DAILY LOBO new mexico
October 7, 2010
Errors found in student planner
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MIDDAY MARIACHI
by Chelsea Erven cerven@unm.edu
The UNM Day Planner, given to freshmen at orientation and sold at the UNM Bookstore, has inaccurate information. The Planner mistakenly lists Sept. 3 and Sept. 17 as the last day to drop a course without a grade. Laura Valdez, senior program manager at the Advisement Center, said the actual dates to drop classes with a grade were Sept. 3 for eightweek classes and Sept. 10 for 16-week classes. “We are aware of the misprint, but there is a disclaimer in the student planner that states that events are subject to change,” she said. UNM student Alex Castro said many students rely on the dates listed in the planner. “I use my planner every day,” he said. “I was lucky enough not to run into the problem with the drop date, but if you depend on the dates in there, a misprint is a big deal.” Lisa Walden, general book/supplies manager of the Bookstore, said the bookstore sold 2,913 copies of the planner to date, in addition to the planners handed out at freshman orientation. She said planners are still being sold, and bookstore officials were unaware of the misprint. The Dean of Students Office oversees content and the production of the planner, and the Bookstore is responsible only for resale, Walden said. Corine Gonzales, of the New Student Orientation department of the Dean’s Office, said a student brought the misprint to the office’s attention in September. She said the office worked with the student and the student’s professor, and the student was allowed to drop the course without a grade, even though the drop date passed. “We are willing to work with any students who are experiencing problems dropping classes as a result of the misprint,” she said. Student Anita Griego said she is fortunate not to have purchased the flawed planner. “A misprint like that is something that could really highly affect someone’s GPA,” she said. Student Caitlin Campbell said she hopes the rest of the dates are correct. “I think it’s really irresponsible for such an important date to have been printed wrong,” she said. In the future, Gonzales said, the office will proofread the planner more carefully. “It was an oversight, definitely. We are continuing to proofread and go through the rest of the planner to make sure we haven’t missed any more errors,” she said.
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
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Mariachi Tenampa plays in front of the SUB Monday. The show was part of the “Live at Lunch” concert series presented by Student Special Events.
Robert Maes / Daily Lobo
Budget cuts keep marching band home by Sean P. Wynne seanpw@unm.edu
The UNM Spirit Marching Band will not be going with the football team to Las Cruces for Saturday’s rivalry game against New Mexico State because of budget cuts. Chad Simons, director of the Spirit Marching Band, said the marching band’s budget has been cut by about $25,000. “Financially, we have some real challenges. Unfortunately, the travel budget has to be the first thing to go,” he said. Kristina Austell, a junior in the Spirit Marching Band, said it was a letdown to not be able to support the football team this year. “I know I am and I think everybody is pretty disappointed that we don’t get to go, and I know we really wanted to and were looking forward to it. It’s something we really enjoy
doing. We really want to be there to support the team,” she said. Simons said the band has faced budget cuts in the last few years, while membership in the ensemble has grown. The roundtrip cost of sending the band down to Las Cruces is more than $8,000, Simons said. “I think that surprises most people. The costs come to buses and equipment trucks. Feeding them is not a huge expense,” he said. “We’ve tried to raise the money privately, but we did not have enough luck with that to cover the cost.” Austell said the band turned to private donors and started a text messaging campaign to raise funds. “We tried to find some private donors to help us get down there, but it kind of fell through. We also have the Text-to-Give campaign, but it’s just getting off the ground right now,” she said. Because of budget reductions, the marching band has been forced to make decisions about how to spend remaining funds, Simons said.
“Our financial challenges are pretty rigorous right now. We needed to protect the students’ stipends and scholarships. We’re currently obligated to,” he said. “We have a need for approximately $400,000 in instruments right now. The stuff that we have is literally falling apart.” Simons said he expects next year to be more financially tenuous. “I think everyone needs to be prepared because it could get very difficult next year,” he said. “What I’m really worried about is that budget decreases very often equal service decreases. In other words, if we get hit with a large amount of cuts again, the marching band may not have enough equipment to put everyone out there. It’s got everybody pretty anxious right now.” Thomas Morgan, a sophomore, said he is troubled by the band’s upcoming absence. “UNM is devoted to getting a reputation over an education. This is one more example of that. We spend millions on a coach who can’t get (his team to score) more than a couple of touchdowns a game, not
to say that it’s all the coach’s fault,” he said. “If we can’t get professors tenured or send the marching band down to the state game against our biggest rival, we’re spending money in places we don’t need to spend it.” Regardless of the football team’s success, Simons said, the marching band should be there to show its support. “For the record, our students want to go, I want them to go. There’s no issue about not wanting to make the trip. We’re down. That’s what we do,” he said. “We want to support those guys win, lose or draw. I think it’s important for the readers to understand that. This is a consequence of budget rescission.”
If you know of a creative or effective cost-cutting measure in your department or elsewhere, please send an e-mail to news@ dailylobo.com to be featured in our “Desperate Times” series.
SHAC: Come get your head checked by Barron Jones
bjones36@unm.edu UNM Student Health and Counseling is offering free mental health screenings today. Mental health professionals will screen students for depression and related illnesses such as bipolar and
eating disorders, generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress. UNM student Melanie Buck, who attended the event in 2007, said the screening helped her pinpoint and address issues related to the deaths of loved ones. “Mental health is very important for succeeding in life,” she said. “If you are not OK with yourself, how you
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can expect to be OK with everything else?” Project coordinator Stacy Lowe said the screening is not a substitute for an evaluation, but it helps students learn if they have symptoms consistent with major mental health disorders. “The goal of the screening is to increase students’ awareness of mental health issues,” she said.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health website, mental disorders are common in the United States. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a mental disorder every year, and many suffer from more than one mental disorder,
see Mental Health page 3
TODAY
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