DAILY LOBO new mexico
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thursday
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December 9, 2010
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Retirees face benefit cuts
by Ruben Hamming-Green rhamminggreen@gmail.com
UNM’s retiree health benefits may face some cuts. Helen Gonzales, vice president of Human Resources, announced in a UNM Today column the creation of a task force that will work to cut health insurance costs. Gonzales didn’t respond to repeated interview requests, but said in her column that UNM’s unfunded liability for retiree health insurance was $131.9 million in 2009, up from $91.3 million in 2007. “Given this increase in costs, UNM needs to reevaluate the retiree health plan,” Gonzales wrote. “While it is our goal to continue to offer retiree health benefits, we must do so within the context of rising costs, limited funding and budget cuts.” The task force, composed of employees and retirees, will submit any recommendations by July 2011. The group will look at, among other things, changing the eligibility criteria for health insurance. Mary Thomas, a University College employee, said she doesn’t support the changes. “I think they’re making longterm decisions that are going to be dismantling the stability of the state,” she said. “They have to be cognizant that they cannot make short-term fixes that disrupt education as an entity.” Thomas also said that chang-
see Retirees page 5
Laurisa Galvan / Daily Lobo The stone building east of the Yale bus stop is owned by the city, not UNM. Students often smoke next to the building since it’s a designated smoking area.
Building more than scenery for smokers by Chelsea Erven cerven@unm.edu
The large, stone-covered building just east of the Yale bus stop is known for being one of UNM’s four designated smoking areas, but a closer look at a main campus map reveals that it is actually a city water reservoir. Thousands walk by the reservoir every day, but few students know what the building is used
for. Student Josh Madrid said he passes the building at least three times a day, but is unaware of its purpose. “I don’t hardly see anyone over there, just the smokers over by it or people walking on the rocks,” he said. “I never see anyone go in or out of it.” UNM Planning Officer Mary Kenney said the building is owned and operated by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Au-
thority. She said the University is not responsible for maintaining or managing the building, despite its location on main campus. Students smoking on the benches along the east wall of the reservoir said they frequent the building to smoke. What no one knows: The reservoir is part of Albuquerque’s water distribution system, which pumps more than 450 million gallons per day, according the city website.
In the reservoir, city aquifer water is stored and combined with cleaned water from the Rio Grande until it is needed, the website says. “The booster pump stations and the reservoirs, with the help of gravity, create the pressure the system needs to make water available to the users,” it says. Water is only pumped into the reservoirs at night because that’s when electricity is cheapest, according to the Water Authority website.
Student hiring rates steady despite sleepy economy by Kallie Red-Horse
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
issue 75
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Unless you are a UNM student, the job market doesn’t look good these days. Though New Mexico’s unemployment rate is a staggering 8 percent, the University employs 5,050 students, a 1 percent increase from 2008, said Connie Dennison, of UNM’s Office of Institutional Research. She said last year the University employed 5,123 students. “This includes main campus, Health Sciences Center, and the branches,” she said. “This is both undergraduate and graduate student employees.” Student employment remained constant despite recent budget slashes, said Brian Malone, director of Financial Services. He said many students use work-study, and the federal government allocated more than $2 million in work-study funds for this aid year while the state government chipped in about $1.5 million. So while the job market outside the University has tanked, student employment at UNM has pretty much stayed the same, a consistency student employee Shonetta Henry said she appreciates. “Part of the appeal is being able to multitask, so it could be worse,” she said. Malone said there is no limit to how many students can be hired at any given time.
rat es
kallie69@unm.edu
UNM Student Employment
Illustration by Adam Aparicio
Deadly prison
Wiki-shima
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“The number would depend on individual department’s hiring activity,” he said. “We have a limit on how much money we can spend on work-study programs, but student employment comes down to an aggregate of department-by-department decisions.” With budget cuts, Malone said, departments might scale back on hiring student employees. “Student employment would most likely be the fluctuating figure,” he said. “Student employment jobs are not paid through federal or state work-study money, and are usually paid 100 percent through department funds.” Student David Reza said he is unsatisfied with the pay compared to what the job requires, but the position’s flexibility offsets his grievances. “I believe the pay is low compared to other jobs I’ve had in the past …” he said. “The job is no more easy or difficult than any other office job; it is just staying on top of things, making sure things are in order and providing services when it comes to our little area.” And student employee Alexander Evans said UNM jobs are attractive because of their flexibility, networking opportunities and decent pay. “I get paid $8 an hour, which I consider good for what I am expected to do,” he said. “I am a student success leader, so I help students with any kind of service they need. I used to work at the library, which was pretty easy. Here it is not more difficult, but the mental effort is higher.”
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