Editor,
It has recently come to my attention that the upper echelons of UNM proposed building a recreation center next to Johnson Field.
While plans are still in the preliminary stages, the center is projected to cost at least $48 million to construct and approximately $45 million to maintain each year. No student fees or tuition have been raised specifically to provide capital for this project, but once the center is complete, student fees will be increased by no less than $117 per student per semester, regardless of their individual use of the facility.
The fees will not go toward construction, but rather rec center maintenance. Rec center advocates also showed statistics about the cost of the rec center divided by number of students and faculty as being $372 each. However, faculty are not going to be billed for the center under the plan, and since student fees will only be increased by $117, the large discrepancy between these two numbers seems suspicious to me.
It seems that project advocates have deliberately presented a glossed-over portrait about how the recreation center will affect the University without discussing the huge monetary opportunity cost this represents for the University.
UNM planned to allocate some of the money from Bond D, which would have increased property taxes to provide more than $150 million to institutions of higher learning throughout the state. Voters struck down the bond by .4 percent during the election.
The University has only one logical outlet to come up with this money: through tuition and student fees.
I write as a concerned student. I understand that students are keeping up with school while maintaining part-time and full-time jobs, and they don’t have time to concern themselves with University happenings.
But according to UNM Today, tuition and fees were raised by 7.9 percent this year, in part because of the “SAD pass through” enacted by the New Mexico state legislature in the January 2010 session.
Textbook prices continue to rise, too, which adds to financial burdens that make it difficult for struggling students to stay in school.
Because of budget issues, many professors’ phone lines were cut last month, and graduate student teaching opportunities have been dramatically reduced. Even faculty members have seen reductions to their hours and/or pay. Times are tough, and money is tight.
I am not by any means against recreation or physical fitness, but I remain skeptical on the merits of a costly project undertaken in such an economic climate.
New Mexico has one of the country’s highest poverty rates and remains mired in the recession that is not projected to stop anytime soon. With some of the country’s most prestigious medical and legal departments, our University is a bastion of hope and opportunity for thousands of young New Mexicans.
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These students use the recreational resources we have at the University and almost unanimously agree that they can be improved upon, but they also recognize that their University is not just a playground. UNM is a school.
This University is a place we attend to become productive citizens, to chase our dreams and to enrich our communities. I fear our ability to do all of these other things will be diminished by this project.
Obviously I have a strong opinion about this, but I am writing to encourage readers to do research and make an informed opinion of their own.
Remember, the University uses our money, and I believe that students’ voices ought to be heard when debating how that money is used.
You can go to NewRecCenter.unm.edu to view information about the recreation center. I would prefer that you hear from the project advocates, too, before taking a stance.
My biggest concern is the lack of clarity on where the money for construction is coming from, and until I get a clear answer on that, I remain opposed to the project.
I encourage you to start looking into this issue soon, or you may not have your voice heard on the matter of how and if this project will develop.
Luc Mouchet
UNM student
