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Thursday, Februar y 1, 2018 | Vo l u m e 1 2 2 | I s s u e 4 0
Students show off research By Danielle Prokop @ProkopDani
SANTA FE — Deviating from the tradition of gifting lawmakers with salsa, pins or pens, select students from the University of New Mexico instead presented student research at the State Legislature appreciation dinner hosted by the UNM Alumni Association on Monday. Six undergraduate and four graduate students attended the event in Downtown Santa Fe at the La Fonda Hotel. Accompanied by live smooth jazz, they explained their research to state lawmakers in an effort to promote funding for higher education. The Associated Students of UNM and the Graduate and Professional Student Association selected all of the students, who are primarily studying in science and technology fields. Studies varied across disciplines, including T. rex skull science, fruit fly muscle growth and the origin of knowledge in society. “Instead of spending our money on gifts, we brought students up to the legislature,” said Alexandria Moore, ASUNM assistant director of Governmental Affairs. “We should continue the opportunity for legislators to see what the University of New Mexico offers, and show a return investment in higher education.”
Sandra LeNguyen, an athletic training student, compared tackling strategies in football and rugby, advising coaches on which option was safest. Veronica Hutchison, a double major in biology and psychology — and the only sophomore — explored attitudes of contraception and family planning in diverse teen populations. Two undergraduates were premed students. The remaining three students worked under Dr. Richard Cripps in the Biology Department, studying different aspects of muscle development. Hallie Brown, a senior double majoring in international studies and sociology, discussed her twoyear long project: “The Illiterate ‘Other’: Christianity, Coloniality and Sociology and Knowledge.” Her studies focused on primers and other methods of teaching and examining colonial ideas of what people consider knowledge to be. Brown was the only liberal arts undergrad selected to present. Brown said there is a consistent underappreciation and invalidation of humanities research at the University. “I’m giving real brain food here,” Brown said. “All of these STEM projects, and I’m the only one. This is exactly a representation right here of what UNM prioritizes.” Emily Czajkowski, a biology major, said UNM should foster
more unique opportunities like hers, working under Cripps on adult muscle development, as it gave her an advantage in grad school applications. “UNM is a great school,” Czajkowski said. “Many of my friends at other universities are surprised by the opportunities at UNM. I was able to work in the lab as a freshman, which gave me a real step up.” The top five employers in New Mexico relate to scientific, engineering, research or the medical field. Los Alamos National Labs, with over 11,000 employees, is one of the largest federal basic research labs in the United States. Sandia National Labs works closely with the United States Air Force at the Kirtland base in Albuquerque, developing and testing technology for the Department of Energy, employing more than 8,700 people. ASUNM Governmental Affairs brought roughly 40 students to the Roundhouse Monday morning to discuss pertinent bills with lawmakers relating to the Lottery Scholarship and appropriations for funding for the University. New Mexico is no stranger to public education funding crises. In April of 2017, two-term Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, vetoed a $6.1 billion spending bill, slashing all higher education funding. The move garnered national
Colton Newman / Daily Lobo / @cnewman101
The super blue blood moon was visible throughout the Albuquerque sky on the early morning of Jan. 31, 2018.
See full text and photo story online attention, and the New Mexico Legislature challenged the veto in the New Mexico Supreme Court. In May, the governor reinstated funding, but rejected DemocraticLegislature proposals for tax increases. The legislation borrowed $71 million from severance tax bonds and suspended public works projects to fund state colleges and universities. Jonathan Cordova, a biochemistry major, worked in labs at the University. He expressed concern that the state’s failure to invest in
education leads to people leaving the state for better opportunities. “If New Mexico creates education opportunities, it’ll slow the ‘brain drain,’” Cordova said. “People want to stay, it’s their state, it’s their home, it’s where their heart is.” Danielle Prokop is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ProkopDani.
Student wins architecture prize UNM tennis players injured in accident BRIEF
By Tom Hanlon
@TomHanlonNM
A graduate student from the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning won first place in an international design competition. On Jan. 10, Sam Fantaye, a thirdyear graduate student studying landscape architecture, won the grand prize of $5,000 in the Better Philadelphia Challenge. “I found out I was the winner, and I was very, very excited,” Fantaye said. “The School of Architecture was happy too, because it’s representing the whole school.” The challenge is an annual competition organized by the Center for Architecture and Design, and each year it prompts students from around the world to focus on design issues in the city of Philadelphia. This year’s competition was called “Philadelphia’s Next Park+way.” It challenged students to think of new ways to link Philadelphia’s natural and cultural resources to neighboring communities and manage the city’s urban design issues. Fantaye’s design was called “Smart Weave” and presented a plan to improve the Lehigh Corridor in Philadelphia through a network of “smart paths.” These paths would include solar-powered street lights, designated bike lanes and solarpowered information centers complete with Wi-Fi hotspots.
By Cameron Goeldner @goeldfinger
Colton Newman / Daily Lobo / @cnewman101
Sam Fantaye stands confident in front of the UNM architecture building on the afternoon of Jan. 30, 2018.
According to Fantaye’s project description, all of these features are present in order to “reinforce the symbiotic relationship between the natural environment and adjacent neighborhoods.” Fantaye entered the competition through the architecture program’s competition studio course. The studio chooses a competition to enter and then works on designs for the duration of the course. The BPC gave the option of group or individual work — Fantaye decided to work alone. Kathy Kambic, assistant professor of landscape architecture at UNM and instructor of the competition studio course, said that while Fantaye’s final design was completed individually, the early stages of the class involved group research about Philadelphia.
“In the weeks leading up to (the competition), we worked in teams within the studio to research things like the history of Philadelphia (and) what the urban landscape is like there or the neighborhoods surrounding the particular areas the competition was going to focus on,” Kambic said. Although group work is a crucial part of developing ideas in her class, Kambic said she was happy to hear Fantaye’s individual effort paid off. “I was over the moon. I was just so excited for him. I was pleased that he was able to have his hard work recognized,” she said. Fantaye is an international student from Ethiopia, and after obtaining an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, he wanted to design landscapes.
The University of New Mexico women’s tennis team has postponed its next three matches after four players were injured in a hit-and-run car accident, the program announced in a release. Diana Wong, Ruth Copas, Yue Lin "Polly" Chen and Hsiang-Web "Albie" Huang were the players involved in the crash. They were reportedly injured when a vehicle ran a red light and hit theirs before speeding away. All four are expected to be able to return to the court soon, according to the athletic department. The team is currently 1-1 and beat Western Michigan 6-1 last “I started looking for schools. Unfortunately we didn’t have any landscape architecture program in Ethiopia, so I had to look internationally,” he said. Fantaye said UNM’s architecture program has been welcoming and supportive since he started attending the University, as the varying backgrounds of his peers and professors help him learn about different design methods. “I’m so grateful for this school, having this opportunity to work with a lot of professional people
Saturday. Matches with Western New Mexico and CSU-Pueblo, originally scheduled for this weekend, as well as a road matchup with Abilene Christian scheduled for Feb. 9 have been postponed. Efforts to reschedule all three matchups will be made, assuming schedules allow it. The team’s next scheduled game is now Feb. 17 at Northern Arizona. Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer and softball but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.
who are always helpful,” he said. Fantaye will travel to Philadelphia next month to accept his award and present his design to the Center for Architecture and Design and other architecture professionals. Tom Hanlon is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TomHanlonNM.
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