NM Daily Lobo 02 25 2015

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Daily Lobo new mexico

The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895

wednesday February 25, 2015 | Vo l u m e 1 1 9 | I s s u e 1 1 0

Staged stunts discuss racism By Lauren Marvin

Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo / @dee_sea_

Allan Stone, a videographer with the Black Student Union, records fellow BSU colleagues enacting a staged scenario Thursday afternoon in front of the SUB. The Black Student Union aims to bring awareness to racial issues affecting minorities.

Oftentimes social norms prevent discussions about controversial issues, but one UNM student organization is pulling back the veil and talking about racism through social experiments. The Black Student Union staged experiments modeled after the popular TV show “What Would You Do?” by creating a scenario where actors of different genders and races argued in a public place about race. “We wanted to uncover the hidden racism … It is not in your face. We are trying to unpack natural, hidden racism that actually happens every day but most people don’t realize that they do it,” BSU President Jacklyn Asamoah said.

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Support from credit Brushing up on interview skills union continues By Marielle Dent

UNM President Bob Frank delivered words of praise about the numerous financial donations and community partnerships between the University and Nusenda, the new name for the former New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, at an unveiling of the new sign at its Lomas location across from campus on Tuesday. UNM has maintained a partnership with Nusenda for more than 25 years, and the credit union has designed many programs to help students manage their finances, according to a press release. The credit union also has a location in the SUB. “The credit union has been one of the biggest supporters of UNM over the years of any entity in the business community,” Frank said. “We’re thrilled that they are making themselves more distinct in this business environment and we want to thank them for what they do for us. Any way they stand out and are better able to enhance their ability to prosper is good for us, because they are always there for us.” Nusenda recently donated $750,000 to UNM to help expand the coverage area of LoboWifi. It also gifted $3 million to UNM’s Innovate ABQ project, the plan for a business incubator district in downtown Albuquerque. Nusenda chose to undergo rebranding to become more memorable and to attract more customers, said Terry Laudick, CEO at Nusenda. The credit union worked with three companies over the past 10 years to research new advertising theories, he said. It has been proven that the most memorable product

names are a single word containing three syllables, like Nusenda. The new name has been widely criticized as sounding like a medication or artificial sweetener, but Laudick said the name is simply taking advantage of proven advertising techniques. “It continues to be our primary focus to serve the students, faculty and administration of the University and all the schools in the Rio Grande, but many people were saying they wanted to join and didn’t think they could because the name said New Mexico educators,” Laudick said. “So it was limiting some of our growth, and growth is what keeps us in a position to continue to support the University.” Nusenda supports UNM through at least five programs, and is always available to aid students in better understanding their finances and loans, he said. For example, Nusenda has partnered with UNM to integrate a financial component into the University 101 course. Through this partnership, the credit union works with each instructor of the course individually to best adapt the financial curriculum to their class, according to a press release. “Change is difficult and not everyone can accept change, but they’ll adapt to it once they have a better understanding of why,” Laudick said. “We’re out to communicate that why. This will make the credit union stronger. We’re going to be able to do more for all of our educational programs and our community. What’s important to us is prospering and being able to give back.”

Marielle Dent is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@daily.com or on Twitter @Marielle_Dent.

Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo / @dee_sea_

Shaya Rogers, a leadership and mentoring program assistant with UNM’s Womens Resource Center, trains Karla Chavez on interview skills and practices Tuesday afternoon as part of their professional development seminar.

Women’s Resource Center offers professional development By Robert Salas

The Women’s Resource Center launched the first part of its Women and Leadership Series on Wednesday, which aims to help female students break through the glass ceiling and land the job of their dreams. The series debut focused on the importance of first impressions during a professional interview and allowed participants to practice their approach to creating a personal story. “It’s really important to have a personal story in a career-minded situation. When you go into an interview they often ask you to tell

a little bit about yourself. That’s the time where you can really engage that story,” said Shaya Rogers, a leadership and mentoring program assistant at the WRC. Rogers said the idea behind the “personal story” is for anyone to be able to express a brief and concise history or back story that might pertain to a specific job. During the seminar, Rogers conducted an interactive training seminar where participants could listen to each other’s personal stories and provide constructive critiques. For those less versed in professional skills, Rogers also provided a basic introduction to formatting a personal

story to exhibit confidence to potential employers. Caitlin Henke, a program specialist for the WRC, said most people want to present their professional self during a job interview but for some it can be challenging to establish an individualized professional identity. The Women and Leadership Series is providing an avenue for women to start practicing professional conduct, she said. “You hear so much about the importance of getting a job while you’re in college. You hear about the importance of getting out there and

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