Student Chris Fullerton went to UNM president David Schmidly’s office March 23, hoping to talk about his flooded dorm.
Instead, three UNMPD police officers escorted the student from Scholes Hall.
Fullerton’s dorm flooded Jan. 3, after a pipe burst over winter break. Not satisfied with the University’s response, Fullerton said he decided to talk to Schmidly about the problem, but every time he asked to set up a meeting, he was told Schmidly was in a meeting, on vacation or at an appointment, he said.
“I called about 15 or 20 times,” Fullerton said.
Fullerton took matters into his own hands. He said he called Schmidly and told the office that he was Walt Miller, the vice president of Student Life.
“They put me right through to him, and Schmidly answered 20 seconds later,” Fullerton said,
Fullerton then told the president he was not Miller and asked to set up a meeting. Schmidly, Fullerton said, told him he was late for a doctor’s appointment and couldn’t meet.
Fullerton, who made the call from outside Scholes Hall, asked to quickly meet Schmidly and shake his hand, anyway.
“I said, ‘All I want is to meet you real fast,’” Fullerton said. “‘It will take 30 seconds, and I just want to shake your hand and see the face of the University here … and finally he said, ‘OK, fine.’”
When Fullerton got to the president’s office, staff told him Schmidly was in a meeting, Fullerton said, so he waited outside.
“About 20 minutes later, three University police officers walked in and told me that President Schmidly didn’t want to meet me,” Fullerton said. The officers then escorted Fullerton out of the building, he said.
University Spokeswoman Susan McKinsey gave her version of the events in Schmidly’s office.
“On the date in question, this individual apparently misrepresented who he was,” she said. “When he was here, he was disruptive; officers were called; he was asked to leave, and he complied.”
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Fullerton’s SRC apartment dorm was one of 30 dorms that suffered water damage during the break, University spokeswoman Karen Wentworth said. She said the damage totaled nearly $500,000.
Fullerton said that some of his belongings were damaged and others were stolen after maintenance workers left his door open. He said he was told his belongings would be covered until he received a letter from Brian Murray, the University’s insurance adjuster, from Keenan and Associates.
“(Murray) said UNM was not responsible for any of the stuff that was gone and damaged because it was an ‘act of God,’” Fullerton said. “Even employees leaving my door open was an ‘act of God,’ somehow.”
Wentworth said students without renter’s insurance are responsible for replacing their belongings. She said many students, especially Fullerton, are not happy with the policy.
“The University advises all the students in the dorms to get renter’s insurance to cover something like this,” she said. “ … We do have one student who is challenging the policy, and he was told pretty much the only option that he has is small claims court.”
Fullerton said he was told the damage could have been prevented.
“I was told by a maintenance supervisor that the reason the pipes in that dorm broke was because they turned the heat completely off to that building over winter break rather than to low, like they were supposed to,” he said.
What bothered Fullerton the most, he said, is that Schmidly’s office called the cops without reason.
“His office didn’t even have the respect to ask me to leave before calling the police,” he said.
McKinsey said officers were called because it was a safety matter.
“No office and no staff member will be asked to take a chance with that,” she said.
