DAILY LOBO new mexico
Anxiety attack? see page 15
January 18, 2012
wednesday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Occupy protests fail to derail Governor’s speech by Chelsea Erven
news@dailylobo.com Occupy New Mexico protesters greeted Gov. Susana Martinez with chants and jeers Tuesday as she stepped up to give her State of the State Address at the Roundhouse. Video footage from a KOB report shows New Mexico State Police escorting six protesters shouting, “Whose house? Our house!” out of the Roundhouse on the first day of the 2012 New Mexico legislative session. Martinez waited for the crowd to settle before she spoke. Occupy the Roundhouse demonstrations were organized by Occupy New Mexico, a group comprising Occupy movements across the state, including the Occupy and (un)Occupy Albuquerque groups. “I’d like her to say she’s going to represent the people and not big interests,” Miguel Pacheco, a protester from Las Vegas, NM said. “I’d like to hear her say that she’s here to protect the health and welfare of the people she took an oath to protect and represent rather than the big corporations that are pouring in money right and left and she’s dancing to their tune.” (un)Occupy Albuquerque protesters walked more than 45 miles to Santa Fe from Bernalillo to join the protest. The rest of Martinez’s speech went smoothly as she focused primarily on the state budget, education reform
and tax breaks for small businesses. Martinez celebrated her elimination of the state’s budget deficit over the past year, citing strict cuts to state government’s budget such as eliminating excess personnel at the governor’s residence and selling the state’s private jet. She said efforts were made to protect classroom and Medicaid spending as much as possible. “Thinking about the state of our state last year, it gives me great pleasure to report to you today that New Mexico’s financial house is back in order,” Martinez said. “We are no longer running a budget deficit; in fact, our historic deficit has now become a projected $250 million surplus.” Much of Martinez’s speech addressed a topic she has focused on during most of her time in office: education reform. In the past year, Martinez introduced a grading system for public schools; each school is scored using letter grades A, B, C, D and F based on standardized test scores and yearly student improvement. She said that during this year’s legislative session she hopes to reform the state’s education system by making it impossible for children to pass through the third grade unless they can read. “Passing children who can’t read from one grade to the next is not compassionate,” she said. “It is morally wrong. Are we going to turn a blind
eye to the fact that 80 percent of our fourth graders cannot read proficiently? Let’s do something about it.” Martinez proposed allocating $17 million toward reading reforms, which would include more reading assessments given in classrooms and tutors to help children who are behind. Martinez also proposed tax breaks that would help small, local businesses compete with large, multi-state corporations. She proposed exempting small businesses that earn less than $50,000 per year from the gross receipts tax. The tax break would help about 40,000 small businesses in the state, she said. “Many of New Mexico’s successful businesses started at kitchen tables with not much more than a family’s savings and a dream,” she said. “We need to invest in a culture of entrepreneurship so more of these family businesses can make it—so they can grow and hire more New Mexicans.” Martinez also addressed the hotbutton debate surrounding whether New Mexico driver’s licenses should be issued to undocumented immigrants. She asked legislators to repeal a law passed during former Gov. Bill Richardson’s term that allows undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses. “This issue has been debated thoroughly,” she said. “The desire of New Mexicans is clear. And it’s time to vote to repeal this law.”
Daily Lobo File New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez gave the State of the State address Tuesday, laying out her plans for state spending and educational reform. Susana Martinez gives her first State of the State Address.
Frank comments on Athletics, faculty Dean injured on trip to Mexico by Luke Holmen holmen@unm.edu
William Gilbert appointed to replace Jim Linnell
Robert Frank becomes UNM’s 21st president on June 1, and he said he plans to spend the first 100 days of his presidency listening to Robert Frank suggestions from the UNM community. In an interview with the Daily Lobo, Frank spoke about the opportunities and difficulties he will face when he takes over the presidency.
by Ashley McElroy
Daily Lobo: What are your top three goals as president?
One UNM dean’s winter break vacation in Mexico ended with a lifethreatening spinal cord injury. Jim Linnell, interim dean of the College of Fine Arts, was rushed to the UNM Trauma Center to undergo surgery Dec. 29, after receiving initial medical care in Mexico, according to a statement from his family. The statement said his surgery was successful and that he is in stable condition. Linnell will soon begin rehabilitation at a spinal injury clinic in Denver. “He’s grateful for the overwhelming support of his friends and the UNM community,” the statement said. Linnell’s family said further information about his condition is not available because of the serious nature of his injuries. Linnell was appointed interim
Robert Frank: The three areas that are most important to start looking at and will probably emerge as my top three goals are how to improve retention rates; how to continue to grow the research mission of the University and enhance it so it has both economic and general applications for New Mexico; and how the University can best serve the community of Albuquerque and New Mexico as a whole.
amcelroy@unm.edu
see Fine
Arts PAGE 6
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 116
issue 80
DL: Some faculty expressed concerns about your conduct and professionalism at the public forum here at UNM, and a group of faculty listed you in the “unacceptable” category. How do you intend to build effective relationships going forward? RF: My understanding is that the group that you are referring to is quite small. There were about 30 people in the room, and less than 10 spoke, and so when you have a faculty the size of UNM that is not a significant portion at all. At universities, people are used to speaking their minds. That is just how things work, so I
don’t know that I have a problem with the faculty as much as the faculty doesn’t know me and I don’t know them. I will reach out to the faculty and meet with them to find out how I can best help them as president. DL: Do you intend to increase or curtail funding for Athletics? How important do you feel Athletics is to the University?
RF: Well, that is a very good question, and as you know it’s a very complex question. The key in Athletics, is not just what it costs, but what the cross-subsidies are, and I want to learn more about those cross-subsidies in my first 100 days to get a clearer answer on that as well. First, I think athletics brings something to the University. It’s a big part of the American college experience, and I think we have to recognize that a lot of students go to colleges like UNM because the athletics are there, whether they are an athlete or just a spectator. That being said, programs need to be accountable for how much they spend, and how much they are given. I do think athletics programs are a powerful marketing tool. If you look at universities with successful athletics programs, applications to that university go up. But if the program isn’t effective and the team never performs, it loses some of its marketing value.
DL: Do you know of any specific areas where you will increase, or cut, funding? RF: No, not today, I don’t know enough about the institution to say. DL: GPSA President Katie Richardson said she plans to hold the administration to being willing to participate in shared governance with students and faculty. Are you planning on increasing the role students and faculty play in administrative decisions? RF: I got a chance last week to meet with the leaders of the Faculty Senate and I was quite impressed by the shared governance mechanisms they have in place, and I thought they would be conducive to conversation between the faculty and administration, and I intend to take advantage of what has been done and grow those conversations. Katie (Richardson) offered to arrange some town hall meetings for me with students and I think that would be a great opportunity here with students. I meet routinely here with student government at Kent (State University), and I intend to do the same at UNM. I am eager to take them up on their opportunity and challenge.
DL: Which areas could UNM spend less and which areas need more funding?
DL: Some community members claim that UNM is top-heavy. Do you plan on reducing the salaries and number of positions of upperlevel administrators?
RF: In any business with a $2 billion budget there are some places where things aren’t as efficient as they can be. Part of my first 100 days will be spent identifying those areas that are underfunded and areas with redundancies or overspending.
RF: If I understand what has happened in recent months, President Schmidly has already significantly reduced the number of vice presidents from 10 last year at this time to seven now. see Frank PAGE 6 Maybe not
A fighting chance
13 strong
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