In a news conference Monday, President Barack Obama warned that in our current economic state, "Inaction could turn a crisis into a catastrophe." It is undeniable that economic catastrophe is becoming a real possibility as collapsing excesses from Wall Street continue to inundate Main Street. The New York Times has recently reported job losses that exceed half a million for the third straight month, giving no indication that we are in the last throes of the recession. As the stimulus plan is debated in Washington, D.C., people are losing their homes and jobs while state governments are left having to fill the gaps.
New Mexico is no exception, and cuts will hit students hard. At UNM, we are getting hit even worse by taking the brunt of the state's efforts to reduce education spending. We stand to lose anywhere from $9 to $11 million in funding. This is on top of the hiring freeze and recommended shut down of various UNM programs, most notably the complete cut of African American Student Services and the draining of El Centro de la Raza's budget. The budget cuts to UNM are overwhelming compared to other universities in this state; we stand to take up more than 58 percent of the total cuts suggested by the Legislature. It has gotten bad enough that President David Schmidly is encouraging University employees to take leave without pay. Despite the hiring freeze and loss of funding to various programs, we are still looking at larger and larger cuts.
Though many of us have done nothing to contribute to the current financial crisis, we will likely bear the costs in the form of increased tuition despite the decreased
number of faculty and programs. The question is: Should we take this sitting down? Can students help shift direction in this economic climate? Though it may sound like a daunting task, it is by no means impossible. Many students have already taken the initiative to visit our state's capital and meet with legislators to discuss financial priorities for students at UNM. Lissa Knudsen, GPSA council chairwoman, has visited Santa Fe at least once a week since the legislative session began. She is focusing on legislation that would expand child care benefits to enable students with children to continue their education. Jake Wellman and numerous other members of ASUNM have outlined and are well on the way to achieving specific legislative goals for this session, including preventing any tuition increase, maintaining funding for special programs like ethnic centers and ABQ Ride bus passes, and increasing funding for advisement.
ASUNM and GPSA have already shown how successful joint advocacy efforts can be, and we need to make this a continual activity. Organizations like College Democrats, College Republicans, World Affairs Delegation and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán have a unique opportunity to work in a bipartisan fashion to promote the priorities of students at UNM. If students and organizations come together and advocate in a structured manner, lawmakers and administrators will listen.
With the construction of the Rail Runner, it takes only $5 round-trip to visit Santa Fe and voice your opinion. While many may think that a single trip to the Roundhouse won't make a difference, the successes of ASUNM and GPSA trips to the Legislature last week send a clear message to students: Take the lead. In the past, students at UNM have accepted bad news and remained inactive. This time around, we need to take an active role in the survival of important UNM programs. As students, we should strive to initiate the change we want to see. If we remain inactive, both the state government and University administration will have our tacit consent to treat our education as a pool of money to borrow from. We are worth more than that, and we have to demonstrate it.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
There are almost 30,000 students who will be affected by the outcome of the legislative session; how many are willing to go to Santa Fe at least once? The session will go on for almost two months. If less than 1 percent of the student body spent a single day in Santa Fe advocating for UNM, we would be able to talk to every legislator whose vote will affect the future of our University.
We can change the direction of funding for UNM and help save vital programs. We can prevent a tuition hike and help reduce the millions of dollars being cut from UNM's budget. We can expand child care and make it easier for international students to study here. We can even push for same-day voter registration and magnify the power of the student voice in Santa Fe. The only limits are those we set for ourselves. What we can't do is rely on others to act on our behalf, we have to rely on each other to keep the standard of education we have.
For those who are interested in helping out, please email UnmForChange@gmail.com. We can do this, but we need to organize, and we need to get started.
Mercy Berman is president emeritus of UNM College Democrats and candidate for ASUNM Senate 2009.
