DAILY LOBO new mexico
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The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
December 14-18, 2009
Priorities set before January budget cuts
Skating with the stars
by Pat Lohmann Daily Lobo
Like everyone else, President Schmidly doesn’t know what kind of budget cuts the State Legislature will mandate at its January session. However, he does know how to deal with the cuts when they arrive. At the Board of Regents’ Finance and Facilities committee meeting Thursday, Schmidly outlined his priorities in budget reductions and reallocations. Regent Don Chalmers, chairman of the Finance and Facilities Committee, said in an interview Friday that Schmidly’s presentation was an attempt to remain flexible regardless of the Legislature’s cuts. “We’ve all read in the newspaper that the shortfall is going to be greater and has been growing recently, and so we’re bracing for
that,” he said. “Rather than just wait for the Legislature to tell us how bad it is and then try to react quickly to that, he’s doing some advance planning.” Schmidly said at the meeting that he and the administration would first “protect the workforce by avoiding layoffs and mandatory furloughs” (see box). Chalmers said that Schmidly’s presentation sent a clear signal to the board about the administration’s priorities in the coming months. “I think that the message that President Schmidly tried to (make) come across — and it definitely came across to me — was that we will do everything that we can do to keep our core mission very much intact and not have any interruption whatsoever, and that’s teaching
see Budget page 5
President Schmidly’s priorities facing Legislature budget cuts: 1
Protect the workforce by avoiding layoffs and mandatory furloughs.
2
Protect the classroom and faculty line.
3
Protect and hold harmless the research mission of the University.
4
Pledged to keep tuition affordable for our students.
5
Pledged to hold harmless those “Special Projects” that enhance the success of ethnic student groups.
6
Pledged to keep benefit cost increases to a minimum.
7
Pledged to reduce costs by increasing efficiencies.
Source: FY10 Budget Rescission presentation to Finance and Facilities committee of the Board of Regents Dec. 10
Daniel Hulsbos / Daily Lobo Student Chelsea Erven performs a layback spin during “It’s a CooLLOOP Christmas” at the Outpost Ice Arena on Saturday. Erven said the show went well and she hopes it will encourage more people to try ice skating.
Student Fee Review Board Cannabis won’t treat Hepatitis C proposes more flexibility by Hunter Riley Daily Lobo
On Friday, panelists from the Department of Health’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee approved four new conditions for DOH Secretary Alfredo Vigil to consider adding to the program. Jose Pacheco, a medical cannabis card holder, attended the meeting to petition for cluster-type headaches and migraines to be eligible for treatment with medical cannabis. “Seven moths ago I underwent brain surgery,” Pacheco said at the meeting. “I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t talk, and I had migraines every day. I spent the latter part of one year in the hospital. Getting back on your feet is hard to do, especially when
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 114
issue 77
you’re taking 50 or 60 pills to stay alive. That’s what I would be doing if I wasn’t in the program and if I wasn’t getting supplies.” Pacheco said after he got his card he dropped down to taking about 14 pills per day. “Medication for me runs anywhere from $4,000 to $5,000 a month,” he said. “I’m on Medicare and Medicaid, and they still don’t pay for some of my meds. And they still don’t pay for medical marijuana. Even though we have our licenses out here, we still can’t get it when you need it. You have to place an order; you have to wait. Many times your order won’t even be filled.” The committee heard petitions for five conditions including cluster-type migraine headaches,
Blepharospasm (eyelid twitch), Bipolar II Disorder, Hepatitis C and Ankylosing Spondylitis (an inflammatory disease of the spine and neck). Hepatitis C was not accepted for consideration by the Department of Health secretary. Petitioners did face some opposition from the panel and a doctor in the audience about how strict the diagnosing should be for Hepatitis C. Steve Jenison, medical director for the Bureau of Infectious Diseases, is a member of the committee and said that Hepatitis C is already approved under the program, but only if the patient has undergone
see Cannabis page 3
by Tricia Remark Daily Lobo
The Student Fee Review Board delayed voting on a policy amendment that would allow it to reduce any department’s student fee funding up to 50 percent. The board, which is made up of three graduate students and four undergraduates, decided to delay the vote during a Friday meeting because departments that already submitted their funding requests didn’t expect to be cut more than 5 percent, ASUNM President Monika Roberts said. “I felt that to be consistent and fair to everyone applying in the process, we can’t just change
Naughty or nice?
She won’t slow down
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See page 13
something and go into it,” she said. “It needs to be at least put into the ears of the departments so they know what could potentially happen.” The SFRB approves fees of about $546.96 per student every year. SFRB policies only allow for departments receiving student fees to be put on a 5 percent “probation,” meaning their share of student fees is reduced for the year. According to the SFRB policies, the board can put departments on probation if there are serious operational problems. “If they’re put on probation, if the board feels like there is something one of these recurring funding departments isn’t doing right, they can recommend reducing the
see Student fees page 3
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