Daily Lobo new mexico
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
monday April 13, 2015 | Volume 119 | Issue 138
Regents pass tuition incentive By Lena Guidi The Board of Regents approved a 3.37 percent increase in tuition and fees, as well as a tuition plan that incentivizes four-year graduation, during the annual budget summit on Thursday. Both will take effect in the fall semester. The decisions were made in light of a $3.6 million tuition and fee revenue shortfall in the 2015 fiscal year. President Robert Frank attributed a large part of that budget deficit to a 1.5 percent decrease in overall enrollment during this academic year, which he said is part of a larger national trend. The budget plan for 2016 included a projected flat enrollment rate. “Across the country, entering freshmen have dropped, and we have to recognize that we have to tighten our belt just a little bit,” Frank said. The approved plan increased tuition by 3 percent and student
fees by 4.66 percent. This averages to an approximate 3.37 percent total increase, which translates to an additional $217 annually for students taking 15 credit hours. The regents also approved a differential tuition increase of $15 per credit hour for the School of Engineering and a decrease of $31 per credit hour for the department of Speech and Hearing Sciences. Tuition increases ranging from 4.2 percent to 7.1 percent were also approved for UNM’s branch campuses. In addition to changes in tuition, a plan proposed by first-time Regent Rob Doughty which is intended to motivate students to graduate in four years was approved. The plan would make a student’s final semester free – as long as that student would graduate within four years of initial enrollment at UNM. “The idea here is that we would really provide an incentive for students to graduate in four years,” said Kevin Stevenson, the director of strategic projects.
“When fully implemented, this plan would provide tuition at no cost in the eighth semester of their academic career.” Doughty said the plan would encourage students to graduate and enter the workforce more quickly, in addition to motivating out-of-state students to attend UNM. However, Student Regent Heidi Overton and Regent James Koch expressed some concerns over the logistics of the plan. “This puts pressure on the University, because the University is going to have to make sure they have the classes so these students can graduate,” Koch said. Overton said, in her experience, many UNM students don’t graduate in four years because not all of the required classes for their majors are offered in a convenient time frame. ASUNM President Rachel Williams questioned whether the
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Kanan Mammadli / Daily Lobo / @Kenan_Mammadly
UNM Provost Chaouki Abdallah talks about next year’s budget at the Board of Regents meeting Friday at the SUB ballroom. The regents approved a 3.37 percent increase in tuition and fees.
Review
Canoes test Outdoor festival satisfies student skills By Sayyed Shah
Civil engineering students tested their mettle at the concrete canoe building competition during the 44th annual American Society of Civil Engineers Rocky Mountain Regional Conference. Eleven of the 14 schools participating in the conference, hosted by UNM, presented canoes, which were displayed on Johnson Field on Friday and then raced on Saturday at Cochiti Lake. NMSU, South Dakota School of Mining and Technology and Utah State won the first, second and third spots, respectively. Members of the NMSU team were awarded with a $9,000 scholarship. “These races included a men’s (200m), women’s (200m) and coed sprint (400m) and a men’s and
women’s distance race (600m), according to the organizers,” said Wesley Meyer, a UNM concrete canoe project manager and one of the conference planners. According to the ASCE officials, the competition provides civil engineering students an opportunity to gain hands-on, practical experience and leadership skills by working with concrete mix designs and project management. The history of concrete canoe in the United States began in 1960s, when a few ASCE student chapters began holding intramural races, according to the organization’s website. However, the first ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition was held in 1988. Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo / @dee_sea_ “This competition has grown nearly every major university with Lead singer Andy Chaves of Katastro motions to the crowd as they close their set during the Fiestas music fest Saturday afternoon. Katastro was one
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of ten bands that performed for the music fest at Johnson Field.
By Matthew Reisen
Paul Talley / Daily Lobo
A team at the concrete canoe and steel bridge competition practice assembling their bridge Friday afternoon at Johnson Field. NMSU, took first place of the competition.
Fiestas 2015! was a huge success this weekend – filling Johnson Field with good music, students, beach balls, hula-hoops and so much more. Hearing the words “miniatureCoachella” was a common happenstance at Fiestas this year, and to any attendee, the reasons for such a comparison were obvious, with the event taking on the very look and feel of a music festival. The skies above may have been mainly overcast but the positive energy was palpable, with people coming and going for a good time throughout the day. A t-shirt station offered Zia symbol and “Chipotle Game” prints, among other New Mexico-themed attire, while the enticing aroma of Latin fusion and Irrational Pie food vendors wafted across the lawn. Hay bales and lounge chairs
provided plenty of places for visitors to congregate and relax, a water station nearby kept everyone hydrated and a “no alcohol or drugs” policy emphasized safety for all. Local clothing company Common Criminals sold T-shirts next to a free arts and crafts tent near the entrance, and in the middle of Fiestas, large canvases were set up for professional graffiti artists to show off their talent amid a group of revolving onlookers. Students climbed and repelled a rock climbing wall erected on the grass and 50 feet away El Toro Loco provided thrills alongside crowd entertainment with their mechanical bull. On the outside of the Fiestas enclosure people threw footballs and played hacky-sack, well within earshot of both the local and farflung musical talent. Ugly Robot opened the day’s festivities with a flavorful, fast-
paced rock set. Described as “five friends doing the only thing that makes sense in life, making sweet jams and having fun,” their rhythm moved from quick and direct to slow and melodic without a hitch. A local band founded in Albuquerque, the five-some led an altogether original performance, including a punk-rock cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya” that easily rivaled the Atlanta super-group’s original. Winner of this year’s Fight For Fiestas, Sol De La Noche, charged up the feel and pace of Fiestas right after, with their own brand of international sound. If attendees closed their eyes, the heavy percussion, trumpets, keyboard and far-flung vocals whisked you away to the vibrant atmosphere of Latin America. The daytime lineup also included performances by Le Chat Lunatique, Repel The Robot and The Lonely Biscuits. Some highlights included
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