DAILY LOBO new mexico
Caution to the wind see Page 4
monday February 11, 2013
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
University funds security increase UNM unsure of how this will affect other budgets by John Tyczkowski and Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com
Marisa Silva, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, said it’s difficult for a university to tighten its security while tightening its budget. Silva said UNM’s budget makes it hard for the University to organize safety initiatives. She said the budget recommendation the Legislative Finance Committee is considering will put UNM at a 16 percent budget shortfall and will affect the University’s safety operations. “As long as we’re scrambling to keep the lights on, it’s going to be difficult to fund other initiatives for safety of students,” she said. “Safety is not a luxury — it is something that we can demand.” On Jan. 27, two men allegedly grabbed a female UNM student while she was jogging at Johnson Field, held her down and groped her under her clothes. On Feb. 4, a man allegedly groped a female UNM student over her clothes outside Castetter Hall. Silva attended Friday’s forum
held to address the cases of on-campus sexual assault during the past two weeks. Representatives from various University bodies, such as Residence Life, the office of the dean of students and the Women’s Resource Center, suggested and asked for possible solutions to the problem. Silva asked students to contact their legislators to urge them to provide more funding for UNM. In the wake of the first groping incident, officials said the University increased police presence on campus and allocated more money to security efforts, but no one could say how many more officers were on patrol at a given time or how much money was put into security. Prior to the reports of groping, there were three UNMPD officers on patrol per shift. But UNMPD Chief Kathy Guimond was unable to provide details on how much staffing had been increased, if shifts had been changed and exactly what additional steps had been taken, citing tactical considerations. “(The additional staffing) varies by the day of the week and by the shift of the day,” Guimond said in a phone interview Friday afternoon. UNM President Bob Frank also said UNM took money out of its allotted budget to fund this increase in campus security, but he was unable
Sergio Jiménez / Daily Lobo Psychology major Sheryl Brooks looks on as members of the public addressed UNM staff members at the public safety forum Friday. The forum was in response to two recent sexual assault incidents on campus. Brooks asked the panel why no UNMPD representatives were present at the forum and how the University would prevent further attacks. to provide exact numbers. UNM is in the middle of its budgeting process for the next fiscal year. This includes allocating money to all departments and programs while dealing with a $60 million cut in the University’s budget the past three years. Even so, Frank said he is
confident UNM will be able to respond effectively to the calls for improved campus safety following the sexual assaults. “We’re a tightly knit community,” Frank said. “This affects us all and all of us can help.” Audience members at Friday’s forum had questions for UNMPD,
but no UNMPD representatives were present at the event. During a phone interview Saturday, UNMPD Public Information Officer Lt. Robert Haarhues said the police were not asked to attend the forum.
see Security PAGE 2
Chavez unseen in 2 months Venezuelan leader left Dec. 10 to seek medical treatment in Cuba by Jorge Rueda
The Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela — Two months have passed since Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez climbed the stairs of the presidential jet, blew kisses to his supporters and flew to Cuba to undergo his fourth cancer-related surgery. Chavez hasn’t been seen or spoken publicly since that departure to Havana on Dec. 10, and the mystery surrounding his condition has deepened while the government’s updates have remained optimistic but have lately offered few specifics. “The president is in charge and making decisions,” Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said Saturday after meeting with Brazil’s foreign minister. “It’s a slow, slow recovery process. But he is fighting his battle with great faith, and clinging to Christ and clinging to life … and with the conviction that he is going to win this battle, too.” Jaua, who visited Chavez in Cuba last week, said the 58-year-old president has been making political and economic decisions. On Friday, for instance, the government announced it is devaluing the currency. Confidants including Jaua have recently said the president has overcome complications including a severe respiratory infection following his Dec. 11 surgery for recurrent cancer in his pelvic region. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, whom Chavez named as his potential successor before the surgery, has said that the president should be able to return home once his
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condition permits it. When that might be remains unclear, and the long silence of a leader who used to speak on television almost every day has led many Venezuelans to wonder why he is unable to say at least a few words to the country by phone. Some analysts say they expect that sooner or later, Chavez’s delicate health could make necessary a new election to replace him. “The transition has already begun in Venezuela, and the election campaign has also begun,” said Tulio Hernandez, a sociologist and professor at the Central University of Venezuela. “The transition has also begun in people’s heads. Sometimes, there are mistakes among government spokespeople, who start to speak of Chavez in the past tense.” Maduro and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello have recently led street demonstrations where supporters have rallied around the president chanting his name and holding photos of him. If Chavez were to die or step down from the presidency, a new presidential vote would be called within 30 days. The long silence has left many Venezuelans, including both supporters and detractors of the president, on edge amid rumors and speculation. “Whether we wanted to or not, it used to be inevitable to hear him, see him, talk about him,” said Emilia Torres, a university student who supports the opposition. “Now he’s disappeared. We haven’t seen him in a long time. We don’t even know if he’s really OK or not.” Chavez has undergone several cancer treatments in Cuba since June 2011, including surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He hasn’t revealed the type of cancer or the exact location where tumors
Ariana Cubillos / AP Photo A supporter of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez wears glasses that reads in Spanish “I am Chavez” while attending a Feb. 4 demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela commemorating the anniversary of a failed coup attempt led by Chavez in 1992. The president was absent for the first time from the annual demonstrations as crowds gathered for multiple marches wearing the red T-shirts of his socialist movement. have been removed from his pelvic region. During previous stints in Cuba, Chavez regularly kept in contact through phone calls broadcast on television and messages on Twitter. Now, those messages have been replaced by updates given by his Cabinet ministers. The updates recently have been given less frequently, while government officials say Chavez’s condition has slowly improved. “I want them to tell us the truth. I don’t want to keep seeing ministers saying that El Comandante sends us regards,” said Lenin Colmenares, a street vendor who sells posters and photos with images of Chavez. “I hope El Comandante himself will be the one
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to say it. Why doesn’t he?” Colmenares said he hopes the president will be able to return. He also said none of the other officials in his socialist movement can compare to the charismatic leader. “I’m for the revolutionary process, but if I support another one (within Chavez’s movement) it’s only because El Comandante asked for it,” Colmenares said. “That man is unique.” Chavez, who counts 19th century independence leader Simon Bolivar and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro among his leading influences, first took office in 1999 and was re-elected to a new six-year
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