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tuesday November 12, 2013
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Immigration film draws protest by Ardee Napolitano and Chloe Henson news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno @ChloeHenson5
Protesters rallied at the Student Union Building on Monday night in response to a movie that deemed undocumented immigration “illegal.” The film, titled “They Came to America: The Cost of Illegal Immigration,” led to the protest because of its title and its depiction of undocumented immigrants. The UNM Conservative Republicans hosted the screening of the film. Ramiro Rodriguez, a member of the organization Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana de Aztlan (MEChA), which was part of the coalition that organized the protest, said he did not support the showing of the video because it was misleading. “We’ve actually already had a prescreening of the event,” he said. “It is not educational, and it is based off of people’s ignorance and thoughts. They don’t show any statistics … they don’t give any factual statements or refer to anything.” Conflicts broke out regarding the event after the UNM Dream Team started an online petition over the weekend on Change.org against the screening. The petition calls the screening “hate speech” because “using the word ‘illegal’ to describe people is legally inaccurate,
dehumanizing and has proven to increase violence against real and perceived immigrants.” At press time, the petition had 126 signatures. Rodriguez said the documentary is offensive to students and does not belong at UNM. “We’re a pro-immigrant campus,” he said. “It is affecting students, students who are undocumented on campus. It is referring to them as ‘illegal,’ and that is dehumanizing. ‘Illegal’ refers to an act, not a person.” He said he knew people around campus who had already been offended by the documentary, including himself. But members of the UNM Conservative Republicans continued to defend their motives. Amber West, vice president of the group, said undocumented immigration remains costly for the country. And she said her group wanted to inform students about its consequences through the screening. West said she wasn’t surprised that protesters showed up at the event. “I’m not very surprised,” she said. “We received several emails that stated that we would basically have protesters. We are not against people protesting, but we feel that protesting without first understanding our point of view is useless.” Despite a petition against the screening that circulated online
over the weekend, West said her group decided to follow through with their plans. “The petition basically says that using the term ‘illegal immigrant’ is wrong and racist,” she said. “We’re talking about illegal immigrants regardless if they’re from Mexico or whether they’re from Great Britain. So, it has nothing to do with race.” But West disagrees. “They crossed our borders illegally,” she said. “They emigrated here illegally … I don’t hate these people. I think what they did is wrong. I think they broke the law, so they should suffer the consequences. It’s the same as if they robbed someone.” UNM Dean of Students Tomas Aguirre said his office found out about the screening over the weekend. He said his office did not have to approve the screening for it to take place. Aguirre said that although the group’s usage of “illegal immigrant” is hate speech, he thinks both sides have acted in a civil manner. “As dean of students, it’s important to separate how I feel about things,” he said. “As dean of students, it’s important to remember that I am an advocate for all students … My only concern is that individuals and groups express dissenting views that were able to engage in a healthy, educational conversation.” Aguirre said UNM’s student governments should consider passing
Sergio Jiménez / @SXfoto / Daily Lobo Local activist Brittany Arneson discusses the immigration issue presented in a film presented by the UNM Conservative Republicans at the SUB on Monday evening. The group showed a film titled “They Came to America: The Cost of Illegal Immigration” causing controversy because of its title and its depiction of undocumented immigrants. resolutions regarding whether “illegal immigrant” should be considered hate speech. He said other student governments of universities nationwide, such as the University of California Los Angeles and the University of California Berkeley, have passed resolutions deeming the term as so. Rodriguez said he feels the word “illegal” should not be used when referring to undocumented immigrants. “They should drop the ‘I’ word,” he said. “They use ‘illegal’ right in the documentary … That was one
of the biggest offenses, is just in the name of it.” Still, West said her organization is already planning a similar event for the spring semester. Protesters should be more openminded and should “have a civilized conversation” with her group, West said. She said the University community should be more involved on the issue. “You need to get involved and you need to listen if someone has a point of view,” she said. “Then you can decide for yourself if it makes sense.”
GPSA seeks input on proposed wellness center by Chloe Henson
assistant-news@dailylobo.com @ChloeHenson5 Student organizations at UNM are pushing for a new wellness center on campus. Students, staff and community members looked at nine potential amenities packages Monday at the Student Union Building for the
planned wellness center and voted on which they most wanted. The forum was the first of two planned forums that aim to get feedback from students on the center. Representatives from the Graduate and Professional Student Association, the Hartman and Majewski Design Group and UNM Planning and Campus Development were present to provide information to students.
Aaron Sweet / @AaronCSweet / Daily Lobo Allison Dunn places a sticker numbered one on the survey board representing retail & social space for the tentative Rec Center at the SUB on Monday. Organizers asked students, faculty and staff to place stickers with the numbers one through 10 to signify the importance of different facilities that will be built during phase 1. “The leisure pool looks very cool and a good idea,” Dunn stated.
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Potential features included an activity group and fitness center, a multi-activity court, a climbing wall, an indoor jogging track, a martial arts studio, an indoor cycling studio, a retail and social space, a leisure pool and a fitness and weight training room. James Foty, executive assistant to the president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, said a lot of organizations besides GPSA have been involved in planning the building, including the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico and the Student Health and Counseling. He said the Office of the Provost has played a major part in coordinating the project. Emily Brudenell, project manager for Hartman and Majewski Design Group, an outside consultant for the planned facility, said the number of amenities included in the wellness center would depend on student feedback. “If there’s enough interest, all of them could go in,” she said. “Of course, it’s this balance between cost versus what we want. That’s kind of where the tipping point is and we’re still trying to figure that out.” Brudenell said the project is still in the preliminary stages of design. “We’re just trying to get student feedback at this point, just seeing what student priorities are for the building,” she said. The opening date for the first phase of development is scheduled for fall 2018, but is subject to change, Brudenell said. Ben Savoca, facility planner for UNM Planning and Campus Development, said the University’s long-term Health and Wellness Master Plan is divided into four phases, but the forum aimed to gather information only for the first phase, which involves constructing the wellness center. Savoca said during phase one, the
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recreational area and SHAC would both be moved into a separate area, allowing Johnson Center to remain open. He said subsequent phases involve moving Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences into the existing SHAC building to renovate the west side of Johnson, reconstructing the interior of Johnson Center and improving the Armond H. Seidler Natatorium. He said the completion dates for the remaining three phases are undetermined. While the Board of Regents will have to vote on the budget at some point, Foty said they are not involved in this stage of the project. Foty said his organization this year aims to communicate the details of the project to students, such as why a new wellness center is needed, the project’s timeline and how much of student funds are needed to pay. He said funding for the project is still under discussion. “They have a budget now that they’re saying is between $58 million to $71 million for baseline,” he said. “And from that, we can determine what the funding model should be.” Brudenell said that while a lot of funding from the project would have to come from student fees, the University is seeking other potential sponsors. “We’re trying to figure out other sources of funds through donations to the foundation, through incorporating faculty and staff,” she said. “Unfortunately, the burden is going to be on the students, but we’re trying to defray that about multiple sources as much as possible.” She said she thinks that a project like this would be beneficial to UNM. “Something like this could really put UNM on the map, especially this kind of urban and collegiate relationship with phase one,” she said. There will be another forum about the planned wellness center today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m at the same venue.
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