Daniel Montano – Page 2 – The CNM Chronicle

Cultura Cura; Bringing culture back into the community

October 2, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño , Senior Reporter

Andrew Lucero, Social Work major, said he is motivated by his past to help people where he works at the La Plazita Institute, a local community center that is an alternative to detention center for juveniles convicted of crimes, and where Lucero tries to be a positive role model for kids who have lost their way.

Lucero grew up in a single parent family, and when he was 15-years-old his father passed away from a heroin overdose, which he has also had his fair share of including trouble with alcohol, drugs and police, he said.

But instead of allowing himself to continue down a destructive path, Lucero decided to change his life and dedicated himself to helping people who have to deal with similar struggles, he said.

“Everything I’ve done has led up to where I’m at right now. I wouldn’t change a thing. I don’t regret. I’m not embarrassed. I embrace it; I use it to continue making a difference,” he said.

La Plazita along with Lucero teaches these juvenile offenders about their culture and heritage and reintroduces them to their community so that these young men can begin working to clean up their communities rather than damage them, Lucero said.

“I think we all need it in our life; we all need our culture because if you know where you come from, you’re more likely to succeed in where you’re going,” he said.

At La Plazita they call it cultura cura, or culture cures, he said.

It is something Lucero himself had to do in order to get back into social work after spending years in marketing, a career which allowed him to live a lavish lifestyle filled with alcohol and the problems that often come with it, he said.

After spending a year in jail for being convicted of his third DUI, Lucero took the time to rediscover his culture, reorganize his life and priorities and rededicate himself to helping others, he said.

“I kind of cleaned my own backyard. Plato (Greek Philosopher) said ‘Know thyself,’ and I take that seriously because I can’t help somebody if I don’t know myself and I don’t have a clean backyard,” he said.

From working with troubled kids in schools, to lobbying in Santa Fe to start a clean needle exchange program and now working to eliminate racial disparities in New Mexico laws, he has had plenty of different opportunities and avenues of helping others, he said.

He eventually wants to expand on that experience by building a community center in the international district once he is finished with his master’s degrees in social work and business, he said.

He wants to work with La Plazita and use the concept of cultura cura in his community center to build a neighborhood people will be proud to be a part of, he said.

“I think that’s the only way that a community organization can thrive and survive, is communication with each other,” he said.

Lucero’s first experience of being a positive role model for kids was as an educational assistant in the behavior intervention program in Albuquerque Public schools, he said.

He worked with kids who were often violent, that had come from hard upbringings and needed a positive role model in their lives to show them life didn’t have to always be a fight, he said.

The kids he worked with often didn’t have that role model at home, and were ignored in schools, he said.

“Nobody wanted to work with the kids I was working with,” he said.

Lucero then began working with Healthcare for the Homeless, a nonprofit organization that provides free doctors, counseling and dentistry to people who live on the streets, as a harm reduction technician, he said.

His job was to work with people who had substance abuse disorders, and work to minimize the damage they were doing to themselves through various healthcare techniques, he said.

“It was such a new healthcare approach, that’s what I think it is more than anything, and it was real controversial and still is,” he said

A huge part of his job was lobbying in Santa Fe with the state legislature and Governor Gary Johnson to enact a clean needle exchange, he said.

“Harm reduction was something (Johnson) didn’t understand and almost didn’t want to accept,” he said.

He had worked hard and was motivated by his own father’s death to get the law enacted, he said.

“I think that if he had something like that maybe he could have changed his life,” he said.

After lobbying for almost two years, he got the law passed and intravenous drug users could bring in dirty needles, possibly infected with multiple diseases, and get a sterile needle in return, he said.

Through La Plazita, Lucero is now on the New Mexico RRED committee, a committee to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in New Mexico Laws, and is composed of people within the justice system in Albuquerque and community members who work with people convicted of crimes, he said.

The committee combs through the language of laws and advises the legislature on how the laws can be changed to make them fairer to minorities, who often have higher rates of conviction or failed probation, he said.

Working with the committee has interfered with his class time, but his teachers have been great in allowing him the time he needs to work for a better tomorrow, he said.

“Most of my teachers have been really understanding because of the work I’m involved with,” he said.

Welcome to the real world Service learning gives real life experience

September 25, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño
Senior Reporter
Learning and doing are two very different things, and students enrolled in service learning are finding out that doing can be rewarding in many ways, Sharon Gordon-Moffett, director of service learning, said.
Service learning takes students out of the classroom and puts their knowledge to work at local non-profit organizations with credit toward a class, she said.
Gordon-Moffett said that most students say they find the experience rich and meaningful, and that it can sometimes even land students a job.
“It’s a great, great experience. This is real life, real world experience. Close to forty percent of the students stay on to volunteer once they complete their hours, and several years ago it was estimated that 20 percent of our students are offered jobs,” she said.
Instructors can choose to offer service learning as an additional teaching method for whatever course they plan to use it in, and students will receive a grade based on a reflection of what they learn, Gordon-Moffett said.
Cynthia Griffin Ediger, Math, Science and Engineering instructor, for example, gives her students in her geometry for teachers class a service learning option to volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club, actually teaching math to kids in an after school program, and then present their experience in lieu of a research paper, she said.
Griffin Ediger’s students get the real world experience that can prepare the would-be-teachers for what teaching children can actually be like at the Boys and Girls club with all sorts of different types children, she said.
“They’re not just ideal students. There are kids who are homeless, there are kids that come to school hungry and that type of thing,” Griffin Ediger said.
Service learning works with more than 20 different organizations around Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, with representatives for each that are trained in the goals of service learning so that these reps. can engage students in the sorts of activities that will teach them the things that are relevant to the student’s course, Gordon-Moffett said.
“I like to call it academics in action. You’re actually applying the theory,” she said.
Linda Fuller, Shelter Director at St. Martin’s Hospitality center, said the real learning happens when students get exposed to things that cannot be fully understood inside a classroom.
St. Martin’s, a day shelter for the homeless, is one of the many service learning agencies available, and caters to Child, Youth, and Family Development majors who want to go into social work, Fuller said.
Students often feel overwhelmed for the first few hours they work at St. Martins because they get exposed to the reality of homelessness, substance abuse, mental disorders, and much more, Fuller said.
“This is an eye-opener, this is the real world, and I think people really need that,” Fuller said.
Service learning students also get the ability to test the waters in their chosen field, which is beneficial to knowing if a certain career choice is best for that student, Gordon-Moffett said.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to kind of get their feet wet. Some think they want to work with kids, and then they get done and find out they can’t stand kids,” she said.
Service learning is offered by many instructors for many different types of courses, including psychology, social work, hospitality and tourism, communications and health sciences, Gordon-Moffett said.
Gary Peoples, CYFD Social Work major, is service learning at St. Martins Hospitality Center for his intro to social work class, and has learned just how important his chosen career will be, he said.
“I’ve learned there’s a tremendous need out here. There’s a problem in our society for those who have and those who don’t have,” he said.
Peoples’ experience at St. Martins has motivated him to get more involved with and set him in his career path, he said.
“There was no doubt before, but definitely this has solidified it. Absolutely,” he said.
In contrast, another student who volunteers at St. Martins, CYFD Social work major Johnel Reddic, said his experience at St. Martins has changed his career path — he now wants to work directly with people who need assistance, he said.
“I wanted to work in administration but I think I’ll probably be bored. This’ll probably be a bit more interesting, probably be a bit more fulfilling,” Reddic said.

Security’s use of force questioned by students

September 17, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Senior Reporter

Link to Video of the incident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aGBev8VshI
Security’s detention tactics have been called into question by students who witnessed three security officers apprehend and detain a skateboarder for riding in a dismount zone, said Immanuel Colbert, liberal arts major who witnessed the incident.
The skateboarder, who asked to remain nameless until the matter is settled with CNM administration and security, had his skateboard taken and thrown to the ground by officers before they wrestled the skateboarder himself to the ground and began choking him, Colbert said.
Colbert watched and recorded the incident, which took place on Sept. 11 just before 9 a.m. in the parking lot south of Ken Chappy Hall, and believes security officials used excessive force for such a minor violation, he said.
“It just wasn’t appropriate. It wasn’t necessary to do it, but the guard brought the contact and the violence into it. There wouldn’t have been any if he would have just explained to (the skateboarder) why he was coming at him like that. But he didn’t. It was overly aggressive. I’d say completely unnecessary,” Colbert said.
Colbert’s video can be viewed at the CNM Chronicle’s website: thecnmchronicle.wordpress.com.
Colbert is ex-military, so he has been trained in intervention techniques and knows how security and police officers are supposed to deal with a possibly volatile situation, he said.
After stopping the skateboarder, security officers spoke to him and had the chance to resolve the situation without physical force, but the officers escalated the situation to a physical level by pushing the skateboarder in the chest repeatedly before attempting to detain him, Colbert said.
“They’re supposed to assess the situation and calm it down, and this CNM security guard did none of that. He accelerated the situation to physical contact. He didn’t try to use his words to bring it down,” Colbert said.
The security officers were on scene responding to a medical emergency — a faculty member, who also asked not to be named because of the ongoing investigation, had fell and hit her head — when the skateboarder rode by, William Duran, Chief of Security, said.
Duran would not comment on the incident’s details, or whether or not the guards’ actions fell within policy guidelines, because the investigation is ongoing, but did say that initial reports from staff indicate that the officers’ actions were appropriate, he said.
“I’ve had staff, I’ve had faculty members, I’ve had health staff tell us ‘Hey, your officers did what they had to do. She needed to be protected, and that’s what they were doing,’” Duran said.
The faculty member in question was sitting on the east side of KC receiving care from officers for the injury to her head when the skateboarder rode “about as fast as you can go on a skateboard” towards the scene of her accident, she said.
Officers yelled at the skateboarder to dismount, but he continued skating, she said.
“He just kept coming and the security guard treating me said ‘get off that board!’ and the kid yells ‘I’m late!’ and just kept going faster and faster,” she said.
The skateboarder did not hit any of the guards or the faculty member as he went by, she said.
Officers ran after the skateboarder, following him to the south side of KC, which is where he finally dismounted and started speaking to officers, Colbert said.
After repeatedly asking for his skateboard, the security officer took it from the skateboarder’s hands and threw it to the ground, then started pushing the skateboarder’s chest and threw him to the ground, Colbert said.
“Right after they grab him and the initial physical contact happens, and they start tussling around, he slams (the skateboarder) down and starts choking him,” Colbert said.
Colbert recorded the incident and sent it to the skateboarder as evidence in case the skateboarder wished to pursue legal action, Colbert said.
The skateboarder declined to comment on the situation or whether he will be pursuing legal action, because he has been advised “not to talk about anything that has happened,” he said on Monday, Sept. 16.
The faculty member has some bumps and scrapes as well as the cut on her head from the fall, but is fine now after receiving attention from officers and a trip to the hospital, she said.
“Security was the bomb in treating me and kind of securing the scene and all of that. So I really gave them props for being responsive in helping me,” she said.

Free childcare program goes unnoticed

September 17, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Senior Reporter
There is no question: being a parent and going to school is difficult, Christine De Lette, Center Specialist at Youth Development Inc., said.
The good news is CNM has – and has had for 14 years – a program that assists student-parents by providing childcare, but the bad news is students are not signing up, De Lette said.
“Currently it’s a really low number,” she said. “I believe we have about three or four right now.”
YDI is a non-profit company that provides free childcare, education and much more to low income families, and YDI has a location on the South Valley campus, De Lette said.
CNM and YDI have struck a deal so that YDI gets to lease CNM’s land and students get first dibs on the 40 spots that are open every year for children aged three to five, as long as the students applying meet the guidelines for enrollment, she said.
This sort of deal should have people clamoring to get in, but the student response to enroll children has been less than overwhelming, and De Lette thinks it is because students do not know the program exists, she said.
“They’re not aware of it. It’s not on the map, it’s not in a brochure, it’s not in the catalog for the new school year, it’s not sent out on flyers, we’re not posted on CNM’s website as an option,” she said.
De Lette is looking to change that in the upcoming semesters by getting word about the program out to students, she said.
Because YDI is independent of CNM, De Lette has not had any direct control over the lack of advertising, but she has been reaching out to various departments within CNM, and has been trying to place ads to bring in more students, she said.
“We understand that students do have the need for childcare, and our goal is to make sure that students know that we’re here for them,” she said.
Even though the school year is already under way, YDI is still accepting applications and their waitlists tend to move quickly, De Lette said.
Because families move or have a change in status, there is usually a good chance children can get in regardless of the time of the year, and De Lette is still encouraging students to apply, she said.
The south valley YDI location can be reached at 873-0905 for specific information.
“We rarely, rarely turn people away,” De Lette said.
YDI serves over seventeen thousand children and their families and has over 20 locations in Albuquerque, and even more in Taos and Rio Arriba counties, all of which offer a head-start program, De Lette said.
The south valley location is the only YDI facility that holds onto spots specifically for CNM students, but there is a transfer program available so kids can move to a location that is closer to home once they are fully enrolled in the program, she said.
“The way head-start works, and this is kind of a bonus, once you’re in, you’re in for good,” she said.
The south valley YDI location is a head-start program, which means they specialize in helping underprivileged children get an education before entering elementary school, De Lette said.
The kids follow a regular school schedule, have a curriculum planned out for them and get the benefits of a traditional daycare, such as meal programs, and even wipes and diapers, at no cost to the parents, she said.
“Everything in our program is free. It’s completely covered,” De Lette said.
In order to be eligible, Students must be below 100 percent of the federal poverty line; however, YDI will accept applicants up to 130 percent, but those parents are put on a waiting list, De Lette said.
Once in the program, children receive early education focused on preparing them for school, which includes fostering social skills through a special teaching approach called “nurturing hearts,” she said.
“So the relationships, the friendships, the closeness, how to share, how to follow rules, how to build and develop relationships with people, all of it is developed so we focus on the whole child,” she said.
De Lette’s YDI location is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and she encourages students to call if they need help with childcare, she said.
“…Please, please come. Call me. Let me know and we will go over everything you need to bring. Our waitlist is very low right now,” she said.

Albuquerque participates in national protests of Syrian War

September 3, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Senior Reporter

Syria 2 Syria 1
Activists gathered in Nob Hill on Saturday Aug 31 to protest the possibility of a United States military strike against Syria, Joel Gallegos, Education major and Answer coalition member said.
The demonstration, which was part of a nationwide string of protests sponsored by the Answer coalition, drew more than 100 people who packed Central Avenue at Tulane Drive, filling sidewalks and medians, and was endorsed by more than nine local activist groups, such as the Albuquerque Chapter of the United Nations Association and (Un)Occupy Albuquerque, Gallegos said.
“We believe that our resources here in the United States are better spent on things like education, on things like housing and healthcare, not war,” Gallegos said.
Protestors raised signs and chanted at passing cars, often receiving a honk in recognition: “Money for jobs and education! Not for war and occupation!” Protestors said.
The protest started at noon just minutes after President Barack Obama made a national address in which he said that any possible military intervention in Syria would not be open-ended, would not include ground troops, and that he would seek congressional approval before making tactical military strikes against key locations suspected of housing chemical weapons.
Gallegos said that he did not trust that Obama’s reasoning for striking against Syria — destroying locations which might hold chemical weapons that were allegedly used against Syrian rebels — reveals the U.S. government’s true intentions for Syria.
“I think it’s ridiculous that the United States government is still using this narrative of weapons of mass destruction. I think they believe the United States public is naïve — that we are going to buy the same old story,” Gallegos said.
President Obama, said during his Saturday address that a chemical weapons attack, which took the lives of more than 1,400 Syrian civilians and injured more than 3,600 who showed signs of being exposed to sarin nerve gas, which was orchestrated by the Syrian government itself, and called the attack an “assault on human dignity” that was “the worst chemical weapons attack of the twenty-first century.”
Obama said that the attack was a menace that “must be confronted.”
But Obama’s address did little to slow the Nob Hill demonstration because protesters believe that the U.S. government’s reasoning is an excuse to begin a war for natural resources and regional power, Gallegos said.
“It’s a way of maintaining power and control over that region, and I feel that the U.S. feels that they are losing control of that region because of recent political turmoil,” he said.
Political Science Instructor, Bob Anderson was in attendance at the demonstration and said that he shares in Gallegos’ sentiments because of his personal experience in the U.S. Military.
Anderson took part in orchestrating several ‘false-flag’ operations during the Vietnam War, in which U.S. troops dressed as North Vietnamese soldiers and attacked fellow U.S. troops in order to justify military attacks, and feels that the situation in Syria is an example of a similar military tactic, he said.
“We instigate civil wars so we can get people fighting against each other, and then in that chaos we create new leadership that is friendly to U.S. intentions,” Anderson said.
Anderson also believes that Obama’s reasons for striking against Syria are contrived and hide a deeper truth, he said.
“I think Obama should be impeached for lying to the American public about what’s going on,” Anderson said.
The chemical weapons attack in Syria on Aug 21 came after months of civil war between Syrian rebels and the Syrian government, which has been ruled by the Assad family for more than forty years, according to a BBC report.
The current uprising began in March of 2012 after 14 school children were arrested and tortured for writing a well-known slogan of similar uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt on a wall that said “The people want the downfall of the regime,” as stated in the BBC report.
A peaceful protest against the children’s arrest took place in the city of Deraa, and Syrian security forces opened fire into the crowd killing four demonstrators, according to BBC.
Within days, the protests in Syria became more violent and unrest spiraled out of control until the Syrian army was dispatched to control the uprising, but instead of stopping demonstrations, the crackdown triggered protests across Syria, according to BBC.

Shrinking pains Newly located bookstore adjusting to smaller home

September 3, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Staff Reporter

Bookstore 1 Bookstore 2

The main campus bookstore is feeling the squeeze of a smaller size, and students are taking the heat — literally.
In order to reduce foot traffic inside the new smaller location in the Robert P. Matteucci building, there is a line to get into the store, and buy-backs, rental check-ins, returns and refunds are handled through an outdoor window, the line for which queues up — exposed to the elements — in the courtyard of the building, Ann Heaton, district director of the CNM bookstores, said.
Bookstore staff members have been working to fix any issues that have come up since the bookstore opened on July 29, but have not had enough time to deal with every issue, including the outdoor line, Heaton said.
“We’ve been here for a month, and so we have growing pains right now. And I just hope the students and faculty and everyone can remain patient with us, so we can work out these hiccups,” Heaton said.
Anna Hoefler, Paralegal Studies major, used the new window during the last week of the summer semester, and spent over an hour in direct sunlight waiting to sell her books back, she said.
According to the National Weather Service, the average temperature that week was more than 88 degrees with a high of 92, and Hoefler said she thinks there needs to be something built to enclose the line.
“In the winter it’s going to be too cold, and in the summer it’s too hot. I could see slip and fall hazards happening because of ice. It’s ridiculous!” Hoefler said.
Heaton said that she is aware of the problem and has spoken with CNM administration to find a solution to the buy-back window’s exposed line, and that something will be in place by the end of the fall semester.
“We’re trying to figure out what we can do and how we can make things better, and if we have to rent a tent at the beginning of each term to put out there, then that’s what we’ll do,” she said.
The reduced space of the facility provided has led to multiple issues for the staff at the bookstore, Heaton said.
The storage room provided with the new location is not large enough to hold the books that would normally be on hand, and the team has had to rent a portable storage device that was placed in the parking lot near the bookstores back entrance and monopolize most of the space in a loading dock that is shared with the culinary arts department, she said.
“We kind of joke and say that everyday my staff and I push up against the walls looking for more space,” she said.
The line to get into the store is also a symptom of the smaller size, Heaton said.
After moving to the new location, Heaton walked the bookstore floor with security officers in order to determine how long to allow the checkout line to get before limiting access, she said.
A long line to check out is typical of the beginning of a semester, and if the amount of students going into the store was not restricted, then the checkout line would interfere with students browsing textbooks and could even cause a safety hazard, she said.
“It would just become chaotic, and that’s what we’re trying to eliminate,” she said.
While Heaton thinks the new building and location is beautiful, she recognizes that space is an issue, but Follett Higher Education Services, the company that runs the CNM bookstores, was not involved in planning the new RPM building, she said.
Instead Follett was simply told by CNM administration that the bookstore would be moving to a new location, was given the dimensions of the new space and had to design a layout that worked within the space provided, Heaton said.
“CNM’s not in the business of running bookstores. That’s why we’re doing it for them, and we want to make it look pleasant and make sure that foot traffic is flowing and everything, and that’s what our team in our corporate office does,” she said.
Heaton said that she and her team are committed to trying to make sure that students receive the same service that they used to receive at the old location in the Student Services Center, and that she is working with administration to solve storage and student issues.
Solutions to these issues will probably not come until after the first few weeks of the semester are over, which is always the busiest part of the semester, she said.
“We just hope that the students will be patient with us. Again, these are all kind of growing pain issues, and we’re trying to figure out what’s working, what’s not working, and what can we do better for the spring term,” she said.

You do not have to go it alone

August 27, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Senior Reporter | Photos by Daniel Montaño

Students entering their first year of college can sometimes be overwhelmed by balancing schoolwork and their personal life, but students don’t have to go it alone, Michael Wexler, Child, Youth and Family Development major said.
“It’s important to ask questions when you need help and you’re overwhelmed,” he said.
CNM offers a variety of services to help students succeed — which can be found online at http://www.cnm.edu/depts./ssa — and the Chronicle has chosen to spotlight a few resources where students can find the help need to thrive and succeed in school.

Ann Lynn Hall
CNM Connect
Locations: Main
SSC-101
Other campuses: Montoya TW-101, Westside MJG-101, South Valley SV-40, Advanced Technology Center ATC-126, Workforce Training Center WTC 132
Open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Phone: 224-3186
The goal at CNM Connect is to help students succeed in college no matter what challenges they face in their personal, work or school life, Ann Lyn Hall, executive director of CNM Connect said.
Connect can help students with financial, academic or personal issues, everything from trying to get a ride to campus, to finding an affordable daycare or learning how to talk to instructors, in the hopes that students will be able to continue to attend school, Hall said.
The achievement coaches, who are the main point of contact for students when using Connect resources, care about students’ challenges, and will work hard to find a solution using resources both on and off campus, Hall said.
“We’ll do everything in our power to make sure that you’re successful in your education. If you need something please stop by, call us, send us an email, because we want to be there for you,” she said

Melanie Viramonte,
Learning Center Supervisor
ACE Tutoring
Locations: Main SRC-203
Other campuses: Montoya J-107 & J-103, Westside MJG-113, South Valley SV-106, Advanced Training Center ATC-126, Rio Rancho RR-115
Hours vary by location
Phone: 224-4300
Most students know the Assistance Centers for Education for their computer labs, but ACE also provides students support through tutoring, guided workshops and study groups, Melanie Viramontes Learning Center Supervisor, said.
Tutoring Services are free to all current students and covers nearly every subject that CNM offers — everything from traditional subjects such as math, English and science, to trades such as automotive mechanics and culinary arts, Viramontes said.
Guided workshops, which provide an in depth look at specific subjects such as trigonometry or grammar, are offered throughout the year at every campus, and a calendar of when specific workshops are offered is available online at http://www.cnm.edu/depts/tutoring, she said.
Tutors will not complete a student’s homework for them, but the will go over homework with students, help identify and correct recurring errors, and guide students through troublesome topics, she said.
“First and foremost the tutors are here for the students benefit. It’s been shown that if you get help, if you receive tutoring, a lot of times your grades will benefit from it,” she said.

Donna Fastle and Beth Moreno-Perine,
Job Connection Services
Location: Main SSC
207
Open Monday –
Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Phone: 224-3060
Job Connection Services (JCS) assists all CNM students and graduates with all aspects of the employment process including resume writing, online job searching, interview strategies and much more, Donna Fastle, Career Center Adviser said.
JCS does not place students into a job after they graduate, rather JCS is a place where current students or graduates can come to get help finding work and can learn the skills they need to find work on their own in the future, she said.
“Many students do come back to us and tell us they got a job, and when they do we put their picture on the bulletin and celebrate their success with them,” Fastle said.
JCS also teaches students how to deal with specific concerns, such as background check or work history issues, she said
“We don’t have a magic wand, but we do have some pretty good ideas that are worth sharing,” she said.

Mark Cornet,
Disability Resource Center leader
Open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Phone: 224-3259
The Disability Resource Center provides services and assistance to students with both permanent and temporary physical, mental, learning, visual, speech or hearing disabilities, Mark Cornett Director of the Disability Resource Center.
The DRC holds orientations every Friday wherein disabled students can get information on how to get involved with the DRC and learn about the services the DRC offers, which includes career and personal counseling, notetakers/readers, interpreters for the deaf, alternative test taking formats, large print or audio textbooks, access to disabled parking, adaptive equipment and much more, Cornett said.
The DRC also provides assistance to veterans through the Vet Success program, which aids veteran students in speeding up paperwork and clarifying bureaucratic issues with the Veterans Affairs department, he said.
Cornett said that he wanted to invite all students with disabilities — even temporary ones, such as a broken dominant hand — to visit the DRC for support, but wanted to remind students to come in ahead of time because documentation is required.
Locations: Main SSC-208, Montoya TW-208, Westside campus location planned to open by the end of the semester.

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What it means to be human; Cultural Studies looks to expand

July 31, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Staff Reporter

The Cultural Studies department plans to expand its current offerings to include sophomore level courses that will delve deeper into issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability and disability—in short, what it means to be human, Dr. Felecia Caton-Garcia, English and Cultural Studies instructor, said.
Although a strict timeline has not yet been set for when the classes will be offered, Dr Caton-Garcia said that the department’s faculty is motivated to offer the courses sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, the introductory courses, such as Pop Culture, Women’s studies as well as Chicano and Native American studies, will continued to be offered at all campuses, and can be found in CNM’s course catalog.
“There’s a lot of energy to make this happen. There’s a lot of interest on the part of the faculty for expanding the department because so many of us have various areas of expertise that are being underutilized,” she said.
Department faculty have been discussing plans to include courses that are currently offered at UNM, such as feminist studies, southwest studies and environment, science and technologies, Caton-Garcia said.
Faculty want to offer courses that are easy to transfer, which will be aided by aligning the courses offered at CNM to those at UNM, but also want to make sure that the courses are interesting, she said.
“For instance I would love to teach a class on Chicano film. I incorporate film into my Chicano studies class but I could teach easily 16 weeks on Latino representation in film,” she said.
But before the department offers classes like “Race and Gender in Hip-Hop Culture,” Caton-Garcia said the department needs to make sure that there are students who are willing to attend the new courses.
Part of that battle is getting students into the introductory level classes, she said.
“What we find is that once students take a cultural studies class, they often want to take another one. That’s very common, but getting students into the classes in the first place can be difficult,” she said.
In the fall 2012 semester, the department changed the course names, numbers and prefixes of those introductory classes in order to bring in more students, and again, to help make the courses transferable, which will help raise student interest, Caton-Garcia said.
The change in course numbers enabled the department to expand course offerings, and now the department hopes that students will see the courses, enroll in the introductory classes and see that cultural studies is the sort of program that directly informs students about issues that come up in everyday life, she said.
“Social interactions, economic interactions, political interactions, everything from who we date and why, and what our families think of that, to how we determine what is equitable for us economically moving forward, and is all part of what we study when we study culture,” she said.
While courses, such as anthropology or sociology, touch on similar subjects, cultural studies is an eclectic program that draws from several academic fields to present an in-depth and detailed view of cultural issues, Caton-Garcia said.
Cultural studies courses pull literature, psychology, history, film and many other approaches together to create a multifaceted picture of a social or cultural issue, Caton-Garcia said.
“In my Chicano Studies class for instance, I use the work of sociologists and I use fiction written by Chicano authors. I place those two in radical proximity to each other so we can speak about them, find out how they interact,” she said.
Approaching a subject from different angles allows students to gain a true appreciation for the subject, and helps move students beyond the classroom in order to participate in social change, she said.
“There’s an active thread running through cultural studies that education should not only offer knowledge, but should be a transformative experience through which we can find ways to promote equity and justice,” she said.
Caton-garcia believes that if more students realized what the impact of an education in cultural studies could do, the classes would start filling up, she said.
“I would really, encourage people to check these out. If they have any room in their schedules at all for the fall, they are offered at all the campuses and we would love to see them,” she said.

Martos’ Metamorphosis; Student body president leaves CNM life

July 31, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Staff Reporter | Photo By Daniel Montaño

Stephen Martos, president of the Executive Council of Students and member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, can sum up his experience at CNM in two words: growth and change, he said.
Although Martos graduated in the spring 2013 semester with degrees in Psychology, Criminal Justice and Liberal Arts, he is staying on as president of ECOS until the beginning of the fall semester when he will hand over the reins to Emily Sarvis, Biology major, as he moves on to UNM to earn his bachelor’s degree in psychology, he said.
“CNM is my life. I don’t work school around my life. My life is all at CNM, my friends and everything. So I’m excited about going to UNM, but I’m nervous because it’s such a completely different world,” he said.
Martos entered CNM unsure how to approach his future, which classes to choose and what career to go into, but grew up, gained responsibility and found direction while at CNM, especially through ECOS, which motivated him throughout his college career, he said.
“Being president of ECOS is something I never thought I would do when I graduated high school, and now the goal is to continue on and see what other trouble I can get myself into,” he said.
Martos plans to move on to Law school after finishing his bachelor’s degree, but isn’t setting anything in stone just yet, because he wants to make sure he is able to put to good use the empathy and willingness to help that he has gained through ECOS, he said.
He plans to minor in political science while at UNM, and if he gets the opportunity, he hopes to get involved in local government to make a positive change in the political process, he said.
“Whenever I find out that there is something someone is struggling with, my first reaction is ‘How can I help’ and what can I do to make this better” he said.
Martos has always had an internal drive to help people, but ECOS refined that feeling, he said.
ECOS was also the motivation to actively pursue positive change in his future and gave him the drive to become the person who he is now, he said.
“I think that I’m a lot more responsible, and I feel like I’m a greater person overall. Looking back I didn’t have an idea of the greater things happening around me, but I don’t know if that’s just what happens when people get older — they look back and want to say, you have no clue what’s coming up,” he said.
Although he is now working towards a future where he can help people and make changes for everyone’s benefit, Martos had originally planned to become an aerospace engineer before coming to CNM, he said.
“I looked at New Mexico Tech, and realized that I hated math, which isn’t good for an engineer, so I switched over and came to CNM,” he said.
Martos said coming to CNM was the best choice he made in his quest to find direction because from that point on things began to fall into place on their own and organically evolve.
After feeling his way through introductory classes and remaining largely uninvolved, he was introduced to Phi Theta Kappa and ECOS through friends, he said.
“I kind of stumble right into it. Having people who drug me along to meetings gave me a lot more purpose and a lot more focus. So I became much more involved and from that point it made me grow up from being a high school kid,” he said.
Once involved with student organizations Martos began getting into volunteer work, and as president of ECOS he was directly involved with helping students overcome obstacles at school, he said.
“That’s one of the best feelings that I’ve had, standing up for student issues and student rights, just being there as a venue for the students,” he said.
As far as regrets go, Martos doesn’t have any besides wishing he could have been even more involved than he already was, but he is satisfied with the differences he did make, he said.
“There’s always room for improvement. I wish I could have done more somehow, made more of an impact,” he said.
As the outgoing President of ECOS, Martos wants to encourage as many students as possible to find direction in the same way he did, he said.
“Join ECOS!” Martos said.
To join ECOs students must be enrolled for at least three credit hours and have maintained a 2.5 GPA. For more information students can go to student activities in the SSC to pick-up and submit an application.

From streets to success Student conquers personal obstacles

July 24, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño, Staff Reporter | Photo Provided by Letisha Busatmante

Every homeless person has a face, and behind that face there is a story, that has a past and a future, and Letisha Bustamante, Digital Media major, said that she is working to change the future of those stories through volunteer work and activism.
Bustamante is currently accepting donations of hygiene products, granola bars and water bottles, with which she will make care packages that will be donated to homeless shelters and distributed to people in need, she said.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can reach Bustamante via email at letishabustamante@yahoo.com.
“I’ve met a lot of unique people in my life. I’ve been to funerals for friends that committed suicide. I’ve seen a lot, and I want to make things better for people who are in a bad situation,” Bustamante said.
Bustamante’s motivation to help out the homeless with this project is a simple one, and is one of the many volunteer and activist works with which she has been involved, she said.
Bustamante herself has been homeless off and on, ever since she was 12 years old, sometimes with her family and other times on her own, she said.
“For some reason we were always on the streets in the winter. Being in the cold when we didn’t have jackets, I ended up in the hospital a lot. I only told one friend what was going on, but some people noticed,” she said.
Bustamante will graduate in the spring of 2014 semester and now has a roof over her head, food in her fridge and a plan for the future; to go along with her job, school, volunteer work and her two-year old son, with whom she fills most of her time, she said.
While at the Youth Build charter high school, now called the Academy of Trades and Technology, Bustamante said that she decided to take steps to change things for herself by looking for a job and enrolling as a dual credit student at CNM while still in high school.
“Just out of the blue one day, I said ‘This has to stop; I don’t want to be like my parents’. They have bad credit, and they can’t afford to support us. We were always struggling and wondering how much longer we would have a roof over our head, and what we were going to eat the next day. I was tired of it and I didn’t want to go through it anymore,” she said.
Bustamante would eventually find both jobs and success in school, where she became involved in building student morale and increasing attendance and participation as a member of student government, she said.
“I would talk to them. I would tell them my life story, what I had gone through, and talk to them to find out what they were going through. We’d just have a conversation, like counseling,” she said.
Bustamante’s high school administration took notice of all the work that she had been putting into helping students, the amount of which went above and beyond the call of her office, and was chosen to attend a leadership conference in Chicago, she said.
“It was my first time being on the plane, so I was living the good life,” She said.
Upon graduating from high school, Bustamante was given an award for the work she had done in her school, and said that she took her experience in high school and used it as a motivation to continue helping people to this day.
Bustamante has been involved with volunteer projects at CNM with the executive council of students, but said that she has been focusing on her work on dosomething.org, which is an online non-profit organization that assists with a variety of causes.
“Helping people makes me happy. It does make me feel happy, but it also makes me feel sad because I realize that there are not that many people truly involved with trying to help the community out, especially here at CNM,” she said.
After graduating from CNM, Bustamante said that she plans to attend UNM to finish her Bachelors’ degree in Digital Media, but she also plans to continue pursuing a career in her dream jobs, which are acting and modeling.
She plans to make use of the active student body and resources at UNM to continue helping out her community, and wants to focus her leadership skills once there, she said.
“I want to motivate people who are in the same sort of situation I was—there is a way out. I would like to motivate more people—all of Albuquerque if I could—to help, to feel for those people who are in a bad situation. I got to live in both worlds and it’s sad to see them both. It’s not a pretty picture,” she said.
Although her life has been chock full of strife, struggles, and sadness, Bustamante said that it is those negative experiences that have led her to success today, and what motivates her to help other people.
Having dealt with depression herself, Bustamante said that she knows how a hard life can cause people to make bad decisions, which serves only to continue the cycle of poverty.
“You have two sides of you; the good part that needs to come out, and the bad part that will just pull you down, ultimately towards death. I see that in many people, and I just want to help bring out the good,” she said.
Bustamante said that recalling specific memories of sexual assaults, asking for money, or going weeks without solid food had oftentimes proved difficult to cope with earlier in her life.
Bustamante has now been working on a book that will chronicle her journey, from growing up in the small town of Gallup, through homelessness and up until today, when she has finally been able to find happiness and success.