Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
SUMMER July 13-19, 2015 | Volume 119 | Issue 161
Student drowns in Animas River By Sayyed Shah Cody Shane Pierce, a junior criminology major, lived and died like a leader. Pierce, 19, drowned in the Animas River near Durango, Colorado, on June 25, said Laura Jean Pierce, Cody’s mother. “One evening after dinner, a few of them were walking back to their cabins and decided they wanted to jump in the river to cool off. In Cody’s protective manner, he said he would go first, and unfortunately was overtaken by the undercurrent of the water,” she said. Cody Pierce had a multidimensional personality. He was a protective, courageous, generous, kindhearted young man who always put others first, she said. “He was a 2013 graduate of Cibola High School, a goalie for the high school team and club soccer. He ran the 400 meter in track,” she said. “He was interested in forensics and he was studying criminology at the University of New Mexico; he was on the UNM racquetball team, and during the school year he worked at the UNM Campus Police Department.” Recently, he had received his hotshot (wilderness firefighter) and CPR Certifications, in addition to earning his personal harness to become a Sky Ranger at Tall Timbers resort, she said. Rosemary Melendrez, a security supervisor at the UNMPD, said she heard the news about Cody on June 27. “We are all taking it really hard. He was not just a regular studentemployee, he was a unique individual that cared about everyone,” she said. “He had a positive attitude and pride in the work that he did for security.” Cody Pierce enthusiastically fought negativity and turned it around, she said. “He used to work happily and with a big smile” she said. “When he first started the work, he came to me and said, ‘I am the guy that
Cody Shane Pierce
will cover any shift. Whenever you need any help, call me any time.’” In addition to helping his coworkers, Pierce had a good rapport with police and student patrol. “He took care of the community,” Melendrez said. “On the weekends he worked nights and he did an excellent job. He would have succeeded in whatever he did. We miss him.” He will be missed by his mother and father, sister and brother, grandparents, great-grandmother, uncles, aunts and cousins, roommates and many, many friends and co-workers, his mother said. In lieu of flowers, the family has set up a memorial fund at BBVA Compass Bank to help feed the many volunteer kayakers, rafters, hikers and search-andrescue members of the Sheriff’s Department in Durango that are still looking for him in the Animas River, Pierce said. The memorial service will be held at Faith Lutheran Church 10000 Spain Road NE Albuquerque on Friday at 4 p.m. with a reception to follow. Sayyed Shah is the interim news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @mianfawadshah.
Kanan Mammadli / Daily Lobo / @Kenan_Mammadly
Students and fans cheer for the men’s basketball team during the game against Wyoming in March 7. UNM men’s and women’s basketball games saw the highest attendance in the Mountain West this past season.
Lobos howl above the rest By Liam Cary-Eaves
New Mexico fans turn out for their Lobos. For the 16th consecutive year, New Mexico fans have topped the Mountain West for attendance in both men and women’s basketball. It is the 49th straight year that UNM’s fan base scaled the top-25 plateau for attendance at men’s basketball games. “I’m not surprised at all,” New Mexico Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs said. “I truly believe we have the best fans in the country.” Despite enduring one of the longest losing streaks in the history of the men’s basketball program, the Lobos averaged 14,571 fans per contest at WisePies Arena, aka The Pit. Head coach Craig Neal was unavailable for comment. UNM fans continued to fill seats during the team’s first losing season in nearly a decade. Even with the lowest average attendance at The Pit since 2012, Lobo supporters
averaged more than 14,000 fans for the past five years. New Mexico has grown accustomed to breaking the top-25 attendance barrier for nearly half a century; the 218,558 fans that trundled into The Pit constituted the 18th highest attendance in the country. New Mexico found some success playing in front of the home crowd, going 10-5 at home while collecting a 5-11 record away during the 15-16 season. UNM hadn’t produced a sub-.500 year since the 2006-2007 season, the final year Ritchie McKay coached New Mexico. The women’s basketball team also cracked the top-20 with an average of 5,168 fans in 17 home games — good enough for the 16th spot in the nation for attendance. “It’s a testament to our loyal fans, especially after a slow start,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said in a statement. “We are looking to increase that fan base in the future. We are very fortunate, and it’s why The Pit is a special place to play.”
The women’s program thrived under the home-court ambiance during the 2014-2015 season with 12 straight home wins, the longest streak in program history. UNM overcame a sluggish 1-7 start to finish 21-13 — the best in the Sanchez era. Sanchez’s squad certainly found success at home during the regular season, as the team put together a 13-2 record. The women haven’t lost a game at The Pit since November 29, 2014. “Historically, men and women’s basketball fans have been the best in the Mountain West,” Krebs said. According to the NCAA’s official release, the Lobos were the only team in the conference to crack the top 25 in the nation. San Diego State’s men’s basketball — the team with the best record in the conference (27-9, 14-4 MW) — recorded the second-largest home crowd in the Mountain West, averaging 12,414 bodies per game,
see
Basketball page 2
Crash course in ESL teaching sees high attendance By Matthew Reisen
Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo / @dee_sea_
Lizette Gutierrez discusses her teaching projects and language concepts with adjunct faculty staff member Donna Garcia and Gutierrez’s classmates during the ESL summer program on Thursday morning. The ESL summer program, held at La Mesa Elementary School, aims to help families and individuals reach a high proficiency in English language education.
The UNM/APS English as a Secondary Language summer program had a record 70 students attend its six-week program this year. Holbrook Mahn, associate professor in Literacy, Language, and Sociocultural Studies at UNM, said the 17-year-old institute condenses three of the five ESL courses into a six-week program for current and future teachers who want to receive English as a Secondary Language endorsement. “It’s a high-stress six weeks because you’re cramming in nine hours of student credit,” Mahn said. “We try to maintain the rigor of it because we know that we’re preparing teachers to go into the classroom. We want to make sure they get the
best education to help English language learners.” The Institute is held at La Mesa Elementary, Monday through Friday over the summer, he said. UNM students are taught by experienced APS teachers and district leaders, he said. Mahn said he started the program in the late nineties after the Office of Civil Rights said APS was out of compliance because it didn’t have enough teachers to handle learners of the English language, and APS was mandated to get teachers endorsed. This was easier said than done, as the ESL program — a total of five courses — could take several years to complete if its students happened to be teaching full-time. To solve that problem, Mahn established the
Summer Institute, he said. Before La Mesa, the Institute was held at Dolores Gonzalez Elementary, East San Jose Elementary and Longfellow Elementary, he said. “We wanted to provide different services to different communities.” The institute also offers classes to English-learning parents or adults as well, he said. This semester, English language learners included refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Ghana and the Congo. “I think that’s something, in the future, we’ll do more of, because there is a tremendous need for that,” Mahn said. Bernadette Vishaway, principal at La Mesa Elementary School who has a master’s degree in ESL, is in her first semester of actively teaching for the institute. She said
see
ESL page 2