Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
friday November 21, 2014 | Vo l u m e 1 1 9 | Is s u e 6 8
Coach’s contract won’t be renewed By Liam Cary-Eaves
New Mexico will take on a national party to search for a new women’s soccer head coach after the Lobos announced Kit Vela’s contract won’t be renewed. Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs released a statement Thursday afternoon thanking Vela and her staff for their efforts, but said it was time to take the team in a new direction. “At this time, we have decided to not renew the contract for Kit Vela,” Krebs said in the release. “We will conduct a national search, and with our facilities, our community and our commitment to developing a championship women’s soccer program, we are confident that we can hire a coach to bring our program to that next level.” Vela led the program to two NCAA College Cup bids in 2010 and 2011 along with a Mountain West Tournament championship in 2011. She is 122-104-45 in her 14 years as head coach for New Mexico. In what ended up being Vela’s last season, the Lobos had 10-6-2 record in the 2014. The team advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament before falling to No. 2 Wyoming. However, UNM’s season was overshadowed by an abysmal hazing incident that received national attention. The Aug. 17 circus of events forced 22 players to serve a one-game suspension and Vela received a one week suspension without pay. Vela was making $75,000 as head coach. Jorge Vela and Krista Foo took over the day-to-day actions during Vela’s suspension and were also given letters of reprimand. The suspensions of the players were given throughout the season so the squad could field a full team. The Lobos’ home opener against Texas Tech was cancelled in lieu of the events that transpired that night before school was in session. Initially, Krebs said the seniors on the squad were peer pressuring seven freshmen to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and later sprayed the freshmen down with “soap and water.” Later on that night, the freshmen were forced from their street clothes down to their undergarments, Krebs said. That night, two freshmen were hospitalized after the entire team was involved in the scandal. Directly following the events, UNM began devising a program to heighten awareness. The women’s soccer team was the first to take an alcohol education course in addition to an anti-hazing program that all New Mexico student-athletes will now be required to take. Vela took full responsibility for the team’s actions and said she accepted all of the punishments that ensued after the initial suspension. Liam Cary-Eaves is the assistant sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo. com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
William Aranda / Daily Lobo / @_WilliamAranda
Americorp volunteer Kristoffer Sverigeson holds a candle by the Duck Pond during a Thursday night candlelight vigil honoring individuals who identify as transgender who have died in the past year. The Associated Students of UNM announced their support for the LGBTQ Resource Center for an initiative that would make it easier for students who identify as transgender to use whatever name the want for University records.
Resolution supports transgender students By David Lynch The Associated Students of UNM have stated their support of the LGBTQ Resource Center in their preferred name initiative, which would make it easier for transgender students to use whatever name they choose for University records. At its final Senate meeting of the fall semester on Wednesday, ASUNM
unanimously passed Resolution 8F, which states that the student government organization is in support of the campaign geared toward helping the transgender community on campus. ASUNM President Rachel Williams said it is another step towards acknowledging the diversity that UNM has to offer. “The fact that ASUNM can ask UNM to do something that helps UNM students so directly as to
help them feel more comfortable not only just going to school here and interacting with other people, but helping them identify with who they are, I think is just really super important,” Williams said. Frankie Flores, who works at the LGBTQ Resource Center, said the preferred name campaign is one that arose recently out of necessity. He said the goal is to work with UNM administration, as well
as registrars and Information Technologies, to try and make it possible for transgender students to officially identify with whatever name they are most comfortable with, something that has become increasingly difficult. Flores said that a number of students have reached out to the LGBTQ Resource Center because
see
Vigil page 2
Treatment could ‘disarm’ elements of staph By Lauren Topper
A combination of overuse and incorrect use of antibiotics is leading to a global epidemic of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that a recent report by the World Health Organization claims “threatens the achievements of modern medicine.” But a research team at UNM is creating an alternative for fighting a common, highly resistant infection. Assistant professor Dr. Pamela Hall and her team of researchers are working on developing a new method to combat infections by Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph. Notorious for developing resistance to antibiotics, staph is a type of bacteria that most often causes skin infections but can sometimes enter the bloodstream and be life-threatening. Without effective antibiotics the world could see the return of an era in which a minor infection is fatal, prompting scientists to scramble to
see
Bacteria page 2
Kanan Mammadli / Daily Lobo / @KenanMammadly
Seth Daly, a fourth-year Ph.D. biomedical sciences student, counts bacterial colonies on agar on Wednesday afternoon. The laboratory is developing inhibitors of bacterial virulence to treat infections caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.