Editorial: Students continue to foot the bill for UNM

It seems like UNM students are always picking up the tab.

When administrators were putting together the University's budget for next year, they wanted to raise tuition 12 percent to pay for everything money from the state didn't pay for.

Now, the administration wants students to pay for renovations of educational facilities. Student fees will go up $280 per student over five years to pay for bonds intended to help with renovation and upkeep of buildings such as Castetter Hall and the Communication & Journalism building.

Yes, these buildings need to be updated and we should get to learn in modern facilities.

After all, we do go to the biggest university in the state. But we keep paying for it. So the state didn't award any money for buildings. The solution from the administration: raise student fees. The regents already approved a 9.9 percent tuition and fees increase in April.

Regents approved the bond issue Tuesday. There were no students at the meeting who spoke against the matter. Five student government students showed up to the forum on June 10.

Brittany Jaeger, ASUNM president, said she was worried about the bond issue being passed during the summer semester because not many students were on campus to voice their opinions.

But at the Tuesday regents meeting, she said nothing in disagreement. The 15 or so students there watched in silence as the bond issue was passed.

Regent president Jamie Kochsaid he was comfortable passing the plan because no students voiced any disagreement to the plan.

So when will students get upset about their students fees going up anytime the University needs to pay for something? Meanwhile, University administrators are getting nice bonuses for the work they've been doing. David Harris, the man who came up with the bond plan, just got a $41,000 bonus on top of a salary increase. UNM President Louis Caldera said one of the reasons Harris deserved the bonus was because of his work on the bond issue.

So students are silent now, but maybe in the fall when they see their tuition increase and when they continue to see an extra $56 tacked on to their school bill for building repairs, they'll get a little upset.

But by that time, administrators may already have a plan to raise student fees again.

Rivkela Brodsky

Editor in chief