NM Daily Lobo 11 26

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Daily Lobo new mexico

wednesday November 26, 2014 | Vo l u m e 1 1 9 | Is s u e 7 1

The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895

A light in the darkness

SFRB proposes increase to fees By Sayyed Shah

Sergio Jiménez / Daily Lobo / @SXfoto

Kyla Joas, left, and Megan Seckler of Pi Beta Phi sorority raise a sky lantern outside Zimmerman Library on Tuesday evening. The launch came after the memorial service to celebrate the lives of UNM students Briana Hillard, a Pi Beta Phi sister, and Matthew Grant, a former Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity member. Hillard and Grant were killed and two more remain hospitalized after a hit-and-run car accident in front of Hotel Albuquerque on Friday night.

Ferguson decision draws protesters By Jonathan Baca, Lauren Marvin and Moriah Carty Nearly 200 protesters took to the streets Tuesday night, in response to the failure of a Ferguson, Missouri, jury to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown. The protesters, led by (un)Occupy ABQ, marched up and down the middle of Central Avenue between San Mateo Boulevard and Yale Avenue, blocking traffic, waving signs and chanting. While the protest was focused on the case in Ferguson, where a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teen, many who came to march Tuesday night also protested the Albuquerque Police Department’s excessive use of force. Elisabeth Perkal, a graduate student in American Studies and organizer for (un)Occupy ABQ, said it was clear to her from how many people

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Protest page 2

William Aranda / Daily Lobo / @_WilliamAranda

Protesters sit on Central Avenue Tuesday night with their hands up in solidarity with Ferguson, Missouri. The protest took place a day after a Missouri grand jury announced they would not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

The Student Fee Review Board has made its initial recommendations for the use of student fees for 2016, and will be making their final recommendations on Dec. 4. The SFRB has recommended an overall increase to student fees of less than 2 percent for the financial year 2016. The board felt that this provided accessibility to students both in the form of affordability and in the form of resources necessary for student success, said Rachel Williams, president of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico and chair of the Student Fee Review Board. “The board was highly cognizant of balancing these two forces with the overall goal of delivering higher education in the best way possible as the state’s flagship university,” Williams said. Following the initial presentation to the Budget Leadership Team, the SFRB met on Saturday to revise and improve recommendations based on feedback, she said. The SFRB ensured that they supported critical programs and assessed how helpful these programs were to students, said Texanna Martin, Graduate and Professional Student Association president and vice-chair for the SFRB. “This is a question that we asked in our application to identify those specific programs that contribute to student success. The board agreed to recommend new programs for funding on a pilot basis with a recommendation to the next SFRB to ask for a progress report on the results and outcomes of their programs,” Martin said. In its preliminary recommendations, SFRB recommended three new applicants for funding: the Graduate Resource Center, College Enrichment Program, and the College Assistance Migrant Program. SFRB has recommended increases in the budget of nine departments, clubs, organizations and projects. According to the preliminary recommendations document sent to the Budget Leadership Team, four organizations, clubs or projects that

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Center gives homeless kids a healthy environment By Matthew Reisen

This story is part of a series about homelessness in Albuquerque. New Mexico is currently listed 46th in the nation when it comes to homeless children, but one Albuquerque organization is doing what it can to combat the issue of homeless families. Cuidando Los Ninos, or CLNkids, is a homeless child care and family re-

source center that has been working with homeless families in Albuquerque for 25 years, said executive director Angela Merkert. Merkert said the organization was created when the city began noticing the problem of homeless families in Albuquerque. Single mothers, who account for 90 percent of homeless families, were in need of day care assistance so they could pursue jobs or further their education during the daytime, she said.

One single mother was a woman named Nolanda, who struggled to find stable housing for her and her children. “Me and my family slept in shelters — when we were homeless, we went from shelter to shelter,” she said. “Some of the struggles that I faced were being tired and just trying to keep my kids safe. CLNkids was able to help Nolanda and her children find temporary housing, and with the stability it pro-

vided, she has made significant steps to improve her family’s lives, she said. “Since I have gotten help from CLN I have stabilized my family and gone to school and also have a roof over my head for me and my three children,” she said. “Things are going really good right now, we are all happy.” The goal of CLNkids is to identify safe and affordable housing for families and make sure children receive early childhood education that goes

beyond daycare, she said. The organization runs a five-star rated early childhood education program for children from six weeks up to five-years old in three separate classrooms, she said. “It’s about helping the children be less at risk when they go into kindergarten,” Merkert said. “We have identified issues and we have backup support for them, like in language

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