New Mexico Daily Lobo 120209 by UNM Student Publications

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The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895

December 2, 2009

Special Investigation: Undocumented students DL

Musicians accept contract, pay cut by Andrew Beale Daily Lobo

Joey Trisolini / Daily Lobo Crystal Quiñonez, an undocumented student, studies at El Centro de la Raza on Tuesday. Check out Ryan Montaño’s special report, “Undocumented Students at UNM,” in the multimedia section at DailyLobo.com. The report is a three-part investigative series, which will be published through the end of the week.

Navigate through registration, E-Progress easily Staff Report Daily Lobo

Registration can be a stressful time, especially with finals right around the corner. Thankfully, there are some things students can do to make the process less traumatic. Students can check their own personal registration date by signing into my.unm.edu. Through LoboWeb, students can go to “Registration and Records,” and then “Check Your

Registration Appointment.” Academic Adviser Shannon Saavedra said students should register for classes as soon as possible, and making a schedule a few days ahead is helpful. With a plan written down, students can stay up until midnight on their registration date and register for classes using the course record number, she said. The CRN is the five digit number to the left of the class title. Saavedra said students can also

get help deciding what classes to sign up for using their E-Progress report, which is under the “Registration and Records” link. The report tells students what classes they’ve completed and what they still need to take for graduation, she said. Saavedra said some students are confused by the E-Progress report because it can be hard to read. “I tell students to skip the whole first part,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to them. It’s not telling them

E-Progress Seminars Dec. 9 — 1 p.m. Dec. 15 — 2 p.m. Student Services Center room 114 To RSVP, e-mail Shannon Hein at shein@unm.edu what classes they have to take.” Saavedra said students should pay more attention to areas on

Awardee changes rules 4 years later by Kallie Red-Horse Daily Lobo

Recipients of honorary degrees from UNM no longer have to attend commencement to get their degrees, according to an agreement reached at the Board of Regents meeting Tuesday. The University awards honorary degrees to people who have made significant contributions to a certain field but don’t have the ultimate degree in that subject area. A University tradition required individuals to be present at commencement to receive honorary degrees, but the Board of Regents and President David Schmidly agreed that, should unforeseen circumstances prevent recipients from going to commencement, the University will still award them the degree. Schmidly said that despite the

Inside the

Daily Lobo volume 114

issue 69

change, those who get honorary degrees should still make time for the event. “The expectation is that the individual will be there to accept the degree,” he said. “However, if you are approving something months in advance of an event, you can’t control the fact that there may be illness or personal situations that may prevent them from being there.” Regent Jamie Koch said mandatory attendance became an issue in 2005 when Ricardo Montalban, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, was unable to go to the ceremony. “We had a problem a number of years ago regarding a candidate that was supposed to get an honorary degree. I think there was a big illness that happened and he couldn’t show up,” Koch said. “It was not very pleasant. It was a real mess.” Regents’ President Raymond

Sanchez said the board does not anticipate a similar incident this year. “I’m not sure why it became an issue relevant to the fact that Montalban could not be there present to accept the degree,” he said. “I doubt very seriously that we are going to have that problem this time.” The controversy about Montalban’s degree eligibility was a factor in the decision to change attendance practices, Koch said. “When one of these people accepts, they should know other stuff goes along with it,” he said. “The question is if the person is on their dying bed and can’t come. Do we yank the promotion?” Regent Don Chalmers said the degree will be given to the intended individual even if unforeseen circumstances prevent attendance. “Once they accept, they get

see Degrees page 3

see Registration page 3

After months of negotiations, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Player’s Association has finally ratified a contract, but the musicians still might not be ready to play a happy tune. “The musicians don’t know how they will reconcile with management after months of heavy-handed negotiations tactics,” the Player’s Association said in a press release. The Player’s Association stated that the core musicians will each be taking a $4,682 pay cut, for a total salary of $16,269.67 per core musician. The press release stated that the NMSO administration makes “well over $100,000 per year.” David Sherry, spokesman for the NMSO management, said in an email that the combined salary and benefits for core musicians make their contracts worth more than $20,000 a year. Sherry said the musicians’ press release exaggerated the salary of the NMSO administration, but he did not say how much NMSO administrators make in a year. “The claim about administration salary is completely bogus,” he said. “The average salary is absolutely not over $100,000 per year.” Denise Turner, the NMSO Player’s Association spokeswoman, said the musicians ratified this contract Monday after rejecting several others. The accepted contract provides

see Contract page 3

Diving into winter

Zach Gould / Daily Lobo Student Nicole Joe dances with falling leaves in front of Castetter Hall on Tuesday. Joe dove into the leaf pile after one of her classes ended.

Where are we?

Coach search

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Today’s weather

47° / 26°