Category: Student News

ECOS & Dean to Discuss Future of Online Education

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By

Mark Graven

Staff Writer


Phil Lister, Dean of the School of Math, Science and Engineering at CNM has accepted an invitation to attend the next Executive Council of Students (ECOS) to be held March 19th, according to ECOS President Alex Crossland.
The EOCS board has been searching for a way of obtaining more interaction between professors and students in math and science courses in the remote learning process that has taken over CNM, during Covid times.
To that end the ECOS board members, at last Friday’s meeting, crafted an email inviting Dean Lister to meet with board members this coming Friday.  By the end of the meeting last Friday, Lister replied that he would attend, Crossland announced.
Dean Lister presides over a large amount of academic territory at CNM.  The MSE School offers degree programs in Biology; Biotechnology; Chemistry; Earth and Planetary Science; Engineering; Geography; Mathematical Science; Nutrition; Physics; and Pre-Health Scidnce; and non-degree programs in Astronomy and Natural Science (for teachers).
Physics course have come under particular scrutiny at ECOS board meetings because they lack a lecture component, according to Imane Bahji. ECOS vice-president.  
Bahji said that if difficult science and math courses are not going to offer lecture, or some other reasonable substitute for faculty student interaction, then CNM should say so upfront, so that students know what they are getting into.  
ECOS had previously contacted CNM President Tracey Hartzler, and met the the Faculty Senate, but did not achieve the improvement to remote learning that board members wanted to see.
Students interested in watching ECOS meeting with Dean Lister can go to My CNM and search for ECOS meeting link.  The meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., as per usual with ECOS meetings.

All Quiet on Montoya Campus

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Story and Photos by

Mark Graven

Staff Writer

It is a sunny afternoon at CNM Montoya campus, on a March day that would foster a beehive of activity during normal times but these are still COVID TIMES. The Montoya parking lots are practically bereft of cars.  Outside tables, where students might ordinarily be having lunch, are vacant.  Signs on the glass doors of Robert R. Barr Hall indicate that the library, within, is closed, and that assessments scheduled for March 23rd through April 5th, will be held at the CNM Main Campus.  The Sandia Mountains, in in the background, send a message that there are still tasks to be completed.  And the birds still chirp their songs from the bushes and trees, but garner applause from no one.

The Games That Are Getting Us Through

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Story and Photo

By Angela Harrington

Staff Reporter

 Psychology major Isaiah Theodis said that game play has been a great way for him to get away from the stresses of not seeing friends.

He does still get out and partake in some outdoor activities, but playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with friends and online role-playing games (RPG) has helped him get through the social distancing that has become a way of life over the last year, he said.

 “I generally like the RPG games because it kind of gets you away from what you are doing and puts your mind in a different place,” said Theodis.

 Theodis recommends games like Minecraft because players can let their imaginations fly by building things like mansions or castles, he said.

Photo of the Game Survive

 He stated, “With a lot of those action adventure games, the concept is just destroying, but at the end of the day, building something is a lot more fun and productive.”

He said he likes board and card games as well.

“I have been making my parents pretty mad lately with UNO. It’s hard for people to smoke me in UNO, that’s like one of my favorite things,” said Theodis.

Geography instructor Justin Fuller said Uno is one of his family’s favorites, but they also play Chutes-and-Ladders, Connect Four, and Go Fish, among others.

 “I introduced my kids to Battleship, which they liked with the hunting and finding your opponent and using the Grid-type, almost a map, to record where you and your opponent’s ships are located,” Fuller said.

If you are looking for something different to play maybe try a game called SURVIVE Escape From Atlantis! (Currently being played by a member of the CNM Chronicle Staff). The idea of the game is to save people on an island, before a volcano erupts.

Click the link here for more game ideas.

ECOS Looking For Answers

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Story By

Mark Graven

Staff Reporter


Frustrated by what it perceives as a lack of a response in its call for improvements to remote learning at CNM,  the Executive Council of Students (ECOS) has decided to target the mid-level of the CNM  bureaucracy to get action. 

At a meeting on February 5th, ECOS decided to contact the Physics Department to try and arrange meeting with its professors to convince them to insert a lecture component in the instructional programs.

Imane Bahji, ECOS vice president, said it was puzzling that the students should be in a situation where “we have to inform educators that we need a lecture.”

Within the last six weeks, ECOS has written to the president of CNM, Tracy Hartzler, and met with the Faculty Senate, about its concerns, but little has changed, according too Bahji, a Math, Science and Engineering (MSE) major.

“All we can do is to keep on trying”  said Colin Stapleton, ECOS outreach officer.

ECOS President Alex Crossland said that it makes sense for ECOS to be persistent in trying to improve remote learning.  “We need to pursue this at various levels” he said.  

Bahji has consistently contended that students need to be able to have real time interaction with professors to clarify difficult concepts in math, science, and computer programming.  

“Otherwise students will just pay a couple hundred bucks more and take the classes at UNM, or elsewhere,”

Bahji

CNM President Tracey Hartzler said in her state of the college address in January that the enrollment for Spring semester showed an 11 percent decline over last year.  She noted that CNM is slightly behind the national average in enrollment decline–which is 10 percent, in this time of Covid.  Most of CNM’s classes have gone remote in this time, with just a few returning to campus under restrictions.

ECOS board members said they would like to meet with Linda Martin of CNM’s Office of Data Strategy, for a more in depth look at the reasons for the enrollment decline.

Bahji said she thought Spring Semester would be different after ECOS raised concerns over remote learning during the fall.

“But it is not (different),”said Bahji, noting that professors had the winter break to make adjustments.  “Now we want to express urgency,” said Bahji.

Hartzler State of the School Address

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Story by

Olawale Oluwakoya

Staff Repoter

Tracy Hatzler the president of CNM gave a speech addressing the state of the college and new strategies for the year ahead and beyond.

CNM has met, managed expectations, and shared information to build a community in a way that many places have not been able to, she said.

 More than 4 million dollars unexpectedly came into the schools budget during the pandemic, allowing the school to focus on e-caring, and give more than a million dollars in awards to students within the spring and summer time, said Tracy.

In addition to creating Wi-Fi hotspots around campus, CNM ramped up the frequency of training sessions and webinars for employees to be able to expand and use the latest technologies available to them, she said.

“The progress made by CNM during the pandemic has been outstanding, the tireless effort put in by each member of the team for the benefit of our students and community has been inspirational,” she said.

Making changes during a pandemic takes a lot of courage, the school is thriving  thanks to our courageous teams, we appreciate the work that they have done and how they were able to live our values, she said.

”The courage of individuals who come to campus on a regular basis to keep us safe is really inspiring so I want to thank maintenance, operations, security, IT and so many who’ve been around and on campus, “she said.

Construction in the Pink

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Photo by

Mark Graven 

Staff Writer

Contreras Construction Corp. Workers at Work

Workers from Contreras Construction Corp. of Albuquerque were part a colorful pink panorama as they poured concrete tables and benches for the plaza being constructed in front of the Louis E. Saavedra Administration Building, at the CNM Main Campus.The pink cement mixer is a hallmark, of Roadrunner Redi-Mix, Inc., of Albuquerque, which features the sole female, minority owner/operator in New Mexico, in Juliie Villegas,  according to its website.

Future site of a new Student Services Center

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Photo and story by

Mark Graven

Staff Reporter

A Photo of Ted Chavez Hall

The future site of a new Student Services Center is the parking lot of the Ted Chavez building, located on the corner of Coal Avenue and University Boulevard, Southeast, near the center of the CNM Main Campus.  CNM President Tracy Hartzler said, in her recent state of the college speech, that the new service center should be completed in 2023.  The current, center, located further south on University Boulevard, has remained mostly closed to the public in the past months, as Covid restrictions were put in place by CNM.

CNM International Students Get Winter Packages

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Story and photos by 

Olawale Oluwakoya

Staff Reporter               

CNM international students pay a $75 fee every semester, which would normally have been used to pay for outings to places such as museums, the Tram, the Zoo, and other places, said Mr. Ari Rosner-Salazar.

international student advisor Diana Matier handing out gift packages at Main campus

Because of the pandemic, the students are not able to do these trips, and this is why the care packages were created, Said Mr. Ari Rosner Salazar. 

The winter package to international students is one way of reminding them that staff is always available to the students for anything they may need, said international student officer Diana Matier.

After talking to our Safety team, they have told us that packages can not be dropped of directly to the residents of the students, she said.

For that reason,  she  will be at different campuses during the week for students to pick up the winter package, she said.

Her email address is arosnersalazar@cnm.edu and she looks forward to hearing from all the international students, said Mr. Ari Rosner Salazar.

ECOS Makes Contact with Letter

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Story by

Mark Graven

Staff Writer


The president of the Executive Council of Students (ECOS) Alex Crossland, says he believes that the CNM Administration will respond positively to the ECOS Board’s call for improvements to its remote learning program.
Crossland offered the opinion after the Board’s December 11th meeting– at which it was noted that ECOS had received a response from CNM President Tracy Hartzler to a letter that ECOS had sent out through email the previous week to Hartzler and a half a dozen key people in the administration, calling for reforms to remote learning.
Crossland said he was “encouraged” by Hartzler’s response, but that he did not expect the administration to react precipitously. 
“I believe that our letter was effective, and that the administration is listening to us,” said Crossland, adding that he expected that administrators would give ECOS ideas careful consideration, and not just slap a “bandaid” on the problem. 
He said he is hopeful that the process will result in improved remote learning during the upcoming intercession and the conduct of Spring Semester.
Kristopher Gaussoin, director of student life and discipline at CNM, also the advisor to the ECOS board, said that the ECOS letter has already been taken up at an administrative meeting.  Gaussoin has been urging the board to frame its concerns about remote learning in a constructive manner to get good results with the administration– which he predicted would welcome input from ECOS, the voice of the student body.
Remote learning has been the main topic of discussion for the ECOS board at meetings held over the last two months. The ECOS letter to CNM administrors was drafted by ECOS Vice-President Imane Bahji, and then approved by the full board on December 4th.  
Bahji has consistently criticized the fact that many remote learning classes lack a lecture component, wherein students can ask professors questions in real time, and clarify difficult concepts or processes.  
She has said that there is a danger that when student’s don’t understand, they might quit classes, or even drop out of school.
Crossland said that, in fashioning its letter to the administration, ECOS got input from students through conversations, and through a Suggestion Box, set up on its CNM web page.  The Board also considered information from surveys conducted by CNM that included questions about remote learning.
CNM turned to a largely remote learning format during Spring Semester, after the onset of Covid-19 cases in New Mexico,  although some classs were allowed to meet on campus during the fall.
Linda Martin, a representative of CNM’s Office of Data Strategy, appeared at Friday’s meeting.  She said that the most recent information on student enrollment and retention is still being processed, so that the statistical picture of the impact of remote learning on enrollment numbers and finances is still unclear.
Crossland said that ECOS would not immediately release for publication the letter to the administration, or the administration’s response, although it might do so at a later date.  Such an approach could be more productive in the short run, he said.