Editor,
On Monday the Albuquerque Journal had an article titled “UNM Athletics looks for financial solutions.” Two passages stood out in the article.
The first that 24 employees in the Athletics Department have base salaries over $100K/yr, and the second being that the University may increase fees to offset a $1.54 million budget deficit. Coaches’ salaries are high because they bring in money to the University. Obviously ours do not do that, and before any fee increase is considered there should be pay cuts at the TOP of the Athletics Department.
On to the second point; this would be a good time to consider what we want in a university. Is the goal of UNM to sell tickets and T-shirts, or is it to educate New Mexicans? Sports have a place at a university. They help build morale and school spirit, but $1.5 million could go a long way for scholarships, tutoring, lab equipment and more professors to teach amazing classes. UNM should be trying to be Harvard of the West, not a sports franchise.
James Klein
UNM graduate student
