Schmidly, Koch must be held accountable for their actions

Editor,

I love UNM, and it is consoling to see such coverage of the current crisis enveloping this University. The importance of collaborative involvement to abate this manifesting problem cannot be overstated. It is, however, very disconcerting when I find that the president of ASUNM and other students like Charles Matthews are still defending President David Schmidly.

I personally know Ashley Fate, and I can attest to what a great person she is, but I must respectfully disagree with her stance on the upcoming resolution. I cannot think of anything more detrimental to the future of the University than to assume such a subservient role during this pressing political time. The idea that "We believe in you to make good difficult decisions" has become emblematic of this decade in politics. It wasn't until George W. Bush showed us how much complacency can destroy a nation that we decided to wake up and actively take part in decisions that affect our lives. Likewise, if we continue to turn down our obligation to properly scrutinize the current administration, it won't be long before this University caves in from the inside out.

It starts with demoralization. Frankly, I am sick to death of this mentality of meritocracy where it is presumed that the people who are in power are there because they are best-suited for the job. Give me a break. You don't cause a cataclysmic dissent from your own faculty for doing your job properly. And Jamie Koch didn't achieve his presidency for his upstanding character, but for his support of Gov. Bill Richardson during his race for office. This is reality, and in reality, you are held accountable for your actions. That is why we must hold Schmidly accountable for his actions as well as Koch. It is erroneous to suggest that all of this flak is counterproductive or that Schmidly is the "victim," as Matthews so adequately put it.

Please do not patronize me and suggest that the president of the University - the same one making hundreds of thousands of dollars - is somehow being victimized by faculty. Yeah, right. If that's what it means to be victimized, then sign me up. It would also do us well to remember that difference in opinion and diversity should be embraced as it is the basis of creativity, discovery, understanding and ultimately progression. I'll be the first to admit that I could not do Schmidly's job or handle the responsibilities he has, but I do have a responsibility as someone who is actively affected by the decisions he makes to call him out when he isn't doing what's best for the University.

Call it whining if you like, but you don't need to take Psychology 105 to know that if you do not acknowledge a behavior as unacceptable, it will continue to occur, propagate and possibly become what we consider to be normal. In these circumstances, we cannot allow that to happen.

Matthew De La O

UNM student