Editor, The coverage of all that has been going on at UNM lately has been superb. I've read about reactions from the students, staff and faculty with plenty of facts and interviews with people with different perspectives on the issues. Kudos. However - I know, there's always a however - the "Crisis hits the small screen" article, while excellent, got one thing very wrong.
Editor, To President David Schmidly and Regents President Jamie Koch: Thank you for taking it easy on the employees of UNM by offering us the opportunity to take a voluntary furlough. For those of us canny enough to read between the lines, voluntary furloughs equal layoffs if not enough folks volunteer.
Editor, I believe that the time is ripe to organize and get the type of university that we want. We need to act fast, though. Otherwise, this whole mess will blow right by, and we will not get a chance to speak. I am not currently a student, but I will be eventually, and I want to help participate in the creation of the new University.
Editor, In response to the Feb. 12 Opinion section of the Daily Lobo: Phillip Howell, you offer nothing as an alternative to the stimulus package. The only evidence of waste you write about is money to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is not a not-for-profit, much like any church; it is not called "Planned Abortion.
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.
Editor, Here is one employee who will not be doing a voluntary furlough, and I am sure there are many others in my situation. After 21 years with UNM, I am earning a whopping salary of $30,000 a year, and I doubt my furlough would even make a dent. I will need to work a few more years in order to have a decent retirement as I support myself.
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.
Editor, After listening to a news broadcast about President David Schmidly's plan to have staff take furloughs, I was infuriated. The staff at UNM is the backbone of the University. Being a former employee, I had noticed over a long period of time that the staff is expected to do the jobs of two or three people already.
Editor, From the trials of history and the embryo of social allegiance, we've finally matured to a defining cohesive social partnership in this country. Together, we have set aside the segregating serums that have plagued our growth and tainted the fibers of love so evident in our blueprints of life.
Editor, Barack Obama is going to kill New Mexico's economy. When I saw Obama talking about ridding the world of nuclear weapons and killing the missile defense shield, I cringed. I cringed because I knew this was bad news for New Mexico. I guess the majority of New Mexicans were not listening or are too stupid to connect the dots or were too happy thinking about how they were going to spend their $500 check from Exxon Mobile.
Editor, Recently, President Barack Obama came out in support of legislation that would implement restrictions, limits and caps on the salaries of CEOs of major corporations and businesses. Why is it OK for Obama to demand CEOs from large businesses "limit" their salaries and pay taxes when the highest CEO in the U.
Editor, Vice President Joe Biden said, "If we do everything right, there is still a 30 percent chance we will get it wrong" while addressing a meeting of Democrats. He, President Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reed, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the entire New Mexican democratic congressional delegation want to borrow $1 trillion to fund their spending plan.
Editor, As a first-generation Chicano college student, I have always felt a little out of place in higher education. As an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, I depended on La Casa Cultural Latina and the Office of Minority Student Affairs to provide mentoring, support, tutoring and a feeling of belonging to a family.
Editor, President David Schmidly's "open letter to the UNM community" leaves me wondering if I am enrolled at an educational institution or a business franchise. In his entire address, education and research are mentioned only once, and they're seemingly obligatory asides.
Editor, As graduate students, we are in a precarious position. We have chosen to put faith in our own abilities as scholars and researchers to pursue careers that we genuinely believe will allow us to do what we love while benefiting the world in which we live.
I am saddened by the current state of UNM for many reasons, not the least of which is that our upper administration and regents have provided clear evidence in the press that they have no idea what the faculty, staff and students have experienced over the past six years and what our issues are.
Solutions by The State News
