallah, saying their goodbyes and honoring the work he achieved at the University. “I think President Abdallah has been an extraordinary leader in really difficult times, with his combination of commitment to students and making sure the University is really serving students well,” Interim Senior Vice Provost Richard L. Wood said. President Aballah discussed his accomplishments and challenges at UNM including the budget deficit and campus safety. Abdallah said he did not expect to handle the athletic department misconduct serving as president, but he said he handled it according to the procedures and hopes he made the right decision. Throughout Abdallah’s time as head of the University he faced many challenges but tried to keep
people moving forward. “The most successful leaders are the ones who solve the problems,” Abdallah said at the reception. Abdallah said that with the new president, the same issues will remain and members of the University need to work together to keep the focus on the academic mission and also face the budget challenges. He said he hopes to see the University head in the right direction to solve its financial problems, including budget cuts to programs. When asked to describe his accomplishments, Abdallah said the three-month job turned into 14 months and he focused on creating a momentum to keep people moving forward and prioritized the academic mission. “There were a lot of issues that came up that I wasn’t planning on, or that I did not expect, but otherwise, it’s been a great experience, and I’m happy to be going back to my provost job,” he said. Abdallah also spoke on scholarships and graduation rates. He said he hopes the Lottery Scholarship will remain for students who need it and who would potentially not be able to attend the University without it. Students with the Lottery Scholarship have a graduation rate of 70 percent, and if they lose it, the graduation rate drops to 20 percent. Felipe Mendoza, a UNM student who attended Abdallah’s recep-
Madison Spratto/ Daily Lobo / @Madi_Spratto
President Chaouki Abdallah greets Chief of UNMPD Kevin McCabe at Abdallah’s farewell reception on Feb. 26, 2018 at the Popejoy lobby.
tion, said creating new scholarships that consider students who do not qualify for the Lottery Scholarship should be the incoming president’s primary focus. Associated Students of UNM President Noah Brooks expressed his confidence in the new president. “I believe President Stokes is go-
ing to focus a lot (on) helping students that need scholarships,” he said. Brooks said he is hopeful Stokes is going to follow through on a lot of President Abdallah’s ideas — he said Abdallah set a “very solid” groundwork for her. There will be a meet and greet Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Student Union Building Atrium to intro-
duce Stokes to the community on her first day in office. Ludella Awad is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo. com or on Twitter @LudellaAwad.
Lobo Day celebrates Last game in Pit for seniors UNM’s birthday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
By Cameron Goeldner and Matthew Narvaiz @goeldfinger @matt_narvaiz
And then, it was their last. Four seniors, all guards, stepped onto the Pit floor for the last time, as players for the University of New Mexico women’s basketball team. Seniors Cherise Beynon, Laneah Bryan, Tesha Buck and Alex Lapeyrolerie had a mix of emotions, they said, but a positive outcome in a
season in which they broke records, beat the unbeatable and have become a sisterhood. And that sisterhood will stand the test of time, Lapeyrolerie said. “Thanks to my teammates for being my sisters. I don’t have a sister, so it’s great to have a group of young ladies to have fun with and support from,” she said during her her tribute video shown during the game. In the process, Lapeyrolerie suited up in her jersey for her team. A feel-good sentiment, after she
April Torres / Daily Lobo /@i_apreel
From left to right, Cherise Beynon, Laneah Bryan, Tesha Buck and Alex Lapeyrolerie pose with coaches during senior night on Feb. 27, 2018.
tore her ACL at home against Air Force just a few games ago. She got the start. At tip-off, she walked onto the court, waved to the crowd and hugged her teammates — she said it was a melancholy moment, but one she is eternally grateful for. In fact, Lapeyrolerie said that, the day prior to the game, is when she found out she was getting the start. UNM head coach Mike Bradbury, too, said it was a last-minute decision. “Yesterday,” Lapeyrolerie said. “Found out yesterday after practice. My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t expect it. So it was surprising and shocking.” The Lobos still have a tournament and one more regular season game to play — something Beynon said is still on her team’s mind, even on such a night as senior night. Beynon, who addressed the crowd after her final win at the Pit over Colorado State, still has a couple — or more, depending on the outcome of the Mountain West tournament — games as a Lobo. She is in the top 10 and top five of many UNM records. Already, she is in the top five in scoring and assists. Beynon is fifth in scoring and is just eight assists away from
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Basketball page 2
By Megan Holmen @megan_holmen The University of New Mexico turned 129 years old Wednesday, and the Associated Students of UNM organization Lobo Spirit celebrated with the annual Lobo Day. Lobo Day is an opportunity to meet new people and celebrate the University that brings all of us together, said Kaylie Huizenga, the executive director of ASUNM Lobo Spirit. UNM hosts Lobo Day every year on Feb. 28 to bring students together for fun activities and a commemorative photograph. UNM freshman Kaylee Maxon was one of the Lobo Day volunteers. Maxon works as the volunteer coordinator for ASUNM Lobo Spirit and hoped the event was an opportunity to further a sense of community at UNM, she said. “It is UNM’s 129th birthday. Lobo Day celebrates all (that) UNM stands for, all of its diversity and opportunities that it brings,” Maxon said. According to Adam Bieder-
wolf, the assistant director of ASUNM Lobo Spirit group, Lobo Day is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the community UNM has brought together. The past two years Lobo Day has featured art projects for students to get involved in, Huizenga said. This year’s art projects included a sticky note wall in the shape of UNM’s new logo and the continuation of last year’s giant wooden cube. The wooden panels forming the sides of the cube were decorated with paint markers. Each side had unique images and words from numerous different UNM students. Anyone was welcome to contribute to the cube, Huizenga said. The sticky note art activity at Lobo Spirit gave students a chance to think about and write down what being a Lobo means to them personally but also offered them the opportunity to be part of a bigger project, according to Maxon. “The sticky note wall is in the shape of UNM’s new logo, and so when students write what being a Lobo means, they are putting it on the wall to create one whole diverse
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Lobo Day page 3
On the Daily Lobo website
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