News

WNMU was well represented at this year’s Border Archives Bazaar, held September 23 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, where both the J. Cloyd Miller Library and the WNMU Museum had table-top displays of the university’s archival treasures. Hosted by the Border Regional Archives Group, the event brings together resources from more than a dozen libraries, archives, and museums of the borderlands. The library’s display was drawn from the Juan Chacón Collection, which focuses on organized labor and mining in southwest New Mexico as well as on the film “Salt of the Earth.” Librarian Andrea Jaquez said that in deciding what to feature from the library’s collection, she decided to focus on “what we are known for,” which is the Juan Chacón Collection and related materials connected to mining history and labor. Jaquez noted that it is sometimes a challenge to present the library’s rich resources in a way that is visually engaging, as at...

The American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week was observed this year with an event at WNMU J. Cloyd Miller Library. Sponsored by the library and the Humanities Department, the event drew a record crowd this year, with an estimate of ninety in attendance. Director of the Library Samantha Johnson opened the event by welcoming the audience and engaging them with questions about book banning and book challenges. WNMU Writer in Residence JJ Amaworo Wilson then spoke on the history of book bans. Mentioning both ancient and more recent history, Wilson said that “Tyrants, dictators, autocrats—they are still trying to silence writers . . . When we read, we become aware of alternative ways of thinking, alternative ways of living, alternative ways of being. When we read, we learn to understand that the world could be different.” This is precisely what those in unearned positions of power fear, said Wilson. “Tyrants, dictators and autocrats,” he said, “have to...

Hollywood has given moviegoers a sense of what Homecoming should be. Whether it involves Peter Parker getting grilled by his date’s villainous father while being chauffeured to the big dance in “Spiderman: Homecoming” or Wendy Wu campaigning to become Homecoming Queen in “Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior,” films give us expectations about this uniquely American phenomenon. “We saw it a lot in movies when we were growing up,” said Mariana Torres, a recent transfer student to WNMU from Universidad de Sonora, “so we had a bit of knowledge about what Homecoming was about.” For Torres, this fall’s Homecoming at WNMU was the first she has experienced in person. She said her expectations about it came primarily from one source: “Disney Channel,” she explained with a laugh. Torres’ fellow student Beatriz Olivas feels the same. “I did know about it but have never experienced it,” she said. Torres and Olivas are in the same position that two other transfer...

Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics and Statistics Sundar Tamang presented a paper at the Third International Conference on Applications of Mathematics to Nonlinear Sciences, held this summer in Pokhara, Nepal. His paper, “The Inverse Volatility Problem for Currency Options,” which was coauthored by his former Ph.D. advisor, proposed a new computational inverse algorithm that can help better predict financial markets. Tamang’s travel to the conference was partly funded by the Department of Math and Computer Science and partly by a Faculty Development Fund Award. Tamang, who is originally from Nepal, had visited Pokhara before but still marveled at the natural beauty of the area, which features not only Himalayan peaks but also scenic lakes. Tamang said that his favorite part of the conference was “meeting with all the great mathematicians.” Because he is at the beginning of his academic career, he feels it is very important to meet other mathematicians with...

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents met on Thursday, September 28 on campus in Silver City and virtually. Present at the meeting were Regent Chair Mary E. Hotvedt, Regent Lyndon Haviland, Regent Dal Moellenberg and Student Regent Trent Jones. In the president’s report to the Board of Regents, WNMU President Joseph Shepard highlighted the university’s fall enrollment numbers, noting that overall enrollment had increase by approximately 6% and freshman enrollment was up 37%. The board approved the FY24 Q1 Financial Certification required by the New Mexico Higher Education Department and a revision of the 5-Year Capital Outlay & Infrastructure Projects Plan. New to the plan were a food sustainability initiative and the addition of a PE and student complex as well as eventual demolition of student housing that will be retired in the future. Also approved were a revised Capital Project Transmittal for safety and site improvements to Old James Stadium and a...

When Timothy “TJ” Gomez returned to his alma mater, Morenci High School in Morenci, AZ, to teach history, he realized that many of the co-curricular activities that were available in his youth were no longer offered to students. “We had a choir, marching band, concert band, theatre, art,” said Gomez. By the time he returned, most of those programs were gone, and even the band program was dwindling. Anxious to change that, Gomez decided to form a mariachi program at the school. Not sure where to start, Gomez reached out to his cousin, Raymond Gomez, who is an adjunct professor of music and Assistant Director of Mariachi Plata de WNMU who in turn spoke with Bryant Chaffino, Music Director and Director of Mariachi Plata de WNMU. Since that time, Gomez and Chaffino have collaborated to grow the mariachi program at Morenci. Each year Chaffino and Mariachi Plata de WNMU travel to high schools, including Morenci, to work with the students. “We are always ready to go help...

After several years working with youth in residential treatment in Albuquerque, WNMU alumna Shelby Wilkie (BSW ‘16, MSW ’18) returned to Silver City looking for a change of pace. “I wanted a more peaceful environment,” she said. Wilkie began working for WNMU in August 2023 as the university’s new Mental Health Therapist. Wilkie was sold on WNMU even before her interview for the position was over. As part of the interview process, she was asked to give a presentation to students on mental health, and was surprised by the responsiveness of the students involved. Unlike previous generations, said Wilkie, today’s college students are often more willing to seek mental health assistance. “I can get behind people who want help,” she said, “and I can help them all day long. That is what I was meant to do. . . It’s incredible how brave the students here are.” Wilkie said she is interested in “dismantling that classic idea of what mental health is and what a...

Now in their second year, the WNMU graduate certificate programs in Bilingual Education and Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL) prepare teachers who already have a teaching endorsement in another area to gain endorsement in bilingual education or TESOL. The courses are taught at WNMU Deming by adjunct instructors who already have at least a master’s degree as well as an endorsement in one of the subjects, making them convenient for teachers in the Deming Public School District. “We have a good relationship with the Deming District. Most of our teachers are placed there,” said Professor Alexandra Neves, “Most of our alternative licensure teachers . . . are placed in Deming, so we already had this good relationship.” Creation of the programs was partly spurred by the ruling in the Yazzie/Martinez v. The State of New Mexico legal case, Neves indicated. The judge in that case ruled that the state was insufficiently preparing students, especially English...