Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Man tased after committing robbery By Justin Garcia @Just516garc A man was taken to the hospital after police discharged a stun gun on him on the University of New Mexico Main Campus. Police said the man had stolen a cell phone. The incident occurred outside the CERIA building across from Carlisle Gym. University of New
Mexico Chief of Police Trace Peck said police utilized the stun gun after the suspect was chased across campus by the individual who had their cell phone stolen, who recognized them. Other students joined the chase, according to Peck. The suspect was taken to UNM Hospital for his injuries. It is unclear what injuries the suspect sustained. However, a large blood spot could be seen on the concrete
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just outside of the CERIA building. Peck said the cell phone was stolen from Einstein's Bagels located on Central. This is a developing story. Check the Daily Lobo website for updates. Justin Garcia is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers student government. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com
By Justin Garcia/ @Just516garc/ Daily Lobo
The blood stain outside the CERIA Building at the University of New Mexico on Wednesday, April 10, 2019.
UNM postpones budget approval
PragerU speaker to visit UNM By Justin Garcia @Just516garc Will Witt, a content creator for PragerU, is set to speak at the University of New Mexico on April 23. He was invited to speak by the UNM chapter of Turning Point USA at a talk called “Leftism is Destroying America.” Turning Point USA is a national 501(c)3, non-profit organization that describes its mission as, “to
By Danielle Prokop/ @ProkopDani/ Daily Lobo
UNM President Garnett Stokes attends the Board of Regents meeting on April 9, 2019. Stokes called for a special meeting to hash out the University of New Mexico’s budget next week after a letter from the state Department of Higher Education.
By Danielle Prokop @ProkopDani The University of New Mexico postponed the approval of its several-billion dollar budget on Tuesday, tangling with the state over the application of a required employee pay-bump. The New Mexico Higher Education Department sent a letter Monday to higher education governing boards that the state expected four-year and two-year institutions’ “employees...to receive a 4 percent increase in compensation.” The letter was sent one day before the UNM 2019-2020 Budget Summit. However, Regent President Douglas Brown said some members of UNM were aware of the governor’s edit to House Bill 2, which includes the University’s appropriations, as early as Friday and Saturday. UNM President Garnett Stokes and the Budget Leadership Team asked the Board of Regents to postpone budget recommendation process until next week, saying they
would have to redevelop the budget to meet the state’s standards. “We (can) have some time to digest all this information and bring a proposal to you for how we manage this expectation that we would cover a 4 percent compensation increase for our faculty and staff,” Stokes said, addressing the regents. The BLT, a subcommittee that develops UNM budget recommendations, had only proposed a 2 percent increase for UNM employees in their 2020 draft budget. Their recommendation to have a smaller raise came from an interpretation of a two-word phrase in the massive state appropriations bill — a phrase which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham line-item vetoed. “The wording of “average salary” creates potential for schools to inflate administrator salaries while leaving university staff sort of out in the cold,” said Tripp Stelnicki, Grisham's director of communications. The governor's veto, and the letter from her cabinet secretary, made it clear the state expects UNM to provide a 4 percent increase. Stelnicki
said the strikethrough didn’t change the responsibility of universities' ability to comply with the law. Stokes said the total cost of a 4 percent compensation is $29.9 million. She said those numbers include the pay bump — 4 percent of salary — but also what the University pays in fringe benefits such as retirement and health care. The HED received $23.2 million to disperse between all two and four-year institutions and other specialized education institutes (New Mexico Military Institute, and schools for the blind and deaf ) to provide for the tuition increase. Stokes told the Daily Lobo in a March interview that only half of the University employees are funded through I&G — others are paid by auxiliaries, federal or other state grants. “The 4 percent raise is for faculty and staff who are state-funded,” Stokes said. “The issue is we have a lot of employees who are not actually funded by state money.” She disagreed with the suggestion
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identify, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets and limited government.” “He’s a little bit of a lesser known speaker. So I thought he would be a good speaker to get the ball rolling,” said Christian Portilla, president of the UNM chapter of Turning Point. Witt is described as a “Social Media Influencer” by PragerU. He
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Lujan Grisham to give commencement speech
By Anthony Jackson/ @TonyAnjackson/ Daily Lobo/ File Photo
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.
By Kyle Land @kyleoftheland Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will be giving the commencement speech for the Spring 2019 Commencement Ceremony. University of New Mexico Preside Garnett Stokes said in a written
statement that the decision to invite the recently-elected governor came after she spoke to student leaders around campus. “(Student leaders) overwhelmingly identified the Governor as an ideal choice to inspire our Lobos as they take the next steps in their journey," she wrote.
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