Left in the dark

By: Carrie Ratkevich, Staff Reporter

 Safety walk shines light on problem areas

 Despite having low attendance, the Executive Council of Students’ safety walk identified several major concerns regarding the safety and welfare of students, said council President Cesar Silva.

Paired with campus secu­rity guards, students walked main campus in the late eve­ning and identified several areas without proper lighting, lights that did not work, and also dis­covered that 12 of the 40 code blue emergency boxes were either out of order or not work­ing properly, said. The outdoor lights near Janet Stromberg Hall, Smith Brasher Hall, the por­tables by Ted Chavez and Ken Chappy halls, the BMX parking lot and all around the adminis­trative buildings were not work­ing, said Silva.

The pedestal lights along the walkway between Janet Stromberg and the science lab building were not only out, but did not have proper covering, said Levi Turner, president of Phi Theta Kappa, who partici­pated in the walk.

“Students could stick their hands in and get stuck or shocked,” said Turner.

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Marching toward success

By: Scott M. Roberts

CNM to offer veterans services

 The CNM Veteran’s Administration department is creating a veteran’s representative position in the disability resource center to assist stu­dents who have served in the military, said Ian Scott a vet­eran administration tech III for financial aid and scholar­ship services.

There are 957 students currently enrolled at CNM who use certified veteran ben­efits to assist with education and funding, and at least 100 stu­dents who would immediately benefit from the on-campus location, said Scott.

Dean of Students Dr. Rudy Garcia said he has been heading up this project to get a Veterans Affairs representa­tive on main campus.

The Vet Success Office counselor would be assigned from the VA offices located in Albuquerque to give student veterans on-the-spot assistance, said Garcia.

Fine Arts major and Air Force veteran Terry Sexe said he is pleased by the upcoming position at main campus and he feels he and others will benefit.

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Editorial: Campus safety needs to be a higher priority

The sheer number of unresolved safety problems on main campus discovered recently by the Executive Council of Students is dis­turbing. The Chronicle wonders why security and maintenance have not been more on top of these problems.

The campus is plagued with improper light­ing, including a whole parking lot with just a single light.

Twelve of the 40 blue emergency boxes are either completely broken or so ill-maintaned that they would be useless in an emergency.

At night, with insufficient lighting of the parking lots, it poses a threat for students to become victims of theft, rape or other dangers.

To make sure that the students do not have to worry whether they are going to be attacked or run into some unsafe situation, administra­tion needs to fix this problem immediately.

With over 30,000 students enrolled at CNM and a fair majority of that number attend­ing the main campus, safety should be the number one priority.

Novel slam hosts westside arts expo

By: Stefany Olivas, Staff Reporter

The inaugural Arts Jam Expo, hosted by the Novel Slam student club, is a weekly event running through April 11 at the Westside campus, said Humanities, Religion and Philosophy instructor Mark Love-Williamson.

The event will provide a sense of community at the Westside campus through artistic expres­sion, said Love-Williamson. It will include a poetry slam, an art exhibit, a storytelling session and live music.

Many students have signed up to participate, but there are still spots available for stu­dents to share their works, said Love-Williamson.

“We have a lot of faculty and staff participating, but it’s at least 90 percent students,” he said.

The final event, a storytell­ing session, was dreamt up by Love-Williamson, he said.

“I’m a storyteller, so I insisted on it. I write adult fairy tales, which means the subject matter is something an adult would understand more than a child,” he said.

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Pasties, panties, and tassels OH MY!

By: Stefany Olivas, Staff Reporter

Burlesque Noir hosts funderaiser to compete in national event

 L ocal neo-burlesque performance troupe, Burlesque Noir, is co-hosting a fundraiser and raffle to raise money in order to attend a competition in Texas next month, said vet­erinary technician graduate and troupe founder “Holly Rebelle.” The group hopes the Bikini Bash Bonanza fundraiser will help with travel costs to attend the Texas Burlesque Festival on April 12 – 14 in Austin, said Rebelle.

Rebelle said that the troupe is honored to have another oppor­tunity to represent Albuquerque in a competition. The group won the award for best troupe at the “Great Boston Burlesque Exposition” in 2009, said Rebelle.

While all the girls are pas­sionate and talented, any form of dance as a hobby is very expensive — especially when group travel is involved, said Rebelle.

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Chess club makes its move

By: Carrie Ratkevich, Staff Reporter

The new campus Chess club offers students a chance to have fun and meet new people, said member and Transportation Technology major Kendron Cobb.

The meetings usually have had about nine members present, said Cobb, but members are not required to stay the whole time. Members play different matches against each other and then the winners play against each other. This helps the club figure out each mem­ber’s skill level. Once a rank system is established, higher ranked students can teach the lower ranked ones, said Cobb.

“They can learn to play and learn strategy,” said club member and Architecture and Design major Jorge Cardinas.

Cardinas learned to play chess from his high school wood shop teacher, he said. Cobb said he learned in elementary school.

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CNM foundation promotes financial literacy

By: Stefany Olivas, Staff Reporter

The CNM Foundation has received a grant of $148,000 from United Way World Wide and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to promote financial literacy, said Executive Director of CNM Connect Ann Lynn Hall, who will be administering the grant through her office.

The grant will be used to fund high-quality education programs and services to help students reach their financial goals, said Hall.

“For this grant, we’re targeting students who are taking the FIN 1010, a financial literacy course. We will help them find proper benefits, financial coaching, legal advice and free tax preparation in the spring to increase their income,” said Hall.

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Women on wheels

By: Scott M. Roberts, Staff Reporter

Student derby members are on a roll

Once a week, several CNM students meet at the Heights Community Center to hone their speed skating skills and toughen up for the Duke City Derby.

Exercise Science major and Derby Public Relations Representative Vanessa “B. Tona Brat” Valadez-Anderson said she heard a local radio sta­tion broadcast promoting the derby. Shortly afterwards she started to play herself and has been a member of the derby for the last two seasons.

“I had actually fantasized about playing roller derby when I saw “Rollergirls” on A&E. It’s a dream come true that I’m actually here now,” said Valdez-Anderson.

The athleticism is her favorite part of the sport even after never playing sports before the derby said Valadez-Anderson.

Her team, The Doom Dames, had been on hiatus for the 2011 season and are now back for the 2012 season, said Valadez-Anderson.

“I am looking forward to making everyone proud and happy that the Dooms came back,” said Valadez-Anderson.

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Bargain battle

By: Carrie Rakevich, Staff Reporter

Employee contract negotiations stalled

The CNM Employees Union and the administration have come to an impasse in negotiations over the wording of a contract clause, said former union president Donna Swanson.

The clause would allow union member salaries to be cut if nonunion employees have to take a pay cut because of a budget shortfall, said CNM president Katharine Winograd.

There are currently measures in the employee contract that can be used in the event of a budget shortfall, these include furloughs and layoff. A temporary pay cut could be a better alternative, but the language must be specific in how this can happen, said union president Andrew Tibble. “I don’t think Winograd wants to pull something over, she just has other interests to protect,” said Tibble. A pay cut should not be spread equally across the board, either, said Tibble. “Security only makes about $10 an hour. A one percent pay cut would hurt them more than the faculty or administration,” said Tibble.

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Making bones to fight breaking bones

 By: Stefany Olivas, Staff Reporter
Creative Writing major and UNM student Travis Hanson is copresident of the UNM chapter of One Million Bones, a collaborative art project to raise awareness for genocide.

The project is part of a larger nationwide initiative to raise awareness about genocide around the world through open art studios where members of the public can make a bone for free, said Hanson. The end goal of the project is to create an art installation of one million bones at the National Mall in Washington D.C. by April of 2013.

“Number one is to get more awareness. We’re trying to get public opinion and educate people more about what’s going on,” said Hanson.

UNM was the first college to develop a chapter after artist and activist Naomi Natele founded the project and began asking for participants, said Hanson.

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