Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
monday March 23, 2015 | Vo l u m e 1 1 9 | I s s u e 1 2 3
Legislators pass blame for unpassed bill By Marielle Dent This year’s legislative session ended on Saturday with a major task left incomplete: Passage of a $275 million capital outlay bill that would have funded infrastructure projects statewide. The bill, which is usually passed every session, died because of par-
tisan disagreements that characterized most of this session. On Friday the House Ways and Means Committee voted to cut $45 million in funding for community colleges, senior centers and pueblos across the state to put toward highway funding. These changes to the Senate-approved bill were debated until the final minutes of the session.
“Unfortunately, this session ended in the same fashion it was operated from day one,” Gov. Susana Martinez said during a press conference. “Senate Democrats chose to obstruct, to delay, chose gridlock, chose partisanship, and they chose not to compromise.” When it left the Senate the bill included about $9 million for UNM
projects, including $5.3 million for the Health Education building, $1.2 million for the Physics and Astronomy department and $1 million for engineering facilities. Lawmakers accused one another of partisanship throughout this session, largely due to a divided government with a Democrat-controlled Senate and a Republican-
controlled House of Representatives and Republican governor. “Do we have a do-nothing state legislature? Will that be specific to this session, or will this be the norm throughout Gov. Martinez’s second term in office?” Gabriel Sanchez, an associate professor of political
see
Legislature page 3
Sand Volleyball
UNM’s newest sport starts with a struggle
Sergio Jiménez / Daily Lobo / @SXfoto
New Mexico sand volleyball player Ashley Kelsey dives for the ball at StoneFace Courts on Saturday. The Lobos hosted the Grand Canyon University Antelopes for its inaugural double-header home opener, dropping both matches 4-1.
By Liam Cary-Eaves New Mexico’s newest athletic program played on its own turf — sand, actually — for the first time on Saturday. The New Mexico sand volleyball team struggled in its home debut
against No. 18 Grand Canyon University, dropping both matches 4-1 at StoneFace courts. UNM now sits at 1-3 on its inaugural season. Assistant coach Lisa Beauchene said the program is continually improving and New Mexico needs to keep facing qual-
ity competition to progress further. “We’re playing a lot of the Arizona teams more than once, which is really tough competition, but good experience for us,” she said. Beauchene said it will take some time for the crossover players from the indoor courts to get their ‘sand
legs’ underneath them. UNM has six sand-only players, four of whom are freshmen; the other eight on the roster also venture to the hardwood courts during the fall campaign. “We’re brand new at this, and our players have only played in-
door,” Beauchene said. “For us, we’re definitely getting better.” Freshman Eastyn Baleto and sophomore Julia Warren have not had to endure much of the team’s growing pains. The No. 2 team
see
Volleyball page 8
Native law sees high demand LGBTQ student School of Law program focuses on serving Native populations By Robert Salas UNM’s School of Law recently ranked among the top 100 law schools in the nation, and part of the reason for that may be a program offered at only two dozen universities in the country. The Indigenous Peoples Law program provides academic course work specializing in Native American law, which is a growing field in the Southwest. “Because of the huge presence that Native people have in New Mexico, and the complexity of In-
dian law, the demand for lawyers in this field is high,” said Barbara Creel, professor of law. The program offers a variety of routes law students can take to incorporate Native American law into their curriculum. According to the School of Law’s website, the Indian Law Certificate was created because of an increased need for attorneys versed in Indian Law. A key component to the ILC Program is the Southwest Indian Law Clinic, where students are offered the opportunity to practice Indian law and represent clients
in state, federal and tribal courts while supervised by a licensed attorney. The SILC is an outlet for Native American people who are seeking law services that they may not be able to afford otherwise. Creel said potential clients must meet financial eligibility requirements to access SILC — an effort by the law school to avoid taking paying clients away from practicing attorneys in the state. The Native population in New Mexico faces difficulties when
see
Law page 5
thrives at UNM By Cara Grasso
For most students, college is a time for experimenting with new identities and figuring out which ones fit best. For at least one student, arriving at UNM was the first time she felt she could truly be herself. Liviana Rodriguez, a freshman fine arts major, said she remembers being seven years old, throwing pennies into wishing fountains, wishing she could be the gender she felt she was on the inside. She began her transition from male to
female during high school, and said she faced discrimination. “I heard slurs all the time,” she said. “I heard ‘tranny’ and was referred to as my old name, and people purposefully used ‘he,’ and that felt really bad. I always felt really alone, especially in my high school.” Since arriving at UNM Rodriguez has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community on campus. She said being exposed to such an accepting environment
see
Rodriguez page 5