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Monday, O c tober 7, 2019 | Vo l u m e 1 2 4 | I s s u e 1 6
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ASUNM moves forward on fee increase By Alyssa Martinez &
Alex Hiett
@amart4447 @Dailylobo The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s (ASUNM) Steering and Rules committee approved an amendment last Wednesday, Oct. 2 that would effectively raise a portion of the fees all undergraduates pay. The government fee would increase from $20 to $25. The bill was passed 3-1 by the Steering and Rules committee, with one abstention. In order for the fee increase to take effect, it would have to be passed by the full Senate, signed by ASUNM President Adam Biederwolf, approved by the student body with a two-thirds vote during Senate elections, and certified by the Board of Regents, UNM’s highest governing body. The amendment was drafted by Senators Ryan Regalado and Gregory Romero and was framed as a way to help student organizations receive the funding they request amidst recent budget cuts last spring. How this could be ensured still remained unclear after an interview with committee members. “Last year we had to cut a lot of student organization budgets. We were discussing how we could fix that, and discussion came up on raising student fees,” said Emma Hotz, the chair of Steering and Rules. In 2019, ASUNM allocated $513,618 to fund internal function, primarily the government and its agencies. That was the second-
Ellie Aikman / @eaikman1230 / Daily Lobo
ASUNM discuss how much they should fund the Antimicrobial Resistance Mediation Outreach, a new student organization. The motion failed 0-6-0 so the organization can adjust their appropriation and possibly receive more funding in following weeks.
lowest in five years but continued a trend of ASUNM spending more than three-quarters of its money on itself and not on chartered student organizations. This proposal came as UNM has experienced a 6.5% decrease in enrollment, causing ASUNM to find itself with less and less money (around $200,000 according to ASUNM budget documents) each year. Additionally, students saw a
4.5% tuition increase this year. The decrease in enrollment means that ASUNM is working with less money than in previous years. During the 2015-2016 fiscal year (19,885 undergraduates) ASUNM collected $850,000, while they are projected to bring in only $661,454 this year (16,170 undergraduates). Hotz said in the meeting that it is “very likely the students will not like this” and their main focus will
Everything you need to know about UA-UNM By Justin Garcia & Makayla Grijalva @Just516garc @MakaylaEliboria Professors and instructors at the University of New Mexico will make a historic decision regarding the future of the University later this month. On Oct. 16 and 17, UNM faculty — part-time, full-time and at branch campuses — are set to vote on whether they want a collective-bargaining unit to represent their interests. How the Union might affect the University and its students is still unclear. The prognostication around its possible outcomes are dependent upon whom you ask. “A union will not solve any of the pressing issues that challenge UNM,” wrote Provost James Holloway in a communique that went out to the “ALL_ UNIVERSITY” listserv. “It will
not grow our enrollment, change the state funding formula, increase the University’s revenue or create greater collegiality and a sense of shared purpose,” Holloway said. “As I said publicly when I interviewed last February, I fully understand our faculty’s frustration after 10 years of shrinking budgets and no raises. But additional processes and steps, and new bureaucracies to navigate founded on inconsistent principles and conflicting goals, will not improve our financial outlook or continue to build the University to the scholarly heights it must achieve,” Holloway continued. “Provost Holloway,” wrote Senior Lecturer in economics Dave Dixon in a letter to the Daily Lobo, “wasn’t here to experience our previous state governor, or to endure the frequent suggestions and occasional efforts by the regents and some members of the legislature to control aca-
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ASUNM page 9
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demics at the University.” “And, the reality is, the regents could still accomplish that, while the legislature continues to fail to address pay and benefit issues that should have been resolved decades ago,” Dixon’s letter continued. “At that level, UNM faculty and state management are on opposing sides in the classical labor market sense. Addressing that is not in the purview of the provost. The provost, however, can choose to act as a colleague or as a proxy of the state.” What remains more in focus is what the faculty will be voting on: Two collective-bargaining units to represent two portions of the faculty (part-time and full-time). However, that wasn’t always set in stone. After eight months of back and forth, long hours of public comment in Board of Regents meetings and several marches around the Duck Pond, a vote to unionize
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be “educating” the students on why the change is needed. Much of last week’s Steering and Rules meeting was spent considering ways to present the fee increase to students. The discussion involved raising awareness through their events and utilizing student organization leaders for outreach. “I think if we came together as a senate and really pushed for this, we could really sway students… or
at least help them understand how big of a deal this, because I think student organizations are a vital part of what we do on campus,” said Senator Nolan Mckim in last week’s committee meeting. Aldrich echoed this concern in the meeting. “If people have some out-of-thebox ideas that might help sell it better, and not just necessarily leave it up to the student to go look at it themselves, because that kind of backfires sometimes,” Aldrich said. “It’s ultimately (the students’) decision. I was having a hard time getting that across in (the Steering and Rules committee meeting.) It’s the student’s choice,” he said. Some senators cited inflation as a reason for the increase. The CPI Inflation Calculator and United States Inflation Calculator both found that $20 in 2002 is worth $28.52 today. 2002 was the last time student government fees were raised. “With inflation and with the lack of enrollment, we think that the $5 charge is fair,” Romero said when asked why they chose the $5 increase for this bill. “Ideally, all the money is going back to the students, it’s just a matter of what organization they’re in — what they’re involved in.” When asked whether or not senators had talked with any students before the committee meeting last week, Varela said, “No — I mentioned it to some of my friends that are not in ASUNM, but other than that, I don’t know of other people that have been consulted.” Other senators in the committee
Lobos lose at San Jose State By Reyes Gallegos @dailylobo The University of New Mexico football team (2-3) lost Friday night’s game against the San Jose State Spartans (3-2) with a final score of 32-21. San Jose State senior quarterback Josh Love was the game’s leading passer, throwing for 405 yards and two touchdowns on 24 completions. Lobos senior quarterback Sheriron Jones was the game’s leading rusher, totaling a career high of 104 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. The game opened with Love completing a pass to wide receiver Tre Walker for 39 yards down to the UNM 48-yard line. San Jose moved the ball down the field until UNM defensive lineman Erin Austin strip sacked Love, resulting in a fumble recovered by senior cornerback De’John Rodgers. Picking up the
fumble gave UNM the chance to run ten plays for 26 yards, setting kicker Andrew Shelley up for a 29yard field goal attempt that Shelley missed — his first failed field goal attempt of the season. On the very next drive, Spartan running back Nick Nash ran for a nine yard touchdown and put San Jose on the board 6-0. The extra point try was blocked by UNM defensive lineman Adebayo Soremekum. UNM’s next drive resulted in a three and out, leading San Jose State to a 22-yard drive that resulted in a missed field goal. Going into the second quarter, UNM’s next drive led to another three-and-out that resulted in a San Jose seven play, 93-yard touchdown drive capped off by Love completing a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Billy Humphreys. On their next play, the Lobos drove the ball down the field to
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