Daily Lobo new mexico
monday October 27, 2014 | Volume 119 | Issue 49
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Association brings Halloween cheer to kids By Lauren Marvin The Young Alumni Association will donate Halloween costumes to a group of children who are often forgotten and rarely get the opportunity to celebrate the holiday. The association is partnering with CLN Kids, a preschool that assists homeless children and their families, to provide about 100 costumes just in time for trick-or-treating. This is the fifth year of the drive, and in previous years the highest number of donations was 80 costumes, said Matthew Maez, chair of Community Service Committee for Young Alumni Association.
Maez said the association benefits from the drive because it helps them understand that homelessness affects not only adults, but children and families as well. The project is a chance for the young alumni to give back to the community, he said. “It’s not just people who maybe have made bad decisions in their lives or have an addiction problem,” Maez said. “A lot of times, it’s people who have really unfortunate circumstances or have experienced domestic violence and don’t have anywhere else to go, and (the drive) helps them think about this issue in a different way.” According to the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, there were an estimated 1,033 homeless families in New Mexico in 2013. There were also an estimated 403 unaccompanied homeless children and youths. “It benefits the parents of the children because it’s one less thing on their plate that they have to stress about,” Maez said. “And it’s such a stressful situation to be in. Certainly, if it’s a choice between paying for food that week or finding shelter that week versus Halloween costumes, that’s certainly going to fall to the wayside.” Angela Merkert, CLN Kids’ executive director, said the preschool serves children from the age of 6 weeks old to 5 years.
“These parents when they come to us are very low-income,” Merkert said. “So this helps (the children) to be able to have some sense of normalcy and be able to enjoy and have fun with the rest of kids that are out there trick-or-treating.” On Halloween, after receiving their costumes, the children will either go back to the shelter and celebrate or go to the nearby community center, she said. Maez said the drive is also an opportunity for social networking for the Young Alumni Association. On Friday, the group met with speakers from CLN Kids at Hotel Park Central, and most of the costumes were donated at the event, he said.
nelson makes milestone
Di Linh Hoang / Daily Lobo / @linh_linherz
New Mexico right side hitter Chantale Riddle, center, and middle blocker Elsa Krieg, 16, celebrate a score against San Jose State on Saturday at Johnson Gym. The Lobos won the match 3-1. For the full story, see Page 8.
UNM pays $350,000 in termination suit By Daniel Montaño
A jury has ordered UNM to pay more than $350,000 to a former employee who was fired for leaving work after an anxiety-fueled situation. Janet Alroy, a human resources employee, was fired in 2009 after having an intense panic attack, leaving her office and not returning for two days, according to court records. Tim White of Valdez and White Law Firm, who represented Alroy in her wrongful termination lawsuit, said the case has been ongoing for nearly five years and was originally ruled in favor of UNM. But White appealed the decision and won the case earlier this month. “I’ve been a lawyer for 26 years and I’ve never had a sweeter or prouder moment than getting the
verdict for her that said UNM did wrong,” White said. “Neither of us cared if it was just a dollar. We cared that they answered yes, that UNM had violated her rights.” In July of 2009, Alroy was confronted by an angry employee who was yelling and slamming her hands on Alroy’s desk, according to court documents. The incident triggered a panic attack that caused Alroy to have to leave work and take the next two days off, the documents state. When Alroy returned to work she was placed on administrative leave and eventually fired, according to court records. According the court records, UNM fired Alroy for leaving work without permission and for sending an email containing swear words to another employee. The second incident was unrelated to
the situation that created Alroy’s panic attack. Alroy has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder and experiences panic attacks when she is confronted with aggressive behavior, White said. Alroy worked in the benefits department of Human Resources and often encountered hostile behavior from employees who were disgruntled about benefits procedures, he said. According to court documents, Alroy approached her supervisor, Joseph Evans, to discuss her disability and ask for accommodation months before the incident that triggered her panic attack, but never received them. Instead, Alroy was told to she “need[ed] to learn how to let it roll off [her] back,” the documents state.
“After Jan had been there for about 10 months, she couldn’t deal with it anymore without getting some kind of help,” White said. “Basically, she got ignored.” In an official statement regarding the verdict, UNM officials said they still believe the University was not in the wrong. “We believe the University’s policies and procedures provide our employees with every opportunity to be successful in their work,” the statement reads. “While we appreciate the jury’s deliberations, we respectfully disagree and are disappointed with the verdict. University Counsel is reviewing the case and considering our options.” White said one of the major problems with this case was that Evans was not trained to deal with employees who have disabilities, he said.
see
Lawsuit page 3
The Young Alumni Association includes graduates from the last 10 to 15 years. The association has three committees: social networking, community service and professional development, he said. The association has also helped Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque Wilderness Federation, New Mexico Special Olympics and the Presbyterian Hospice Foundation, he said. Lauren Marvin is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo. com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
GPSA meeting, in brief
On Saturday the Graduate and Professional Student Association held its monthly council meeting. There were 24 representatives from the College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Law and Anderson School of Management in attendance. Resolution 5F: Sex Week An amendment was made to include language asking the Student Affairs office to clarify its apology for Sex Week and to clarify what exactly it was apologizing for, said Jessica Marshall, council chair. The resolution also calls upon UNM administrators to provide constructive criticism about future sexual education events. The resolution passed 24-1 and was presented, as a joint resolution with ASUNM, to the council by Amber Dukes, Equity and Inclusion Chair. Finance Committee Appropriations Rob Yazbeck, Finance Committee vice chair, brought the council a summary of appropriation request. All 12 appropriations passed unanimously except for one from Out Queer Grads, which was amended and then passed. The original request asked for $300 to be moved from the professional service budget to honorarium in order to compensate a guest speaker who will be video streaming his presentation. The amount of compensation was also reduced to $100, and the amendment was passed. Appointments Jessica Marshall, vice chair, proposed two appointments to the council for Chloe WinegarGarrett, programs chair, and Alaa Elmaoued, graduate health chair. A unanimous vote was passed for their appointments. Guest Speakers Academic tech liaison Stephen Burd and director of information technologies Moira Gerety presented to the council about Turnitin and iThenticate, computer programs that allow professors and students to check students’ schoolwork for potential plagiarism. The programs are currently being used by several departments, but the contract runs out in fall 2015. The council discussed the benefits and costs of the programs, and whether the contract should be renewed. No final action was taken at the meeting. ~ Compiled by Lauren Marvin