The proposed rule requiring all incoming freshmen to live on campus will now go before the full Board of Regents, despite concerns from the undergraduate student body.
Associated Students of UNM President Kyle Biederwolf spoke at Tuesday’s Finance and Facilities Committee meeting to voice ASUNM’s opinion on the new policy that would drastically change the lives of future students.
Infrastructure, facilities and time were all taken into consideration, Biederwolf said, as he spoke about the many obstacles the University would have to face in the coming year if the new rule were put in place.
While Biederwolf and the rest of ASUNM support the underlying vision and spirit of the proposed policy change, they could not fully support it, he said.
Concerns about infrastructure are valid, Biederwolf said. As more freshmen live on campus, more will choose to stay in the dorms beyond their first year. As a result, parking, bed spaces and recreational facilities might not be able to handle the influx of incoming students, he argued.
Students have little to occupy themselves in their free time, Biederwolf said, and with impending renovations to Johnson Center, Smith Plaza and possibly the Redondo dorms, facilities will be even harder to access.
Biederwolf pointed out that the option to live on or off campus is appealing to freshman coming to UNM but, ultimately, making it mandatory could have an adverse effect on student life.
“We thrive and find strength in the diversity of our campus,” Biederwolf said.
Chris Vallejos, vice president of Institutional Support Services and a proponent of the potential policy change, said no extra beds or parking spaces would need to be built. The University can implement the requirement with the housing already available, he said, and would focus on facility improvement at a later date.
“We can utilize what we have to host this community and try to create an environment on campus for student success,” Vallejos said.
Terry Babbitt, associate vice president of Enrollment Management, said that a reasonable policy can still be implemented and even updated in the future to address improvements.
“We are not trying to encroach on students’ freedom,” he said.
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UNM President Bob Frank said he wants to create more activities in the SUB to help foster a sense of community so people will have a legitimate desire to be on campus.
When asked how much student housing would be available to the freshman, Vallejos replied that Lobo Village could also be used, but that University administration will try to encourage freshmen to live on Main Campus.
Limited parking on campus is always a concern, something Vallejos addressed in claiming that only half of students living on campus have cars.
With more activities, jobs and resources available on campus, students will need less transportation, opening up more space for parking, he said.
Frank’s strategic plan to make UNM a destination university, called UNM 2020, envisions a campus where people feel comfortable, safe and engaged, he said.
Melanie Sparks, executive director of Institutional Support Services, said that more freshmen living on campus means more money being spent on campus, which could lead to much needed improvements in the short and long-term.
Despite undergraduate student government representatives saying that right now is not a good time for this change, the committee leading the initiative feels that it should still be an option for the 2017 fall semester.
The potential policy change will be placed to vote before the Board of Regents at its Tuesday meeting.
