Day: April 3, 2012

Historical demolition?

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By: Carrie Ratkevich, Staff Reporter
Photos By: Howard Crum, Senior Photographer

Student organization raises concerns about building demolition>

Plans for the buildings on Coal and Buena Vista need to be looked at carefully, said Vice-President of the Executive Council of Students, Stephen Martos.

If the buildings can be restored, there are many student organizations that could use the space, said Martos. There are also many programs that could use the restoration of the build­ings as a class project, such as Applied Technologies, said Martos.

“If there is a historical value to these buildings, it needs to be looked into being saved,” said Martos.

The old buildings across Buena Vista from the administrative build­ings are going to be torn down, because they are in poor condition, said Marketing and Communications Officer Brad Moore. The three houses owned by CNM are going to be torn down this summer, said Moore.

“Due to the age of the structures, CNM has determined that it would not be cost-effective to renovate the buildings,” said Moore. The decision was made at the Governing Board meeting in March.

There are benefits to rehabilitat­ing the buildings, said New Mexico Historic Preservation Division Public Relations officer Tom Drake. There are several state and federal laws that act as guidelines for preservation and can help with grant money for the projects, said Drake.

“There are financial incentives for preserving historic buildings,” said Drake.

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Crime and punishment

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By: Carrie Ratkevich, Staff Reporter

Detention center chief to cover career opportunities

Chief Ramon Rustin, head of the Metropolitan Detention Center, will be speaking about law enforcement career options during the Criminal Justice Speaker Series next week, said Criminal Justice instructor Kevin Daugherty.

Rustin’s presentation will take place on April 11 from noon to 1 p.m. in Smith Brasher Hall room 100.

The field of law enforce­ment and corrections is so large that it is good to show students what areas that are available to them, said Daugherty. The series high­lights these areas and shows how getting an education is important within this field, said Daugherty.

“Many areas within the law enforcement field have begun to professionalize, including corrections,” said Daugherty.

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Published faculty member to be recognized

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By Stephanie Muha, Staff Reporter

The Main campus library commu­nity is excited to host the second annual CNM Authors Reception, said Reference Librarian Olivia Baca.

This event, which will be held on Tuesday, April 10 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. will recognize faculty and staff who have had works pub­lished in 2011 and 2012, said Baca.

“CNM Authors is a CNM col­lege recognition event, so we are recognizing faculty or staff who have published or composed cre­ative works,” said Baca.

There will be a 30 minute period for guests to browse all the works being recognized. The col­lection will include artwork, jour­nals, full length novels and more, said Baca.

Don Bullis, a New Mexico centennial author, will be the key­note speaker and will also be recog­nized for his works, said Baca.

More than 40 faculty and staff members were recognized in the inaugural reception, and so far there are 30 participants for the 2012 event, said Baca.

“Before this started, I didn’t realize how many people did so many different kinds of scholarship. This really brings it all together” said Baca.

This can be a good way dem­onstrating to students that there are ways to build on the research and the writing done in school, said Baca.

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Letter to the editor

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We are writing in response to the article “Bargain Battle” in the March 20, 2012 CNM Chronicle that listed full time faculty salaries here as $54,292 on average. There may be a few who earn that much, but most do not. Plus, according to StateUniversity.com, CNM faculty salaries rank at the bottom of the tier of NM State Universities.

More importantly, part time salary was not listed at all in your article. Since part time faculty make up approximately 75 percent of the instructional workforce at CNM, this is serious.

At the current time professors with a PhD and teaching experience can expect to earn approximately $2600 per course. This is far below what professionals earn at other institutions. This means that a fac­ulty member who got just one class in a semester instead of the four which are needed for a decent pay­check, that person would be look­ing at only $450 per month in take home pay. In summer, for example, it’s not uncommon for part time faculty to receive only one or two courses.

Despite the administration’s claim that part time educators here are retired and/or have a second job that pays significantly more, this is not the case for many of us. Particularly in the humanities, teaching is considered a long-term career, but with the CNM salary scale most of us cannot support ourselves much less our families. We are much like the workers in an Apple factory who make state of the art products but get paid so little. Many of our own faculty qualify for food and housing assistance benefits and yet the top administrators, like a Steve Jobs, pull down a high salary.

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‘Foul play’ strikes again

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By: Carrie Ratkevich, Staff Reporter

Foul Play Café will be produc­ing a new show called “Virginia Jones and the Curse of Nergal,” said Foul Play Café Director Micah Linford.

“The play is a spoof of the Indiana Jones movies,” said Linford.

The play takes place in Marlene’s Cabaret in Liechtenstein during 1932, according to foulplaycafe.com. A wealthy explorer is found dead in the tomb of a Mesopotamian God. His mysterious death is blamed on an ancient curse but not everyone believes this. It is left to Virginia Jones, played by Stephanie Landers and Becks Nadler, to ferret out the truth, according to foulplaycafe.com.

The play is being codirected by Eddie Dethlefs and Micah Linford, and was written by David Landau. A few of the actors, such as CNM alum­nus Bob Laundry, will be returning to the Foul Play stage in “Virginia Jones and the Curse of Nergal”, according to foulplaycafe.com.

The production will take place in four acts, which are sepa­rated by the courses of the meal. The meal includes salad, soup, a main course and a dessert. The actors are also the servers. The actors stay in character during the serving portion of the play, according to foulplaycafe.com.

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Zyegoat produces new film

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By: Scott M. Roberts

Casting call from former CNM student

Albuquerque film company Zyegoat Production Films will hold a casting call for their newest production “The Learning,” which is to be released at the upcoming Sundance Short Film festival January 2013 said co-founder, producer, writer, and former CNM student Ian Page.

Page said they are currently looking for 14 extras and five leads for scenes that will be filmed on location in the Jemez Mountains, and also in studio settings here in town for the current production.

“We want to have the film done by July, so we can submit it to Sundance by August,” said Page.

The movie will mainly be focused around an old derelict house. About 40 percent of the shoot will be on location in the Jemez, and the rest will be shot in studio or against green screen, said Page.

“The Learning” is a psychological thriller revolving around a “creepy” house located in the mountains, said Page.

“We are in need of one female lead role, one female secondary role with lines, and four secondary male roles with limited lines,” said Page.

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Local film won’t leave you ‘Stiffed’

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By: Travis Pearson, Staff Reporter

Directed by local filmmaker Billy Garberina, “Stiffed,” combines Satanism, strippers and zombie criminals in this very low budget independent horror-comedy.

Frank, (Kevin Santry) is the leader of a trio of small-time armed robbers, who becomes infatuated with Satan-worshipping stripper Chloe (Jamison Jontry) the night before a job. The job goes horribly wrong, and leaves the band of thieves in the county morgue. Chloe is asked to identify the bodies by the pathetically lonely Detective Orser (Paul Asling). Chloe cuts a deal with the janitor at a local mortuary to save the unclaimed bodies of the trio from crema­tion. One heavy metal satanic ritual later and Chloe has her very own pack of invincible bandits.

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Student downloading apps, uploading satisfaction

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By: Scott M. Roberts

iPads available for checkout at all libraries

The libraries, with assistance from CNM Connect, are now pro­moting an option to check out iPad2 tablets and providing a variety of interactive software to students, staff and faculty, said Reference Librarian Olivia Baca.

Baca said the libraries purchased 16 iPad2 tablets which were made available for checkout during the second half of the Fall 2011 term. In February, the number of tablets was increased to expose more users to new technology, including touch screens and portable operating sys­tems, she said.

“The libraries began with 16 iPads and now we have 40 thanks to CNM Connect, so the availability has already improved,” said Baca.

An additional 24 iPads were donated by CNM Connect to the libraries, allowing for easier lending across the campuses, said Baca.

“We will collect circulation data from the tablets and use that informa­tion in purchasing more in the future if needed,” said Baca.

Anyone with a CNM ID has the ability to check out the libraries’ newest additions, the 32GB iPad2s, which connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, said Baca.

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Student group offers foreign supports

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By: Stefany Olivas, Staff Reporter

The African Students Association provides a variety of supports to for­eign students, said Pre-management major and club sec­retary Andre Matip.

The association was founded this semester when Matip and the other officers felt the need to help English as a Second Language students integrate into New Mexican society.

“The purpose of our organization is to meet each other and help each other in school and everything else. I don’t w a n t anyone t o miss something because they could not understand something as simple as paperwork,” said Matip.

The association is developing a partnership with the ESL depart­ment to find African, and other for­eign students who not only need assistance but can volunteer to help others, said Matip.

The association has given the ESL department a list of the names of everyone who is involved with the association and the languages they speak so they can help translate for incoming students, he said.

“Everyone can be involved in our association, not just Africans. We want to show CNM and the Albuquerque community that we are a part of this big community and can bring more variety – something spe­cial,” said Matip.

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