By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Senior Reporter
Students who are enrolled in a Career Technical Education program (CTE) at CNM may now qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, said CNM Connect achievement coach at CNM Connect, Sally Moore.
Simply being enrolled in a CTE program serves as a qualification for SNAP benefits and students are not required to have a work requirement, she said.
“Most students when they go to the Human Services Department (HSD) are often being told that, no matter what, they have to be working 20 hours a week, but there are eight other ways that students can qualify beyond work¬ing,” she said.
They can just be students, go to school full time, and not have to work 20 hours a week, she said.
If students are enrolled in a Career Technical Education program, or are over 50 years old, or are working 20 hours a week, they may qualify for SNAP benefits, she said.
All employees at the CNM Connect Centers are trained to help people with their SNAP application, she said.
Students can complete their application online on the yesnewmexico.org website, she said.
Their application will be date stamped and when they submit it to HSD they can prove that they did apply, she said.
Online they can also check the status of their claim and or request for benefits, and even if they didn’t apply online they can also do their renewal online, she said.
It is beneficial if they pick up a Financial Aid and Budget verification form at a Connect Center or Financial Aid office, she said.
They only fill the top part of the form and then take it to Financial Aid, where Financial Aid and Admissions fills in the remaining sections of the form. Students can then pick up the form at Records and submit it online, she said.
“The Center of Law and Poverty is just an excellent source if the student believes that they should receive benefits but they weren’t awarded,” she said.
Students can fax in an appeal if they’ve been denied; all the Connect Centers also have appeal forms and brochures about knowing your rights but only law and poverty can assist with the appeal, she said.
And usually HSD will want to settle before the hearing, she said.
“Sometimes it’s just that the HSD worker wasn’t trained or didn’t remem¬ber, and the student will be awarded through the hearing process,” she said.
Students have to appeal within a certain number of days after applying, she said.
Students can request a hearing up to 90 days of the date they were noti¬fied. If they want to keep their regular benefits until the hearing they must request a hearing by the 13th day
“This new rule is a huge advantage, students really need this money,” Moore said.
There may be as many as six or seven thousand students who qualify that are not currently getting benefits, she said.
“Many students have so much trouble juggling family, school, and work,” she said.
SNAP benefits can mean that students may not have to work and they can really thrive in their schooling, she said.
They can comprehend the material better because they will be eating better and will not stress trying to get to work, she said.
This is important because SNAP provides students with a regular source of nutrition assistance. Without food students cannot study, learn, pay atten¬tion, or graduate, said Louise Pocock, staff attorney with New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.
“While students are in school they are still impoverished and they need assistance, and I think Congress was aware of that,” Moore said.
The general rule is that college students are not eligible for SNAP, and over the years congress has created many exceptions to that rule so that low-income college students use food stamp benefits as a resource to help them complete school, Pocock said.
In the 2014 farm bill, congress created a new exception that allows any student in a CTE course to qualify for food stamps, assuming that they meet income and New Mexico residency requirements, she said.
New Mexico HSD has pledged to begin applying the exception as of September 19, 2014, she said.
Many students who come to community colleges are already in poverty and are coming to college to get out of poverty, Moore said.
“That’s the intent of food stamps, to help people take the rough edges off poverty and to enable people to eventually thrive,” she said.
About half of the students who attend CNM receive financial aid, she said.
“So if they’re receiving financial aid, they have a financial need, what level of poverty that is I’m not familiar with,” she said.
A living wage and poverty are two different things, she said.
The measure used for poverty no longer works to identify whether or not a person can live on the income that they receive, she said.
When the measurement of poverty was created, it said that one-third of the funds that a person spends would be towards food, she said.
“Now food is a much smaller amount of the total funds that are spent. People now have to buy car insurance and health insurance. Prices have gone up; school tuition has gone up, costs of books, gas, living expenses, deposits, utilities have all gone up,” she said.
So much has increased that students have a very difficult time maintain¬ing and meeting
In the fall students have to be able to budget the funds that they receive in September all the way through February because they are not going to get their spring semester funds until three weeks after the semester starts, she said.
“I know that a lot of students here don’t have housing and they’re hungry,” Moore said.
Vol. 20
Halloween Recipes
Severed Halloween Finger Cookies
From bigoven.com
Ingredients
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup softened, unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup blanched whole almonds
Red food coloring
Preparation
In small bowl, combine whole eggs, egg yolks vanilla and almond extracts.
In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the butter, flour, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and salt until well combined.
Add the egg mixture to this large bowl and mix thoroughly to form your cookie dough.
Unroll a rectangle of plastic wrap onto counter. Form a log shape with your dough and wrap dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for 30-40 minutes, or until firm.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
When dough is firm, cut dough into 4 equal portions. Remove 1 portion at a time to work with, while keeping other portions refrigerated. With each portion of dough, divide into approximately 15 equal pieces and form your finger shapes by rolling dough in your fingers to create a cylinder shape. Work quickly while dough is cold, as the warmth of your hands may make your dough too moist. Lay out each finger cookie onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
When all 15 fingers are done, take a sharp knife and indent each finger with the wrinkles for the knuckles to make them look realistic.
Then, take an almond and press one into the end of each finger to represent the nail. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes or until golden.
Towards the end of the baking process, check cookies and indent again, if needed.
When cookies are done, indent or make any changes necessary while cookies are still hot. Allow to cool on wire racks.
Repeat process with remaining dough.
When cookies are cool, make bloody effect if you wish. Mix red food coloring paste with water until you reach your desired shade of red color. Using a small pastry brush, “paint” your blood around the cuticle of each fingernail.
These cookies may look gross, but they are very tasty!
Vegan Candy Corn Bites
Ingredients
1/4 cup soy milk powder, plus more for rolling
3 tablespoons cashew butter
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of finely ground sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground turmeric, divided
Preparation
Lay out parchment or wax paper over a half-sheet pan or cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with soy milk powder.
In a large bowl, mix together soy milk powder, cashew butter, brown rice syrup, vanilla, and salt. Knead until a Play-Doh-like consistency forms. Divide dough into three parts.
Carefully stretch and pull the first part into a long rope shape, about 1 foot long and 1/2 inch wide. Place on the lined cookie sheet.
Working in a bowl, knead 1/4 teaspoon turmeric into the second part of dough. Once it’s dyed yellow, repeat the process of stretching and pulling it into a long rope shape, about 1 foot long and 1/2 inch wide. Place on the lined cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches away from the white section.
Working in a bowl, knead 1 teaspoon turmeric into the third part of dough. Once it’s dyed orange, repeat the process of stretching and pulling it into a long rope shape, about 1 foot long and 1/2 inch wide. Place on the lined cookie sheet, between the white and yellow sections.
Carefully squeeze and press the three dough ropes together. Flatten with the palm of your hand to create one even, thick rope. Transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes.
Remove from the freezer, and using a sharp knife, cut into 32 even triangle shapes. Although candy corns can be eaten at room temperature, it’s best to transfer to an airtight container, each layer separated with parchment paper, and store in the freezer. Before eating, let them thaw slightly.
Inter$ession; Financial aid, and classes offered during winter break
By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Staff Reporter
Financial Aid will be offered for intersession, said Lee Carrillo, senior director of Financial Aid.
Students do not have to apply separately to receive financial aid for intersession, the FAFSA application for 2014-2015 is the only application that needs to be completed, he said.
How much financial aid a students receive depends on the hours they enrolled in and their eligibility, he said.
“Tuition for intersession courses is the same as full term courses for each individual student,” said Yolanda Pacheco, associate director of Academic Advisement and Job Connection Services.
Intersession will be from Dec.29, 2014 to Jan.18, 2015, she said.
Intersession is a term in between regular semesters in which select classes are offered in a condensed format, she said.
It provides students with the opportunity to shorten their time to graduation, she said.
“The majority of intersession courses are only offered as 100 percent online or as a blended course,” Pacheco said.
There are some courses that are offered in person, according to cnm.edu, these courses are offered in the Main, Montoya, and Rio Rancho campuses.
Most intersession courses are two weeks, but it varies and depends on the credit hours of the course, Pacheco said.
The schedule of classes at cnm.edu will show exact dates, she said.
Courses are currently listed for the dates Dec.29 to Jan.18, Jan. 5 to Jan.11, Jan.5 to Jan. 18, and Jan. 12 to Jan. 18, according to cnm.edu, meaning that courses are 3-weeks, 2-weeks, or 1-week long.
“I think it’s a good idea because a lot of students might just need that one class to graduate so they just take it during that term and they’re done,” said Lucy Santos, Early Childhood Multicultural Education major.
Students who do not want to spend three or four months on a class can also take it during intersession and get it out of the way, she said.
In person classes are only offered at some campuses, which can be an inconvenience, she said.
“If they are going to offer classes, they should do it everywhere so that it will be equal and everyone has an opportunity to do it,” she said.
The exact time frame depends on the individual course, Pacheco said.
Courses range from being three hours long to being eight hours long, according to cnm.edu.
The length of an intersession course varies, again based on the credit hours, Pacheco said.
“However it is estimated that for a 3 credit hour course a student will be expected to commit 65 – 70 hours per week to successfully complete the course,” she said.
This is because the student is covering the same amount of course work, reading, and assignments in a few weeks that he or she would be covering in a regular semester, she said.
“It has to be condensed, I mean they have to get all that info in just a couple of weeks you just have to dedicate a lot of time in those two weeks,” Santos said.
Students give up their holidays, so they have to make sure that they are willing and able to sacrifice that, she said.
But it saves you from spending a whole semester in a class, and the main point of intersession is to save time and graduate faster, she said.
“Blended courses range from 51 percent to 99 percent online,” Pacheco said.
The amount of time spent online and in class depends on the individual course, she said.
Condensed online courses are probably not a good idea, Santos said.
“If you’re online you start slacking off, at least in the semester you got time to catch up but in a condensed course you only have two weeks and no time to slack off,” she said.
For in person classes, a student knows that they have to show up and do the work, she said.
The CNM Schedule of Classes at cnm.edu can be a bit confusing at first glance, said Michael Faulhaber, Health, Wellness, and Public Safety instructor.
For example, as it pertains to Health 1001 courses, he said.
“Being that the class is a blended course there are two sets of dates: the first set is the start and finish dates of the course and the second is the week in which the skill labs meet,” he said.
Pacheco said she would refer students to Schedule of Classes at cnm.edu to find out whether a course is being offered online or in person, and on what campus.
Fractacular; Students present annual fractal show
By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Staff Reporter
The many months’ worth of hard work and research done by CNM students was put together for the Math League’s fourth annual Fractal Show, said Vicki Kelsey, Math League president.
The CNM Student Math League hosted this year’s Fractal Show on Nov. 21, she said.
“We look at different aspects of fractals, it is a huge research project that members of the math league do so that we can present this show,” she said.
The hard work and research done by all of the students that put this together rivals the work and research that is presented in any major research university, she said.
Every year the show is different and presents different aspects of what a fractal is, she said.
“The presentation is meant to inform and teach, so we set up our presentation to focus on different things,” she said.
The goal of this presentation was to show people how math really relates to their everyday world, in both complex and ordinary ways, she said.
This year the presentation consisted of an introduction to fractals, the Fibonacci sequence, fractals in nature, fractals in a complex plane, and the golden ratio, Kelsey said.
The whole presentation also included interactive activities and visuals that were passed around to the audience.
This year the show consisted of presenters like DJ Lopez, Vicki Kelsey, Chris Bryer, Eric Torres, Vidar Sanchez, Greg Dugay, and many other people that have a love for fractals, said Math League faculty advisor Judy Lalani.
Fractals occur all throughout nature and the universe, Kelsey said.
It is the repetition of self-similarity, so a fractal is something that is looked at down to the smallest dimensions in a microscope and shows similar copies of what it looks like in its larger state,” she said.
“Mathematically we can compute that self-similarity is basically what some people would call defined chaos,” she said.
The Fibonacci sequence was thoroughly explained by Physics League president Chris Bryer and Physics League vice president Eric Torres.
“The Fibonacci sequence is found all over in nature, it is also in architecture and art, and it is an infinite sequence that just repeats itself over and over,” Bryer said.
Fractals were shown in Fibonacci sequence in nature, in art and architecture, and even in a song, he said.
The presentation also allowed for the further explanation of how the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio, and irrational numbers all relate, said Torres
The presenters also used interactive activities to help better visualize the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio, he said.
Vidar Sanchez, secretary of the Student Math League focused on the fractals in nature part of the presentation.
“There are two main characteristics of fractals that I encourage, one is that they are everywhere and the other is their feature of self-similarity,” Sanchez said.
To help the audience better visualize fractals and self-similarity in nature a Romanesco broccoli, which is a plant with a self-similar form was passed around the audience, he said.
Aside from speaking of fractals in nature, Sanchez also spoke of fractals in technology and in medicine.
Aaron Legits, Student Math League treasurer presented the topic of fractals on a complex plane.
At the end of the presentation, audience members were given the chance to ask questions that were then answered by the faculty advisor, Judy Lalani.
The Student Math League is a chartered student organization that meets to work every Saturday at 10 a.m. in the JS building, room 303, Kelsey said.
They hope, with the Fractal Show, to peak people’s interest in math and the Student Math League, she said.
Student Opportunities; Los Poblanos looking for students interested in hospitality industry
By Daniel Johnson, Editor-n-Chief and Lynne Cash, Vice President of CNM Tourism Club | Photos by Daniel Johnson
As a small business it is important to meet the needs of all guest that visit the establishment and that means that hiring the right kind of employee is a major priority for Los Poblanos, said Los Poblanos Inn Manager Nancy Kinyanjui.
Being a small business means that when an individual is hired they may work many different jobs, she said.
“We really have focused on hiring people that want to work in this industry and are looking for a unique opportunity to learn more than one hat or job while working in hospitality, she said.
When someone is hired to work the front desk they will be trained on that job but they may also learn how to do housekeeping and some janitorial, she said.
It is important for students to enter into different internships in the fields that they are choosing to study so they can receive hands on experience in those fields, Kinyanjui said.
That kind of educational process is very important because once a student has the opportunity to work in the field they may decide that it is not what they wanted and can then move on to something that better suits them, she said.
“We have some people that work many jobs and we really push the idea that you should not be hired to just do one thing but actually be involved in many aspects of the business,” Kinyanjui said.
Students are ideal to hire because they are so full of energy and ready to approach the workforce head on, she said.
Being able to have a diverse college experience will help all students once they graduate, she said.
Anytime a student is approaching the work force there are many things that they need to remember and that can help them get hired, she said.
“The enthusiasm and energy that a student possess is amazing and is something that is greatly desired here at Los Poblanos,” Kinyanjui said.
Some of the other things that we would like to get students involved in is if they want to work hospitality then they better know how to do guest services, she said.
If someone is studying to work with people then they better know how to talk and handle many different attitudes that they may run into, she said.
“If you want to help people and make them comfortable during their stay then you better know how to greet them with something more than just a hello,” Kinyanjui said.
A student should also research the place that they are applying to so that way the potential employer can see that they are actually interested in the position and wanting to be part of the team, she said.
A resume should be concise and to the point as well as being tailored to the type of job you are applying for, she said.
There should not be anything unprofessional about the information that is provided, she said.
“If you provide a potential employer with access to your Facebook or Instagram account then you better make sure you do not have any inappropriate pictures on there that could kill your chances of getting hired,” Kinyanjui said.
Another area the students need to pay attention to would be the follow up process, she said.
“If you go in for an interview don’t just sit on your hands and wait for a response, call the place back and see where you stand after your interview,” she said.
Being able to remind them of a specific person might lead them to hire that person above someone who shows no interest, she said.
In the hospitality industry there is a high turnover ratio but Los Poblanos prides themselves on having a lower than average turnover ratio, she said.
“Los Poblanos is marketed as a unique travel experience which allows us the fortune of never really having an off season,” Kinyanjui said.
The Inn is family owned and operated by the Rembe family who are originally from Albuquerque, she said.
The long term perseveration plan for the locations historical buildings lead the owners to decide upon a long term sustainable business which lead to the creation of the current location being a beautiful historic inn and organic farm, she said.
The inn originally opened in 2000 and started with six guest rooms and now offers a total of 21 rooms that can accommodate up to 50 visiting guests, she said.
“Being a small business has allowed us to focus on the more organic and local angle of our approach to our guests,” Kinyanjui said
The menu that is offered at the onsite restaurant uses only food that is from local farms throughout the state of New Mexico, she said.
The inn offers guided tours of the farm which offers guests an opportunity to see where some of their food comes from especially since a lot of the food served at the restaurant is grown on site, she said.
“We love being able to let our guests as well as our employees know what it is to experience the more hands on approach to things if it that means digging in the dirt to pick your own potato or picking your own tomatoes because every potato and tomatoes has its own story,” Kinyanjui said.
Art: (I Think) I can; CNM students create exhibition of their own art
By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Staff Reporter
Aspects of Painting, Drawing, and Multimedia students have created an exhibition at CNM which is on display now through Friday, Nov.21, said Lea Anderson, Aspects instructor.
The exhibition titled “ART: (I think) I Can” is on display at CNM Connect on Main Campus in the Student Services Center Room 107, she said.
“They hold an exhibition and are graded on the quality of their artwork as well as their level of commitment of professional participation in the exhibition itself,” she said.
Participating student artists are Gloria Birkholz, Sarah Gamoke, Allison Godfrey, Sherry Godfrey, Larry Leija, Paul Matthew, Hana, Carrie Mulvihill, Wisdom Reyes, Krystal Schlecht and Monica Trujillo, she said.
Each student chose their own theme for their individual body of work, she said.
They chose the title of the exhibition because it summed up the feelings they had about making a series of artworks and setting up an exhibit, she said.
“They were nervous at first, but now they have accomplished what they set out to do and have gained a great deal of confidence in the process,” she said.
They are working on their series of pieces all throughout the fall term, however some of the pieces were complete in time to hang for the exhibition, she said.
All the students participated in making the artwork, in setting up the exhibition, in advertising the exhibition, and more, she said.
This prepares the students for a career as an artist because like any career it does require dedication, hard work, self-discipline, and passion, she said.
The series of artworks created and the basic experiences learned in this Aspects course are also intended to prepare students for the Fine Arts Associates Degree capstone course, she said.
“You do a series, you decide what you want to do, but I want six to ten different pieces of art in the series, and that makes it kind of fun,” said Gloria Birkholz, Art Studio major and participant in the exhibition.
Everybody came up with something really different, she said.
She has always created art, but it was not until she retired that she realized she really liked working with it, Birkholz said
She has worked with calligraphy, photography, and printmaking, she said.
“But I’m a fix it type person, so I really like 3D,” she said.
For the exhibit she created a series of sculptures that she titled The Yard Sale Series, she said.
She went to yard sales and asked the sellers to give her $5 worth of merchandise, she said.
“That was my arbitrary limit and I worked with only what they gave me for that five dollars, and that was really challenging,” she said.
However, she did have barbed wire, paper mache, and newspaper to use for the basic structure, she said.
She realized that she was limited by the space because it is a public place and not really a gallery, she said.
“I could not put my sculpture up so that people could see all sides of it, which is what 3D needs, so in that way it’s sort of frustrating,” she said.
But it is up and it is always nice to have your work up and see what responses will come, she said.
CNM ITS computer programmer Larry Leija said he has taken art classes since junior high school.
He has taken all other Art Studio classes as well, he said.
His mediums of choice are oil painting, watercolor painting, and pastel drawing, he said.
For the exhibit he is working on a series of oil paintings of his classmates, he said
People are his favorite subjects to paint, he said.
“Seeing something about a person is really just fairly interesting, I guess I like looking at how people tick, looking at the complexity of people’s faces and the infinite variety, and seeing people’s reactions,” he said.
This is a bit of a challenge because humans are so complex, he said.
But it is fun to see the art on display and see how people react, he said.
Art Studio major Sarah Gamoke said she started creating art as a child and learned art techniques in high school.
She has now been working artistically for seven years, she said.
“I have always been creative and it seems like it began with Legos,” she said.
The art she submitted for the exhibition consists of three collages and three sculptures, she said.
The photographic images in the collages resulted in the three sculptures that she made out of discarded auto parts, she said.
“The idea for these came after my father’s death this past summer. I spent many hours in his garage as a kid and was inspired by his passion for working on projects there,” she said.
Gamoke is excited to have her work up on display and to share her passion with others, she said.
The studio art classes at CNM have taught her many art concepts and skills and have inspired her to create more than she could have imagined, she said.
Anderson said she is proud of CNM and the CNM Art Department for supporting students in giving them the support they need in their career path toward being an artist.
“They did a fantastic job. I am proud of them,” she said of the students.
Winter fashion show: Cosmetology students out on a show for class final
By Daniel Johnson, Editor-n-Chief
The Advanced Salon Cosmetology 2692 class is putting on a student run fashion show on December 4, 2014 at the CNM South Valley Campus from 6pm to 8pm, Cosmetology Major Valerie Archibeque said.
The show will let fourth term students have an opportunity to use all the skills that they have acquired throughout the course of the program, she said.
“We will be able to apply and show off all the stuff we have learned while being students of the cosmetology program at CNM”, Archibeque said.
This is the first time we are doing this as a final for the actual class, she said.
Cosmetology major Natalie Rojo said the fashion show is not only the final for the class but it is also something that the department hopes will help to get the cosmetology program noticed.
“The show will allow the students the opportunity to show off what they have learned in the different areas we study in cosmetology, like hair, nails, make-up, and other aspects of fashion,” she said.
Cosmetology major Louie Mendoza said the students will have to plan out the entire show from top to bottom.
There are 11 students doing this and each student will have two models so there will be 22 total models that will walk the runway, he said.
Students also have to plan out the floor design, seating, food, the theme, and how the show will flow, he said.
“It should be a lot of fun because we will get to express who we are with the help of what we have learned,” Mendoza said.
Each student will be able to show their true potential by using their models as a blank canvass and just creating an individualized masterpiece, he said.
The Cosmetology class does not get a lot of recognition since it is held only at the south valley campus which is kind of separated from the rest of Albuquerque, Rojo said.
“We want to leave an impression because we want our program to be seen and stand out more because we have the show as a final but just like regular areas of study we also have to study for paper finals and still do our homework,” she said.
This event will allow students to look forward to something fun as a final, Mendoza said.
The preparation for the show will take a couple of hours since we have to set up the catwalk and performance space all while making up our models, he said.
“It will be better than just doing a couple of perms and calling it a day,” he said.
With the show getting closer a lot of the students are starting to get that nervous filling and becoming very anxious for the show, he said.
Part time cosmetology instructor Babette Reeves- Harmon said the fashion show will be the fourth term final project which should be a fun opportunity for the students to do something exciting while still putting themselves out there, she said.
Several years ago there was a fashion show that was done by the whole department but this time around it is just for the students in Cosmetology 2692, she said.
The students were informed that they should approach the local community for donations when it came to the clothing that the models are going to be wearing because it allows them to get out and communicate with the community which is going to be something they have to do regularly once they graduate, she said.
The students will be graded on how well they have allocated time for preparation of the show and the making up of the models hair, makeup, nails, and wardrobe, all the way to how well they clean the location after the show is over, she said.
“We are welcoming all students, staff and faculty to attend the show because we want people to come from all seven campus of CNM to support our little community that is nestled away here in the south valley,” she said.
CNM Celebrates Dia De Los Muertos; Participates in Marigold Parade for first time
By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Staff Reporter | Photos Courtesy of Alana Garcia
CNM departments and clubs participated in the 22nd Annual South Valley Marigold Parade for the first time on Nov. 2, said Libby Fatta, Student Events and Programs manager for the Dean of Students office.
The Office of the Dean of Students, the South Valley Connect Team, the Hispanic Heritage Task Force, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society decorated a CNM vehicle with paper marigold flowers that they made, she said.
Student club Artworks set up a booth and sold decorated skulls and other ceramics to raise money for workshops and events, said Elizabeth Chavez, Artworks president.
“There’s a lot of different community floats and other organizations participating in the parade so I thought it would be fun for CNM to participate as well and show our school spirit and show what we have to offer as a community college,” Fatta said.
Due to the rain, only a small number of staff participated and not as many people showed up as they would have liked, she said.
The crowd, however, was very interested in the CNM car as they passed by, she said.
“They cheered as we passed them and I think next year we will have a much better turn out since this was the first year CNM participated in the parade,” she said.
Fatta hopes that more people will want to participate in the parade next year and maybe the school will be able to have a float that students help create, she said.
They were able to promote CNM well this year and next year they would like to get more people involved to have a larger CNM presence, she said.
The group involved with the vehicle wore CNM or navy and yellow attire and the traditional Dia de Los Muertos skull makeup, Fatta said.
Artworks also promoted the club and brought awareness to potential students and artists about the opportunities at CNM, said Candice Chavez, Artworks vice president.
Artworks was excited to participate in the community event, to stimulate public interest in arts education, and to create a connection to the wider arts community, she said.
It was a great opportunity for CNM and its clubs to be showcased and to show that there is school spirit and participation in community events, Fatta said.
This year the Marigold Parade theme was, “El agua es la vida. No se vende. Se defiende.” meaning that water is life; it is not sold, it is defended, according to muertosymarigolds.org.
The theme was water because it is a crucial issue in the state and the city, the development projects are no good and water is needed, said Maria Brazil, Co-Director of the Marigold Parade.
The parade started off at the South Valley Sheriff Substation and ended at the Westside Community Center, Fatta said.
The parade is always on the first Sunday of November, which in 2015 would be Nov. 1, Brazil said.
The route is also basically the same every year, she said.
All decorations and altars left at the center were cleared out that same day at the end of the event, said Stacy Ruiz, Coordinator at the Westside Community Center.
CNM to celebrate Veterans
By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Staff Reporter
Starting on Monday, Nov. 10 and continuing on until Thursday, Nov. 13, CNM will celebrate veterans for a second year with Veterans Awareness Week, said Libby Fatta, Student Events and Programs manager for the Dean of Students office.
Events will be held in the Main, Montoya, Westside, and South Valley campuses at various times and the events will include Veteran Resource Day, flag ceremonies, and speeches, she said.
“This year’s theme is ‘Recognizing the Sacrifices of our Women Veterans’ and we expect to have two World War Two veterans and one Vietnam veteran as honorary guests,” said JR Romero, CNM VetSuccess Counselor.
Some of the speeches will be by veterans who will most likely be sharing memories and stories from their time in the service, Fatta said.
It is important to make everyone on campus aware of Veterans Awareness Week, she said.
“Showing that we support veterans is a way that the community can see that they do have a lot of support and they are honored and remembered every year,” she said.
The events assist our veterans with acknowledgement of a job well done, Romero said.
They are hoping that attendees recognize all the sacrifices of the veterans to duty and country, he said.
“I think it is so important for us to never forget the sacrifices our veterans and families have endured,” he said.
Some veterans are a lot younger than others and they also need to be recognized, Fatta said.
Veterans Awareness Week can facilitate relationships between all veterans, she said.
It allows organizations to provide resources for veterans as well, Romero said.
“John F. Kennedy once said ‘a nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers’,” Romero said.
“We are encouraged by these words, and we as Veterans know our own personal sacrifices, and it is great to have others spend some time honoring Veterans,” he said.
They are expecting a good turn out from students and veterans and a larger group of people to be at each of the five ceremonies than in previous years, Fatta said.
They are also hoping that passerby come in and stay for the ceremony as well, she said.
They hope that the entire student body, staff and faculty will participate in the events, especially the flag event on Nov. 11, Romero said.
Starting on Monday, Nov.10 we will provide coffee and cookies for veterans and their dependents on Main, Montoya and Westside campuses from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and that will be outside the cafeteria areas, Fatta said.
“So veterans will just be able to come up and we’ll give thanks to them and hand them coffee and cookies at that event,” she said.
On Tuesday, Nov.11 they are going to have a flag ceremony on Main campus that is going to start at 10 a.m. in front of the SRC flagpole and the Kirkland Air Force Base Honor Guard will be presenting the colors, she said.
They will be followed by the Dean of Students, the Director of the Regional Office Chris Norton and a Female Wounded Warrior Christian Barden, she said.
And they will have special, honorable guests that are World War II and Vietnam women veterans, she said.
For Wednesday, Nov. 12 they will have the flag ceremony at Montoya campus near the flagpole from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and it will be the same schedule of events for that, she said.
Thursday, Nov. 13 they will have the flag ceremony at the Westside campus from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and at the South Valley campus from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and it will be a similar ceremony with the guests they invited, she said.
Ebola risk low at CNM
By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Staff Reporter
There is a lot of hysteria about the Ebola virus in the United States but the likelihood of there being someone with Ebola on campus is low, said Marti Brittenham, director of the Student Health Center at CNM.
At this point the risk is low and the number of people in the United States who have had Ebola are few, she said.
Ebola is an epidemic in West African countries such as Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia but it is not an epidemic in the United States nor is it likely to become one, she said.
“So while it’s certainly a frightening disease, because it has a greater than 50% mortality rate in Africa, it is not a widespread disease in the United States,” she said.
Just to be sure, the Student Health Center is asking anyone who goes in for any reason if they have been out of the country in the last 21 days, she said.
There has not yet been anyone say that has reported that they have been outside of the country, but that might change in the spring semester because people go home over the holidays, she said.
It will be more likely that people think they have the symptoms of Ebola when they actually have influenza or the stomach flu since that is very common every winter because those people will be complaining about nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, Brittenham said.
“I’ll probably be making a number of phone calls to the Health Department about getting those people cultured for Ebola which is not going to be a lot of fun,” she said.
However, if they have not left the country in the last 21 days, the chances of them having Ebola are very, very slim, she said.
Ebola is a viral disease and it is not airborne, so a person cannot get it the way they would get the common cold, she said.
“The only way you can get it is by having skin to skin contact or from direct contact with someone’s infected bodily fluids,” she said.
An infected person starts off by not feeling well and having a fever which is usually above 101.3, she said.
The disease may eventually cause diarrhea and vomiting as well, she said.
“The reason why so many people die is that the disease is so violent in the vomiting and diarrhea that it is very difficult to keep up fluids,” she said.
Not being able to keep up with the bodily fluids results in a person being dehydrated and eventually having all of the bodies systems collapsing, she said.
Brittenham and other health care providers have attended several webinars on Ebola from the state department and a national webinar regarding student health centers, she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is giving recommendations on how to diagnose and treat Ebola, and it appears that Liberia is beginning to get ahead of the outbreak, she said.
“Certainly if there were any suspicion of someone having Ebola the state health department, probably UNM, and the CDC will be contacted and become active in preventative measures,” she said.