Primary services should be available on Main Campus

Editor,

It is absolutely ridiculous to move the Financial Aid and Scholarship offices off Main Campus. Main Campus is the flagship of the University, and all of its student services should be available there.

These services should be located in a convenient place where most of the students are. And what is with busing students from Main Campus to the new location? Didn't I read something in the news recently about how expensive gas is? And now we want to spend more on it just to move two of the most crucial offices in students' lives away from where they are? Even if the shuttles use natural gas, why waste it? And factor in the increase of gas used to motorists who have to make two stops at UNM and then the new location of the offices. This is bonkers.

President David Schmidly wants a "one-stop shop for all of our students." There already is one. Why can't academic advisement for student athletes and a UNM veterans center be on campus? Even if these two offices were located away from Main Campus, there are far fewer students who are athletes and veterans. Why should the majority suffer for the few? And why not move the cashiers and Bursar's Office too? It makes sense if you're going to move all of the offices that have something to do with the financial needs of students. Oh, but wait, the University still wants to be convenient to students who pay money to the University.

I'm a graduate student, and I work. I can only be on campus two days a week during normal office hours, and I have trouble every semester with financial aid. Instead of being able to deal with these problems while I'm already on campus, I'm going to have to take time away from work and study to deal with the financial aspects of my education, time I frankly don't have to begin with. I'm not alone. Until the administration makes perfectly clear why this move is necessary, I must oppose it. If space is an issue, why not move Schmidly's office off campus? I'm willing to bet that the move will impact students' futures far less than Financial Aid and the Scholarship Office.

David Luna

UNM student