Daily Lobo new mexico
friday March 27, 2015 | Vo l u m e 1 1 9 | I s s u e 1 2 7
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Senators forget homework on failed resolution Appropriations presented at Wednesday’s ASUNM meeting Appropriation 41S – passed $754 to Phi Beta Sigma to help fund travel to a regional conference in Baton Rouge Appropriation 42S – passed $745 to the American Planning Association to help fund travel to a national conference in Seattle. Appropriation 44S – passed $483 to Beta Alpha Psi to help fund travel to a regional competition in Denver Appropriation 45S – passed $2,613 to Jitterbugs Anonymous to help fund the hosting of instructors at a dance workshop Appropriation 46S – passed $2,080 to Nourish International to help fund travel to Nicaragua and the purchasing of canvas photograph display equipment. Appropriation 47S – passed $4,734 to Men’s Lacrosse to help fund travel to competitions in Utah and Colorado. Kanan Mammadli / Daily Lobo / @Kenen_Mammadly
Sen. Kyle Stepp expresses his opinion about the resolution Removing Social Security from UNM’s application at Wednesday’s ASUNM meeting in the SUB. Resolution 8S would have facilitated the process for immigrant students to apply to UNM. The resolution failed to pass Senate.
By David Lynch The Associated Students of UNM failed a resolution at Wednesday’s meeting that would have asked University administration to remove the need for a social security number in University applications, thereby allowing undocumented citizens to attend. Resolution 8S sought to ease admission and accessibility to UNM and its resources for the undocumented student population who do not have social security numbers. However, confusion and debate over the structure and preparation for the resolution ultimately led to a general uneasiness about passing it. Sen. Kyle Stepp said the Senate passing the resolution without doing its due diligence is the wrong thing to do. “There’s a lot of things that have not been answered that can affect this resolution,” Stepp said. Contention over the resolution was mainly among senators who were looking at the big picture driving the resolution — supporting undocumented students — and those who believed it would do more harm
than good in its current state. The confusion primarily stemmed from lack of information by the Student Enrollment Department that was vital to the action the resolution strives to accomplish. Stepp brought that issue up to the Senate. “Have any senators actually tried just going and asking if it can be removed?” he asked his fellow senators. When no one answered, the discussion turned primarily to the lack of preparation on the part of the individual senators, as well as what exactly the resolution was trying to do. Several senators, including Sen. Udell Calzadillas-Chavez, who sponsored the legislation, looked at its broader perspective, which was allowing access to UNM for those who may not already have it. “I think the issue here is making a statement so that undocumented students feel comfortable,” he said. “It would take away that shadow of fear that transfer students and firsttime applicants would have in applying to UNM.” However, several senators, including Sen. Ashley Hawney, said they did not feel comfortable voting on the resolution because it is essentially contradictory.
“It is an option [on a paper application],” she said. “Just stating that we want [providing a social security number] to be optional … it already is.” According to the Office of Admissions, online applications — the primary method for prospective students to apply — require a social security number. Paper applications do not. Sen. Nadia Cabrera made the point that each senator should have done their homework beforehand to be able to make as informed a decision as possible. But she did agree with CalzadillasChavez that the resolution is making a statement about UNM’s accessibility. “If anything, this resolution is increasing awareness to students from all around the country that we are here, you can apply here and we’re working to make it even more accessible to you,” she said. The discussion even provided changes of stance on the issue. Sen. Caleb Heinz said that while he was previously in support of the resolution, he became “uneasy” about the issue after hearing what his fellow senators had to say. “It seems like there is a system and it’s pretty solid,” Heinz said. “I
think it should be changed to asking for immigration status instead, and only that — but then that’s a whole different kind of resolution with a different purpose.” Stepp made a motion to table the resolution, meaning it will be held off for voting until the next senate meeting, by which time more information can be gathered about the application process. Hawney agreed with the move. “If the senators in this room, even just one or two, have confusion on this, what is it going to do to the students?” she said. However, ASUNM Vice President Jenna Hagengruber pointed out that, should the resolution be passed at the next Senate meeting in two weeks, it would be in place for less than a month. It took multiple votes to call the resolution into question, meaning the Senate was ready to vote on the resolutions as it stood. The resolution was finally voted on after about an hour of animated discussion. After four of the 19 senators present voted in favor, Sen. Travis Gonzalez said that most of the discussion on the failed resolution was directionless, calling it a waste of time.
the high-power microwave world,” said Sabahattin Yurt, a graduate research assistant in the applied electromagnetics research group. The project, called “Innovative use of Metamaterials in Confining, Controlling and Radiating Intense Microwave Pulses,” is a part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program funded by a grant from the Air Force Office
of Scientific Research. It is a five-year, $7.5 million project that brings UNM into collaboration with four other universities from different disciplines including MIT, Louisiana State University, Ohio State University and UC Irvine. Edl Schamiloglu, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at UNM, is the principal investigator of the MURI and has
been coordinating and overseeing overall progress and interactions among the consortium members. Other UNM researchers involved in the project are Professors Christos Christodoulou and Mark Gilmore, along with research faculty Mikhail Fuks and Sarita Prasad. “My consortium unites a diverse
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UNM microwave research intensifies By Sayyed Shah
A team of UNM researchers is developing next-generation microwave sources for highpower applications. With their new approach, the researchers are trying to create devices with smaller size that are reconfigurable and highly efficient. “This could be a breakthrough in
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Science page 2
Survivor’s support program awarded
Dalila Romero
By Matthew Reisen Dalila Romero, peer navigator and co-founder of Comadre a Comadre, was awarded the Spirit of Hope Award on March 21. The award is given annually by The Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation to “exceptional individuals who have made significant contributions in the fight against breast cancer.” Comadre a Comadre, founded 10 years ago, is an organization on UNM campus that “helps empower the lives of Hispanic/Latina women and their loved ones through advocacy,
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Q&A page 2