Editor,
I'm a 42-year-old bipolar man, and I also have attention deficit disorder. I attend UNM because of the generosity of the Cohen-Marchiondo Scholarship fund, which offers students with mental disorders full scholarships.
I also reside at the Albuquerque Rescue Mission.
I'm homeless.
I owe the bursar's office $525. I have a student loan I should receive on Monday for $10,000. I can't get an emergency loan due to my balance at the Bursar's Office. I have no money, none. I'm hungry, I brush my teeth with paper towels, and I haven't shaved in four days. During lunch, I wait for students to finish their meals, then I dig through the trash to eat their remaining food. I walk from the shelter every morning, shower at the gym and wash my clothes in discreet restrooms on campus.
I paid off my student loans from my previous semesters at UNM in October. I wasn't aware that I could have applied in October for aid. I thought I would have to wait until next semester, and my ignorance has landed me on the streets.
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At the beginning of this semester, I went to financial aid and was told I was eligible for up to $10,000 in loans. I was given the wrong FAFSA form and was told it was sufficient for this semester. I filled out the form online, waited for the reply and returned the form to financial aid. I was told that I had filled out the wrong form.
After the second response from FAFSA, I returned the form to the office, where I was told it would take 10 business days to process. They do what is called a run through the system. On Monday, I returned to the Financial Aid Office, and was told that my loan hadn't run, and the person who did the run wasn't in. I was told to come back on Wednesday or Thursday of last week, to see if the report had been run.
I don't have that kind of patience when I'm hungry.
I returned to the office the same day and talked to the supervisor, Mabel Gutierrez, who told me their system had me classified as a returning student, and that was the reason for the delay. I went to admissions, got a letter stating I wasn't a transfer student and gave it to Gutierrez.
On Tuesday, I returned to her office, where she told me that the problem was fixed, and that I would receive my aid on March 6. I informed her that wouldn't work, so she suggested I try to clear this up with the Bursar's Office. The director of the department, Leo Moya, wasn't in, so I made an appointment with him for Wednesday.
I arrived at the appointment, where he told me his hands were tied unless Gutierrez approved an emergency loan. I was told she could do nothing for me, and she made me an appointment with the Bursar's Office for Friday, since the director didn't take same-day appointments. I went back to the shelter.
I'm tired, I'm hungry, I stink, and I'm wondering why a technicality of their policy can't be bent for an emergency. Where can I find compassion and empathy? They have no idea of what it's like to stay at a shelter. The things I see every day are disgusting.
I'm so absolutely livid and frustrated over this uncaring bureaucracy, which can't bend the rules because I owe $500. I find it impossible to study, and my academic career is suffering - I have to miss class, otherwise I won't make the bus to the West Side shelter.
What in the world is the matter with these bureaucrats?
Darrell Dillon
UNM student
