DAILY LOBO new mexico
December 2, 2010
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Student no-shows irritate would-be attendees by Shaun Griswold shaun24@unm.edu
It’s the hottest seat in town, but some ticket-holding students stay home. Students’ men’s basketball tickets are sold out until the Dec. 22 game against Citadel, but the top student section rows have been empty for every home game, which has students questioning how UNM distributes free student tickets. “It could be a lot better,” student Erick Ford said. “UNM could save some tickets to give out on game day. Students know it is sold out, and they give up trying to go even though there are seats to be had.” For home games, UNM distributes 1,650 free student tickets on the north side of The Pit. Kim Goodson, UNM Ticket Services business manager, said The Pit does not lose money on empty seats because student fees pay for the tickets before the season starts. She said there are no plans to change the distribution policy, even though the student section has empty seats. “We have no control over how many students go to the game,” Goodson said. The ticket office does not keep figures of student attendance. Sports Information Director Frank Mercogliano said the Athletics Department will work with student governments to ensure tickets are being used, but he did not offer details. “We are constantly looking at methods to ensure that those tickets are being used,” he said. To make it easier for students, tickets are handed out for five games at a time. Students gobbled up tickets for the first five games in less than two days, a ticket office representative said. Dec. 6 is the next ticket distribution date, but ticketless students will have
Gabbi Campos / Daily Lobo Student Roberto Gallegos lounges during Sunday’s Lobo men’s basketball game against San Diego. The next student ticket distribution date is Dec. 6, but Gallegos said that students don’t show up to games, despite being given free tickets. to wait until 2011 to watch a game. The next five available games are scheduled on select dates from Jan. 6-29. The Lobos play Cal State Bakersfield, Colorado State, San Diego State, TCU and BYU during that period. Early in the semester, student Roberto Gallegos said he waited 15-20
minutes to get tickets to the first five regular-season games. He sat near the top of the student section during Sunday’s home game against San Diego with 18 empty rows in front of him. “I have a feeling a lot of kids are out of town or forgot there was a basketball game,” he said. “I don’t know how
UNM should give out tickets. Maybe students shouldn’t get tickets if they don’t plan to come to the game.” Student John Terrazas, who couldn’t attend games because tickets were sold out, said he arrives a half hour early to each game in order to sit three rows from the court.
He said he has since bought season tickets to avoid missing games. “I know two friends who couldn’t go to the ticket office because they were in class,” Terrazas said. “When they got out and tried to get tickets, it was sold out. If they let us get them at the entrance, more people would come.”
UNM soldiers on despite Schmidly’s absence by Chelsea Erven
University Spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said communication be-
UNM President David Schmidly has spent more time out of office than any other president since at least the 1930s, but University communication, policy making and budget discussions have continued on main campus while Schmidly recuperates. Acting President Paul Roth said in a Nov. 1 campus-wide e-mail he began a series of luncheons that allow him to meet with students and faculty to discuss University issues. “I’ve found this to be a fine way to share information and look forward to spending time with a number of you over the coming weeks,” he said. Schmidly has been on extended medical leave since his Aug. 17 operation on a slow-growing abdominal tumor, and in mid-October, Schmidly appointed Roth, executive vice president of Health Sciences, as acting president until he is cleared to return.
“He has been meeting with a lot of faculty ... and I believe he is really listening,”
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Inside the
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~Richard Wood Faculty Senate President tween Schmidly and Roth has been effective. “It is really simple and straightforward,” she said. “They are in daily telephone contact.” At a November Faculty Senate meeting, Senate President Richard Wood voiced support for Roth and the work he has done in Schmidly’s absence. “He has been meeting with a lot of faculty ... and I believe he is really listening,” Wood said. “The discourse of the University has shifted in a very important way. The tone
and tenor of the meetings, and the kind of meetings that are happening, have changed in very important ways.” And communication to students, faculty and staff has continued without a hitch through the Monday Morning Message, which University administrators, including Roth and Schmidly, collaborate on, McKinsey said. Wood also said he supports Roth’s policies on impending budget cuts, though he was reluctant to compare Roth’s stance with Schmidly’s. “Acting President Roth has adopted a lot of what I believe to be the right language,” Wood said at the November meeting. “Even in these hard budget times, he has said, ‘There will be no 5 percent, acrossthe-board cuts to academic departments; we will make better budget decisions.’” The decision not to make acrossthe-board budget cuts is something that resonates with everyone on campus, McKinsey said, and she
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stressed that all decisions have been made jointly by Roth and Schmidly. “Roth is not going to make any great big announcements without the president’s knowledge.” she said. Schmidly’s recovery, however, is taking longer than expected. A Nov. 12 Albuquerque Journal article reported that Schmidly is continuing to get full benefits despite his extended medical absence. Schmidly was eligible for a maximum of three months sick leave, the Journal reported, but the threemonth mark passed more than a week ago. In a Nov. 22, University-wide email, Roth contested “rumors” that Schmidly’s sick leave was coming to an end. “Let me say that following: (After) his surgery in August, he suffered a very stormy and difficult post-operative course, resulting in a longer than expected convalescence,” Roth said in the e-mail “He is, however, continuing to make a strong recovery, and we fully expect his return to
duty well before his maximum extended sick leave benefits expire in February 2011.” Roth also said that Schmidly’s benefits and sick-leave allowances are governed by University policies. In addition to extended leave, Schmidly is allowed almost six weeks of annual leave, which could only extend his absence with benefits through the end of December, if he hasn’t already taken any personal leave. University officials declined to release the amount of personal time Schmidly has used. According to University policy, an employee returning to work after an extended medical leave must submit a physician’s statement certifying that the employee can safely return to work, something Schmidly is not yet able to do. Phillip Gonzales, senior associate dean, said an employee’s medical leave can be renewed, but decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. He said he could not speak to
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