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February 25, 2016 | Vo l u m e 1 2 0 | I s s u e 4 7
Drunk driver charged in UNM sued for fetal death of UNM student tissue documents By Matthew Reisen
A memorial made for Jacob Salazar, a UNM student who died in a vehicular manslaughter case in January.
By Elizabeth Sanchez An Albuquerque man has been charged with vehicular homicide that resulted in the death of a UNM student. Jacob Salazar, a freshman mechanical engineering major on a full academic scholarship, was killed in January during a car accident while driving on Coors Boulevard and Las Estancias Court. The other driver, Robert Lucero, was booked on Feb. 19 for vehicular homicide, involving a DWI, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office said. He was arraigned with a one hundred thousand dollar cash or charity bond. The DA’s office is preparing to present the case to a jury, but Lucero has not yet been indicted. Sam Mascarenas, a former teacher of Salazar’s as well as his football coach at Rio Grande High School, was on vacation when he heard Salazar had passed away at the hands of a drunk driver. “I was devastated,” he said. “Jacob had an amazing personality.
He was outgoing, fun, energetic and enthusiastic.” Mascarenas said he had known Salazar for four years.He said stricter laws could have prevented Salazar’s death. “Awareness [about drunk driving] starts early,” Mascarenas said. “I truly believe that awareness has had some influence on the situation, but the major cause for New Mexico still having these horrific incidences are the lack of accountability in our laws that are in place. Tougher laws and penalties can curve and discourage this type of behavior.” Interim Dean of Students Jenna Crabb did not know Salazar personally, but said it is always awful to lose a student to this type of incident. “It deeply affects our Lobo community,” she said. “Our condolences go out to his family. We, as a Dean of Students Office, reached out to his family after learning about this tragedy. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.” Crabb said UNM provides counseling services for those affected by loss.
Courtesy / Sam Mascarenas
“It can be a difficult time. There are many resources available,” she said. Mascarenas said a few RGHS photography students created a sidewalk mural to commemorate Salazar outside of an art class at the high school. Mascarenas will also be remembering Salazar in his own special way, he said. “He loved Skittles candy, so maybe before every football game, I will eat a bag of Skittles for Jacob,” he said. Mascarenas said Salazar was an individual of great character, a fact which manifested itself one day during class. “Another student was being a little rude and spitting sunflower seeds on the floor in the weight room. When the class was over, Jacob asked for a broom and swept up the mess,” he said. “I remember telling him, ‘You don’t have to do that,’ and he said, ‘Coach, it’s no problem.’” Elizabeth Sanchez is a reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Beth_A_Sanchez.
The New Mexico Alliance for Life filed a lawsuit, through its attorney, against UNM Health Sciences Center for withholding documents in regards to using fetal tissue for research. Elisa Martinez, executive Director of the New Mexico Alliance for Life, said that the alliance requested documents from UNMHSC in accordance with the state’s open records laws. The documents requested involved biohazard compliance and approval processes for research on human subjects. NMAFL is an advocacy organization, she said, that is focused on changing laws by empowering women with better choices when facing unplanned or difficult pregnancies, in addition to advocating for better protection for women and unborn children from the abortion industry. Martinez said the specific documents stemmed from a study using the extracted eyeballs of aborted babies up to 24 weeks entitled, “VEGF mRNA and Protein Concentrations in the Developing Human Eye.” The documents were directly referenced in the Aborted Human Eye Study conducted by Robin Ohls with UNM’s Department of Pediatrics, she said. “To date, HSC has not been forthcoming with this information, although the actual study cites the documents.” UNM policy and federal regulations require UNMHSC to maintain these documents for all human research studies, Martinez said. “The inspection of records request provides public oversight into UNM’s practices of fetal tissue procurement and partnerships with the late-term abortion industry which is currently shrouded in secrecy,” she said. “Addition-
ally, it is unclear as to whether or not women are being properly informed regarding the donation of their aborted babies’ body for research.” Billy Sparks, Executive Director for HSC Communications and Marketing, said UNMHSC has received several IPRA requests in the past several months from this particular organization. “It is always our intention to respond, completely and in a timely manner, to all IPRA requests,” he said. Meanwhile, on February 16, a U.S. House investigative panel formally issued subpoenas to UNM and Southwestern Women’s Options in Albuquerque in reference to the harvesting and subsequent transfer of fetal parts for medical research. The investigation is headed by the Congressional Select Investigative Panel on Infants Lives, led by Rep. Marsha Blackburn. “We have been working diligently to acquire information that is needed to get the facts about the medical practices of abortion service providers and the business practices of the procurement organizations who sell baby body parts,” Blackburn said in a prepared statement. “While it was our hope that these organizations would voluntarily work with us in this effort, some have refused to cooperate by withholding information that is critical to providing us with answers to questions the American people are asking. Consequently, if forced to do so, we will issue subpoenas to any organization that refuses to fully cooperate with our investigation.” HSC received a letter signed by Chairman Blackburn on Jan. 6 and the initial letter included 19 individual areas, each encompassing a wide range of issues and documents related to our life-saving research, Sparks said.
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Lawsuit page 10
Nurses for Bernie Sanders visits campus By Johnny Vizcaino
After rolling into town on the “Bernie Bus” provided to them by the Progressive Democrats of America, members of National Nurses United set up shop outside of the SUB this week. Only they weren’t selling things, they were literally giving them away. From beanies and buttons to bumper stickers endorsing democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, there was no shortage of Bernie-brand goods being distributed by the Nurses 4 Bernie in Cornell Mall on Tuesday. DeAnn McEwen, a registered nurse with over 40 years of bedside nursing and intensive care experience, said she has become something of a spokesperson for the organization and has been with the group since its inception. McEwen said she also conducts a traveling seminar on the History of Nursing as a Social Responsibility. “This is part of the solution: at the bedside I can advocate and give you some education,” she said, “help pro-
vide care for people that they can’t provide for themselves,” McEwen said she is highly critical of the current “prescription pill peddling” healthcare industry system. “(People) show up on the hospital doorstep with the expectation of help and (that’s not) what happens in a health care industry now that’s focused on profit and providing care to people as a commodity instead of a service,” McEwen said. “We believe that’s unjust.” McEwen, along with fellow nurses, urged passing students to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election. There are dire circumstances surrounding a person’s access to healthcare, she said. Oftentimes, for some people, timely access to preventive medical treatment is a matter of life and death. “At the door, we want to just say ‘how can we help you?’ (but) people are ashamed. They’re given instructions; the doctor tells them to take a certain medication, they go home and they can’t afford the medications
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Bernie page 10
Courtesy / National Nurses United
A Bernie Sanders hat sits on top of a statue near the SUB. Bernie Sanders supporters gathered to give out free hats, pins and stickers.