Student organization – The CNM Chronicle

Calling All Artists

November 12, 2021 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

Story by

Devonny Grajeda

Staff Reporter

Faculty Advisor of CNM’s visual arts magazine Leonardo, Carly Harschlip said she is inviting all CNM students to attend the first ever Leonardo Open Mic Night.

The event is for all CNM students and will be hosted via zoom on November 12^th from 7:00-8:00PM she said.

If students would like to attend/preform they can email Leonardo at leonardo@cnm.edu and they will then be added to the list, she said. Or they can go to their website under Blog and Events to sign up as well, she said.

The Leonardo Open Mic Night is intended to provide students with a venue that will be fun and interactive while allowing students to show off their creative sides, “It will allow students to share their creative work and have a sense of community, which is important for them,” she said.

Finding a community that a student can share their feelings with is just as important as taking a class. It is a big step to share creative work and it can be scary, but it can also be worth it she said.

Attending the Leonardo Open Mic Night may teach a student something about themselves, they may even come to find out they might have stage fright, she said.

She said, “Being a college student is also about exploring things and finding your place in the world.”

COVID has made things a bit harder by making everyone more isolated. Of course, one Open Mic Night is not going to change everything but it is a start she said.

Students are also welcome to attend the event as audience members only and are not required to share if they do not wish too, she said.

If students do not feel ready for either of those then perhaps they may find interest in working with Leonardo, which has been a part of CNM since 1991 and is celebrating their 30^th anniversary this year, she said.

She said, “Leonardo hopes to get people interested in the magazine itself. Or, to contribute if they want to be an editor perhaps at some point or they want to submit their work to it in print which is important for any beginning writer.”

Being part of a student organization does help students to get ahead

April 8, 2014 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By The Chronicle Editorial Board

Students that take the time to get into a student based organization certainly get a much better experience out of going to CNM than the average commuter student.

There are so many reasons why student clubs are a great opportunity, but first and foremost it is because student organizations help students to see the inner workings of the school and can sometimes even have the chance of changing CNM for the better.

Not only do some student organizations open up opportunities for grants and scholarships, but they also give students a sense of community, and allow them the chance to network with like-minded people who hope to achieve the same goals.

Student clubs can also help students when they leave CNM to move on to a four-year college or to help get employment when the extra effort is seen in college on a student’s resume.

It surely is worth it to invest the time and effort it takes to be in a student org., because the rewards far outweigh the efforts when students can get the true college experience and can gain friends and allies within a set community for years to come way after leaving CNM.

So, if you might be thinking of joining a student org. it truly is worth looking into, because if there is anything that you will remember from your time at CNM, it will be the people you met and connected with, and people that helped you to become the person you hope to become someday.

Student organizations can be somewhat hard to find through campus resources such as cnm.edu, so for a complete list of student organizations go to this link.

M.E.Ch.A unites chicano students

June 18, 2013 cnmchronicleLeave a comment

By Daniel Montaño Staff Reporter | Photo by: Juan Gonzalez

M.E.Ch.A CNM’s chapter of el Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan is looking to enroll new members who want to make a positive change for higher education and the Chicano community, said Juan Gonzalez, Psychology and Chicana/o Studies major.

M.E.Ch.A is a student organization that promotes higher education, unity and empowerment of Chicana/os, the CNM Chapter of which can be reached via their Facebook page, which can be found by searching “M.E.Ch.A de CNM” on Facebook, or by email at mechacnm@ gmail.com, Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez is one of the founding members of the CNM chapter of M.E.Ch.A, and said that before he moves to UNM in the fall 2013 semester, he is looking for any students, Chicana/o or otherwise, who are willing to work to promote culture and higher education to help build the M.E.Ch.A organization.

“In 2013, M.E.Ch.A is not just Chicanos, it’s anybody who sees all these struggles, who knows what’s going on, and wants to help their communities,” Gonzalez said.

M.E.Ch.A provides students a place where they can get support from fellow students, people who are going through the same things they are, he said.

M.E.Ch.A has gained a reputation since it was first created in the 1960’s as being a protest organization, but Gonzalez said that in the new age of M.E.Ch.A, it has grown into a community-centered activist group.

“A lot of people remember M.E.Ch.A. as ‘the protestors’ and all that, so a lot of people kind of look at us a little bit weird. But we can pass our resources along. We know a lot of people. We’re building a community for people coming into the state or people who have any struggles,” he said.

When M.E.Ch.A was first established, it lobbied for Chicana/o studies, bilingual education and other similar programs, but now M.E.Ch.A looks to support any person or group looking to promote peace, cooperation and equality, Gonzalez said.

M.E.Ch.A revolves around the idea that through community and collective action, people can make a positive impact together by helping and giving support to one another, Gonzalez said.

“We have some really good people here in Albuquerque, so we work together as a community to help people out,” he said.

M.E.Ch.A was created in the late 1960’s and came out of the Chicano civil rights movement, said Ramiro Rodriguez, one of UNM’s representatives to the Centro Aztlan region of M.E.Ch.A.

The Chicano movement had many aspects—Farm workers rights, voting and political rights, land grants—and M.E.Ch.A came from the union of several separate student organizations that were working on rights for education within the Chicano movement, said Rodriguez.

“The objectives of M.E.Ch.A. became promoting higher education, our cultura and our story. We believe that playing a part in our story and in higher education is the avenue for changing our society. Our themes are usually education, activism, and el cultura,” Rodriguez said.

M.E.Ch.A is a national organization that is separated into 10 different regions composed of local chapters, based in universities and colleges, and local clubs based in high schools, Rodriguez said.

The first M.E.Ch.A in Albuquerque was in a middle school, but now has chapters at UNM, CNM, New Mexico Highlands University, Eastern New Mexico University and clubs in high schools statewide, Rodriguez said.

“Every year we have a national conference. I’ve attended this year’s and the year before. This year was in San Diego and the year before was in Phoenix. Some other things we do are like the national conference, we have regional meetings, statewide meetings, retreats, there’s the national Cuento where you get to talk to all the other Mechistas,” he said.

For more information on M.E.Ch.A, visit nationalmecha.org.