Acting President Chaouki Abdallah drew a large crowd for his third community Town Hall on Tuesday, March 28. Though there was standing room only, audience members were eager to pose questions to or hear responses on hot button issues from Abdallah.
About 120 people came to the event.
Topics varied from budget issues to immigration concerns and free speech debates during the Town Hall presentation.
Budget
Addressing a pending state budget which could decrease UNM funding, Abdallah said UNM needs “to do business differently” to make up for funding shortfalls.
Abdallah predicted the needed revenue increases could be anywhere from 1-2 percent, depending on the final budget.
Abdallah mentioned that shortfall could amount to $10-11 million UNM needs to generate.
If UNM “can’t make it up,” he said, “then we’ll consider everything,”
Among possible solutions he mentioned were: generating higher enrollment rates, creating a four day class schedule, or implementing tuition increases.
Abdallah mentioned that, although a tuition spike may be necessary eventually, “nobody wants to increase tuition.”
“We need to make sure we don’t leave so many people behind,” he said, noting that “at the same time we need that income.”
ASUNM President Kyle Biederwolf questioned Abdallah’s decision process, asking how, amidst lottery scholarship uncertainties and fee increases, he could “justify to a student their tuition be increased?”
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“I don’t do it lightly,” Abdallah responded. He said at some point, budget cuts aren’t enough and revenue needs to be increased.
So long as tuition increases ensure UNM’s ability to retain faculty, keep staff happy, and improve education delivery, the increases were justified, Abdallah said.
He emphasized if there isn’t sufficient money to deliver the education students pay for, UNM wouldn’t be meeting its objective.
“It’s not just what you’re spending,” Abdallah replied, “it’s what you’re getting.”
He also emphasized during other audience responses that a portion of the profit generated from tuition increases would contribute to need-based financial aid.
“That’s the model that works,” he said.
Immigration
One question, raised by a representative from the UNM Dream Team, probed Abdallah about undocumented students' concerns, including their feeling of safety on campus.
The student asked to sit down with the acting president to discuss ideas about change. Abdallah quickly accepted the invitation, hoping to explain what UNM is doing and to talk about ideas.
The UNM Dream Team is a student group which supports and advocates for undocumented and immigrant students.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure that our undocumented students feel safe, are protected, and are supported,” Abdallah said. “This is an issue that is very dear to my heart.”
Abdallah restated UNM’s commitment to maintaining the anonymity of undocumented students.
“We don’t know how many undocumented we have, and we don’t want to know,” Abdallah said, “which is trying to be as safe as possible.”
He emphasized UNMPD doesn’t enforce immigration law, and said he would send out a statement to that effect soon.
UNM also has lobbied and supported efforts to push back against executive orders regarding immigration changes, which Abdallah brought up.
Among those efforts have been lobbying attempts to protect students eligible for Obama-era DACA policy, which allowed certain deportation immunities and work eligibility to undocumented minors in the U.S., he said.
Free Speech
Acting President Abdallah responded to questions from the audience which criticized the “militarization” of campus during controversial speaker Milo Yiannopoulos’s event in January.
“What I wanted is, nobody gets hurt,” Abdallah said, admitting the campus was indeed “militarized.”
As for the cost of the security, Abdallah said no figures had been solidified yet.
“When I find out what the price is, I’ll tell you,” he responded.
Abdallah noted, however, security wasn’t cheap.
“We were protecting, not the person, we were protecting the principle,” Abdallah said, defending the large numbers of UNMPD and APD personnel at the event’s protest.
Abdallah, who chose not to mention Yiannopoulos by name during his presentation, said he wasn’t happy the controversial figure came to campus, but that he would always support free speech.
“The alternative is a slippery slope,” Abdallah said. “Especially at this time, when you (want) your right to demonstrate — you need the right to be able to speak.”
He also mentioned the University’s duty to consider and protect those who feel harassed or threatened.
Instead of bringing more radical speakers to campus, Abdallah encouraged groups to break the cycle and meet with students of separate ideologies and have conversations about their differences.
Brendon Gray is a news reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @notgraybrendon.
