Silver City, N.M. – Student fees was the main topic that circled around ASWNMU’s meeting last night. Senate Bill Number 90 proposed a numerous amount of fees that increased or decreased programs across Western New Mexico University. Two programs in particular, Student Life and Mustang Entertainment, took big hits, the reason being that students would save $16 on their administrative fees when they enroll.
Student Life had a budget of $7.50 per credit hour and will presumably be decreased to $7.25. If the cut happens, according to Director Jessica Morales, Student Life must cut three employees from their staff. A significant proportion of the staff falls to covering the fitness and swimming pool hours. If they are unable to take these shifts, it will violate a state law. They are also dealing with a negative balance that is in debt by $115,000. Their budget is working to fix this debt.
Over spring break, Student Life was able to send several students to Panama during spring break, which came out of the budget. There, students were able to provide a service to the community, with activities including painting a school classroom, building a house, a bible study with a women’s group, and donated food, books, and school supplies. If Student Life’s budget was to be cut, Student Life representatives ensured that this trip would not be available next year.
ASWNMU President Claudia Osuna stated that she felt that Student Life was not “efficient” enough. An example she provided came from a recent Cereal Party they recently hosted on campus. Osuna said that, with not that many students showing up, there was a significant amount of leftovers. Jessica Morales, who runs Student Life, responded by saying that the leftovers were donated to the cafeteria.
Another organization, Mustang Entertainment received an increase in budget last year only to have their budget cut from $0.55 per credit hour to $0.45 a credit hour this year. With a modest fee, Mustang Entertainment provides social events for students and families, in particular Homecoming and Great Race. According to Advisor Abe Villareal, they receive no “outside” payment other than the “generosity” of this budget. The decrease of ten cents will give them an loss of $5,147.80, giving them a budget of 23,165.10. Mustang Entertainment hosts two of the largest events on campus: Homecoming and the Great Race. According to Villareal, these two events are “challenging to put up” because they last a whole week.
Students were able to voice their comments during the meeting. Some included “If it wasn’t for those [WNMU] events, I wouldn’t have come here,” and “this town is small, but these events allow students to come together,” and “it is our job [Student Life] to create a happy atmosphere.”
With the meeting coming to a close, all fees were passed except for Student Life and Mustang Entertainment, which were kept on hold until next ASWNMU’s meeting.
This story is still developing.
