Student Rally Against Tuition Increase at UNM

That's what we need, and that's what we're going to continue to do from now. But don't hold one demonstration, don't hold only two demonstrations, don't hold only three demonstrations, see it to the end. Are you going to see it to the end? Are you going to have one demonstrations or two only? How many are you going to have? Going to see it to the end, right? If you don't see it to the end, we might not support you, but if you see it to the end, we'll be behind you. We have a little slogan here, that we'd like everybody to help us chant. We'll find up and can't take enough more. So let's all together chant that chant, okay? And here we go.

We're fired up, can't take enough more. We're fired up, can't take enough more. We're fired up. We're fired up, can't take enough more. We're fired up, can't take enough more. Come on later. Thank you. Fire. Love. Can't take it no more. Fire. Come on, Larry. You can do better than that. Fire. Love. Can't take it no more. Thank you. Thank you. Vila la fusticia. Vila la fusticia. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, thanks very much on Joe's Valdez and the folks from New Mexico, eight corn. Once again, I'd like to say that this is a strong show of solidarity here at the University. I don't think that Regent's President Sanchez or Gerald May really knows that this kind of solidarity exists on this campus. And I know that a lot of people are spending some long hours in President May's office all night.

And I think I know they're lifted by this kind of support today. So how about a hand for everybody that's spending the time in Gerald May's office? There are leaders. Right now, right now I'd like to introduce another one of your leaders on campus, another one of the communities leaders. This man is stepped into a job and stepped into the fire with this event. I have much respect for him. Please welcome the new President of ASUNM Charles Penny. Since I came to this institution in 1985, I've seen tuition increase every damn year. Every year. Are you prepared to see an increase next year? Hell no! Are you prepared to see that? Hell no!

It's gone up 65% in the past five years. If it goes up next year, it's going to be going up over 100% in the past 10 years. Are you prepared to see that happen? Hell no! Are you prepared to see that happen? Hell no! We're going to stay here. We're going to see it to the end. On Tuesday, we had 400 people at the Regent's meeting. I was proud of those 400 people. The Regents were, they said they were going to listen. Do they listen? Hell no! They didn't listen. They didn't listen to us. They didn't listen to us then. Are we going to let them ignore us now? Hell no! We're not going to let them ignore us now. We need all of you. We need every one of you to show your support to keep on coming to these rallies, to go to the President's office and fight for your rights. Are you prepared to let the Regents take your rights away from you? Hell no!

I'm not going to let them take them away from me. And I'm going to stay here. I'm going to stick it out. Stick it out to the very end. You know, we are celebrating the University's 100th year. And the Regents and the Administration are very proud to be giving us a present. It's a present in the form of an extra hundred dollars tacked on our situation. I'm prepared to throw that present back in their faces. Are you prepared? Are you prepared to accept their present? Hell no! Hell no! I'm not going to take their present. This 100th year of this University's existence, we need to be celebrating students. We need to be celebrating the faculty who's standing with us. We need to be celebrating the community who's standing with us. And I'll finish up with this. The Regents and the Administration are now ignoring students, faculty, the workers of this campus.

The community of the State of New Mexico. Are you prepared to let them ignore all of those people? Hell no! This is KU&M in Albuquerque. You're listening to a live broadcast from the Student Union Mall. Thank you. Thank you very much. And I thank him for waiting to this point in time. Please welcome State Senator Shannon Robinson. I just saw us give Gerald May a penny for his hundred dollars. I think that's great. Good job, Charles. Let me bring you back to a few years because I'm an alumnus of this University. In 1971, we had just finished a year of being investigated by Ike Smalley.

They called it the University Study Committee. None of them had been down here, but they were still studying us. And it had to do with whether a certain poem that was read in class and studied is called the Love Lust poem. And we had a fight at that time. The fight was about academic freedom. And we won that fight. We won that fight because the faculty cared about this University. We won that fight because the students cared about this University. And then in 1971, Kent State took place. And this student body responded at that time. Let me tell you, you're contemplating the strike. Many people have said, is that appropriate? Well, I'm not going to be one to tell you that that's not appropriate because in 1971, I occupied that student building. We held it for ten days. They called out the state police. And I was on watch that afternoon when they pulled up in a bus and 60 state police and riot gear got out.

And I grabbed a hippie friend of mine. We were all hippies in those days. I said, go downstairs and tell a leadership that the state police have arrived. And so he ran down and the state police got into a marching position and they marched around the side of the university. And then the National Guard showed up. There was about ten of those trucks and they parked out here and this didn't used to be all this concrete wasn't there at that time. This is just a grass field. And they parked and parked out there. And one of the first people that got hurt was the National Guardsman who stabbed himself in the bandit trying to get out of the truck. But there were more casualties that day. This was a sad day in UNM history. Because seven students and one newsman were band-edited in front of the student union. You don't know that. You probably don't. You certainly probably don't remember it.

There was blood on this campus concrete surrounded the university sub. We tracked it. You can see where people ran from the National Guard and were band-edited and they bled from the center of that exit on the east side of the sub. And they bled all the way around to the center part of the sub with the National Guard stopped chasing them. I remember at that time that we drew circles around that blood, asked people not to walk on it. We thought it was sacred at that time. We thought it meant something. We hope that this would never happen again. We hope that students would not have to risk their lives, would not have to risk their reputation, would not have to risk their education to do what you're being challenged to do now. But I want you to know that blood fades on concrete. Years later, that slab is still there, but the blood is gone. What doesn't fade is the memory. What doesn't fade is the knowledge. What doesn't fade is the lesson that has learned.

The regents weren't there then. Gerald May wasn't there then. I was there then. I remember we were down gathering in the sub and they said, you have 60 seconds to vacate or we're going to arrest you all. And I argued against it at that time. They wanted to be passively arrested. I said, no, we need leadership in a strike. We need leadership for students. Because what's important is that at that time, there were a thousand kids surrounding this building. And they were a thattle leader because the leadership was inside. At that time, I walked out of the sub. I did not know that people were being baneted on the other side. And I led 500 students in a march in front of banets on the west side of the sub. And we were able to stop the march of the National Guard at that time. And then we began to talk to them. We said, who sent you here? What are you thinking about?

What are those banets for? Who are you going to use them against? Who do you think the enemy here is? Why aren't you listening? Why aren't you thinking about what the ultimate objective of this strike was? It was to end violence. It was to open up discussion. It was to open up dialogue. It was to open up people to listen. It was to let people know that students are important. The students have it. You need to know something else. When I was, I'm on the education committee in the Senate. And the education committee in the Senate is kind of interesting because we talk policy, but we don't handle money.

And someday maybe that'll change for the education committee can talk policy and implement funding. But at that time, I put forward a bill that the Republicans didn't like. Governor Crowther's didn't like it. What it said was, let's give public school teachers a 7% increase. Let's give faculty a 5.5% increase with benefits. And what happened was you all know that that bill didn't survive in the finance committee. But we also talked about something else. We said if we're not going to fund faculty, who's going to fund faculty? Where's this money going to come from? Because we have to have quality faculty. We have to have a quality commitment to this university. At that time, John Schepner, Steve Chavis, Antonio Anaya, Steve Debo, I'm sorry. Debo, thank you. They were up there lobbying for you to put a 5% cap on tuition.

This is an important bill. And it came before this education committee, and at that time we had a discussion about it. And representatives from the university stood up and said, well, we're against this. I said, well, if you're against it, does that mean you're going to increase tuition more than 5%. I said, no, we're not contemplating that. And these are representations. They're not under oath, but they're made to senders in our legislature. And at that time, they said, no, we're not contemplating it. Well, we don't want to have our hands tied in the future. Well, what we found out is the future is now. And what they're tying up is the money that you people need to get an education. I want you to know that we're not talking to deaf ears because the community's listening. And we've got a commitment that's behind you, and we're going to do whatever's necessary to give you the support. So you can afford an education in New Mexico. Thank you. This is KU&M in Albuquerque. You're listening to a live broadcast of a student rally coming from the North Mall of the Student Union here at UNM. Before our next speaker, I'd like to remind everybody that there are petitions to be signed.

Please take the time and read them. Also, there's a box being circulated once again for donations for food and the printing of the flyers to make sure this continues. Not just tomorrow, not just throughout the weekend, but throughout next week. And as long as the people have to be in Stole's Hall, they'll be there. But they have to be there with your support. Every single student on campus should be here today because this tuition increase affects every single student. It affects every faculty member. It affects every staff member. And every single person involved with the university should be here today. They should support the people that are in Gerald May's office every single day. Throughout the weekend, on into next week, show these people that you're behind them. Another announcement with the Diane Tressel dance group, please meet Gloria right over here. Right now, I'd like to introduce our next speaker.

She was here one year ago to free KUNM. She's here again today to support the student movement here on campus to oppose the tuition increase. Please welcome from the history and women's studies department, Jane Slaughter. Well, I'm delighted to be here again. And I must say I'm really very proud and very pleased of the students for taking leadership on issues that relate to all of us. I often wish that I had perhaps some of the influence that your leaders have and the energy that you have. I think that's very clear that faculty, again, do not expect to have their salaries based on the amount of your tuition. A number of years ago, the then Senator Tom Lewis, I remember argued with me that students should pay for quality education. And I said, yes, but the faculty are not here at this institution because we want to be at a small private elite institution where people pay.

We're here because we like the diversity and the energy and, again, the, I suppose, the range of perspectives that all of you represent. And so 5%, 3.5% really doesn't make a whole lot of difference to us, believe me. I think that you have to stand by that particular demand. But I think it's also a bigger picture. And I was pleased to follow Shannon because I worked for Shannon. And I helped, again, briefly, I think with some of his campaigns. And that's the other thing you've got to be thinking about. You've got to be thinking about the bigger picture. And it's more than just today and this week and this tuition increase. This state has problems. And they're going to be your problems. And you would better be tying to those because you could probably, in the long run, if you weren't consistently, use your energy better for final solutions. And again, this kind of protest, which is now absolutely necessary because you're at a critical juncture. We have a governor who, for example, he just let PNM decide that they could charge us for some of their errors.

And the university, and the university's electrical bills and other utility rates are going to go up and you're going to pay for that. We've screwed up on childcare and you're going to pay for that. So it's not just this tuition increase. It's a bigger picture. And all of you better start thinking right now about who is going to run for governor in 1990. And which ones of you are going to run for the state legislature and speak to those issues. Thank you. Thank you very much, James Slaughter. I was just notified that there will be another rally tomorrow here at 12 o'clock. The University of New Mexico must realize the administration at this university must realize that this issue will not go away. Will we let it go away?

Will we be here tomorrow? I hope everybody brings two or three friends because we need every single student here on campus tomorrow at 12 o'clock to show Gerald May to show Robert Sanchez to show everybody that's concerned that we are solid in our support. We will not accept this tuition increase. Right now I'd like to introduce our next speakers representing the Graduate Student Association. Please welcome John Shepner and Lila Bird. Shepner for governor! I'd like to make a slight correction that rally tomorrow will begin here in order so that we can bring people together. But it will be at Shaw's Hall where we are hold up. Right? We're going to be there. We're going to have reggae music. We need pots. We need riders. We need musicians. We need cultural workers to help us out, to keep our spirits up.

Today's rally. Okay, if anybody is interested in working, please talk to Gloria. We need cultural people talking to Gloria. You can call us at the president's May's office, which is our office now. 2772626 and we're there 24 hours. This rally today is in preparation for a three o'clock emergency meeting of the Senate Faculty Committee. We need to make a decision this afternoon about a student strike tomorrow. We are going to present our program to the faculty today and we are going to ask for their support. We are serious about getting their input and support. We want to maintain a united front with the faculty because it's very obvious they've been trying to wedge divisions between the students and their teachers but we're not going to allow that to happen. If the faculty goes along with us, you will find out tonight on the news or tomorrow morning in the labo or on posters all around if there is a student strike tomorrow.

Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike! Don't lie, Shepner. Thank you, lineup. A few months ago, the regents developed a plan, and I'm not talking about a tuition plan. I'm talking about a plan to buy the university, to buy the university between the regents and administration against the students, faculty, and staff. But this plan has failed, as we have demonstrated. If this plan has failed, because students

care about adequately compensated faculty, students care about quality education. This plan has failed because faculty fail, faculty support the student's opportunity and accessibility to education. This plan has failed because the staff have supported the students. This plan has failed because we have a weak administration in general may. We are, you stick together, stick with us, stick with us, stick with it till the end, because this plan is going to fail, and the students, and the faculty, and the staff, and the people of New Mexico will win. Thank you. Thank you very much, John Shepner, and Lila Bird from the Graduate Student Association. While we do have a brief minute before our next speaker, I'd like to say thank you once again and introduce somebody that was here on campus

years ago. Somebody that was bayonetted by the National Guard. Please, a round of applause, and thank you once again for coming down here and supporting us, Steve Sullivan, right over here. He went on campus, he went bayonetted, and he's back again today. This is KU&M in Elbacarpie. Well, I didn't really want to get on camera because 20 years ago, I was bayonetted on this mall, and me, and John Dressman, and the Steve Part, and Bill Swartwood, and a lot of other really good people left a blood trail that was shellacked, and stayed here for 10 years, but finally the region's wiped it out. And I'd like just like they're trying to wipe out your spirit today, they wiped out the trail of our blood. So don't you guys let them

do to you what they did to us 20 years ago, because this is a plan for the 90s. This is not the 60s, this is the 90s. Just a couple of brief announcements before our next speaker. There are petition to be signed. I'm really behind what's happening with you folks, and if you could maybe just give the listeners an idea of what's been happening today and what the progress looks like maybe. Okay, first of all, I'd like to thank K and UNM and the support we've been getting from the community in general. The direction we're going right now, and in light of the latest agent with Regent Sanchez, it's going to boil down to us stepping up the political heat, and basically demanding that the community come out and help us in demanding that the regents reconsider this tuition policy. We've come out with a two-step policy on turning up the political heat. One is stepping up the

civil disobedience if we see necessary. The civil disobedience that we've been exercising so far has been minor, and we could still step it up and still be within our legal rights of expressing free speech, and that might encompass obstructing actual activities here at school as well. Second, we're expanding the community base. We're getting a lot of help from the legislators. We're getting a lot to help from the faculty. The faculty have come out behind us 100% and the community has come out behind us 100%. So that's where we are right now. That sounds very encouraging, as far as having to step up any civil disobedience, how is the general feeling and mood of the people that are occupying the president's office right now about that? Is everyone pretty much ready for that sort of action, if necessary? Yeah, I can barely hear you, but I think I know that just in the question, the actual choice to step up civil disobedience has not yet been made. We're keeping that open as an option to escalate, you know, if we deem necessary, because we

are within our right. The crowd right now is very quiet. We've got about 60 to 70 people and they're getting ready to go to sleep. So if something steps up, it won't happen until the morning. Okay, other than what you've just told our listening audience, I guess we're wondering right now, how is everyone physically doing? Do you folks need any food or materials or any kind of help like that right now? Yeah, the community's been great as far as donating food and the such and we'd like to see that continue. We do need food down here. We do need any donations that anybody might be able to make for food. We have people who have been staying here since the beginning and you know, it's a little tight for us to keep paying for our meals, but we have been getting help from the community and we'd like to encourage that. It's one way for the community to step out and say, hey, we support what you're doing and so I would encourage you to do that. And any students who are listening, or any community member who are listening, we encourage you to come down and join us in our fight. This is not just students down here. You know, it's everybody who is who

believes that higher education is for everybody. And this is a Senator Tony Anaya live from Skoles Hall. That's on Roma Southeast just a little bit east of University Boulevard and he's asking all of you, if you've got any time just to come on down and sit with these folks, talk with these folks and see what's going on. Tony, I'm wondering what the agenda for tomorrow looks like. Are there any more meetings planned with anybody in any sort of power or control? The meetings have not yet been set up, but what we plan on doing is meeting with friends within the legislature, meeting with our faculty friends and coming up with some ideas on where to go. We have our dinner area on stepping up the political sheet and we basically need to meet with the legislators and the faculty members to see what specifically we can do. Some ideas that have come up and one is a strike, a class strike on Friday, but that would of course be contingent upon supporting the faculty on that. So we're setting up meetings at

this time. This is a 24 hour process. So where the process is setting up the actual meetings for tomorrow, but some things that have come up are the option of a class strike on Friday and of course we need to do support on faculty support on that, along with anything else that the faculty might come up with that they've been appropriate. Once again, I'd like to encourage anyone listening, whether you're a student, staff member of the University or just a concerned citizen out there. This is everyone's future at stake right now, wouldn't you say, Tony? I'd say so definitely. We're fighting for access to education and that is something that is seriously being questioned by the tuition increases we've experienced. It's not, we're not out here for our self, we're out here for the community, we're out here for the listeners, we're out here for the listeners' children. Absolutely, I absolutely agree. Anything else you might like to add? Nothing else than thanking everybody and expressing that the fights just begun. The regions have demonstrated that they are not going to negotiate with us until and we'll

negotiate with this period. So the balls back in our court, we're turning up the heat and we're hoping the community falls in mind with that. Thank you for your time, Tony. Not only right now, but for all the energy you're putting into this movement, I'm sure at times can feel like a thankless task, but believe me, it is appreciated. I know I've talked to people in the community. Thank you. All right, we're live from President Gerald May's office. We were just talking to ASUNM Senator Tony Anaya. They're occupying the president's office until we can basically just get a little response from these folks. I would like to add that everything that I've said this evening is strictly my views, my personal opinions as a employee of the University of New Mexico and a concerned citizen. My opinions and views do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views of the staff and management and volunteers at KUNM, although a lot of the homies are behind you all here.

Tell you that I hope as I am that all of you at some point will be as proud to be University of New Mexico graduates as I am. I graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1970 with an undergraduate degree in political science and a minor in English and graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1973, 1973, 1970 undergraduate in 1973 for the University of New Mexico School of Law. And for those of you that don't recall in 1970, for all of you haven't noticed, the mic stand doesn't work. If you recall in 1970, this university went through a substantial amount of turmoil in 1967, 1968 and 1969 and we were involved in that. And at that time I was a student at this University with one of the speakers is going to speak next, Senator Shannon Robinson and we were both students here. We went through that particular situation together. So I'd like to at this time basically welcome you to the

University of New Mexico's social evolution lab class and and tell you that the that no university has been created that'll give you the experience that you are going to be experiencing here over the next few days. The sense of camaraderie, the sense of having a goal and something to meet as human beings in a society is trying to address the problems not only the state of New Mexico but the problems that we all from time to time criticize that we do not do a very good job in education, which I think is wrong. I think that we have some of the best students in the state of the United States and some of the potential here to bring about some change in the state and throughout the United States if we if we do it right. The the thing that the thing that concerns me is that this past legislative session and I and I think it's good for you to recognize so we go through some of the similar type situations and before I go any further I'd like to take this opportunity to thank your your student leadership, those that officially hold office and the

graduate students and the undergraduate students associations and senators and and all the representatives that represent you under elections that you guys conduct on here. Many of them spent many hours and many days in Santa Fe this year arguing your your your particular needs and wants. We were effective in some and not as effective in others but one thing that was told to me that kind of particularly and personally kind of disappoints me in in the administration at this particular time is that I was told by someone that the Regent President Robert Sanchez took it upon himself to personally attack John Schepner who was the graduate students association president and I said this in the in the New Mexico State Senate and the Senate Finance Committee about a month ago that it weren't for people like John Schepner and the other graduate in the other student the officers both undergraduate and graduate student it didn't appear that there was anybody at the university in New Mexico who was up here with enough guts to say what was going on at the university because those were the only people that were speaking up at the New Mexico legislature. And as a result of the efforts of John Schepner and the and the and the students in particular I think that it was properly

noted by President May that the University in New Mexico did rather till the well in the legislature this year in fact they received more monies than they anticipated but the legislature for the first time also started to address some problems that have been ignored in the past and I think that they should bear witness to the fact that those are the things that are going to occur in the future so without without any further thing I'd like for you to at some point without necessarily having to cheer him or anything but at some point to take the opportunity and the time to tell these people that have tried us to represent you in Santa Fe and thank them for their efforts because they did real well. One of the things that we have at the legislature and one of the things I'd like to bring up to you is that we have different lines of thinking and philosophical differences we have an administration that this year was proposing a additional funding for the establishment of a shocking corporation system for young people juveniles and young offenders so that they would they would they would be sent through a regular boot camp and with the discipline that they would learn would probably straighten out their lives

forever and what we have here and what we have here today it appears to be a some type of a shock tuition increase education type of situation where we have an attitude that has been that is starting to get across to the people where we're going to do this regardless of what the consequences are which I think is probably a bad way to deal with a situation and I would hope that when we're done here somebody said well everybody's going around saying well what do we do I think I think you're doing everything you can at this point I can tell you that the legislature of the state of New Mexico is presently in discussions discussing the possibility of calling itself back into special session to discuss amongst other things the landfill problem that we have the veto by the governor of the expansion of our national cemetery for our for our deceased veterans the veto by the governor of the of the medical insurance needed by our retired state and public employees to protect them in their older years and more importantly now in the last few days hopefully we are able to garnish sufficient support the necessity for the New Mexico

legislature to address tuition increases in the state of New Mexico and that that issue and that that issue be placed where it belongs and that's in a legislative elective body where there is recourse you are presently in one of the difficulties that you are encountering now is that you are dealing with people that are that are responsive not to anybody in particular except the appointing authority and that is the governor of the state of New Mexico if you dealing the legislature you're dealing with legislators that are responsive to your needs because that's what represented a government's about and that is to represent the needs and wants of the people that you run for and are elected by to see that they are that they're that their questions and their problems are addressed and is adequate and is a positive manner as is possible under the circumstances so that issue if we are able to convince enough legislators will be made a legislative issue in the next two months at the legislature to address the tuition increase and let me just explain to you that the Commission on Higher Education whoever they are I asked this year many times we introduce bills to help students and and the response is always by the conservative

legislators so-called conservative legislators they respond and say what did the Commission on Higher Education say and the response is they said no so the bill loses so this year I finally out of frustration I said who are these people who are the Commission on Higher Education and the Senate Finance Committee this year when that question was asked of Senator Chubb Foreman from Las Cruces I asked him how many members are there he said five when we found out there are actually 11 members of which no one on that Senate Finance Committee could name two but but the recommendation from the Commission on Higher Education when it comes for student programs if we don't get their support the bill loses this year the Commission on Higher Education requested and and represented the legislature that faculty salaries should be increased to the tune of three and a half percent the legislature of the state of New Mexico responded by funding faculty salaries to the tune of three and a half percent not once during the entire legislative period the president may or his administration or anyone from Commission on Higher Education come forth and tell the legislature that what

is going on now would actually occur and that it would include a salary increase of a 5.5 percent necessitating an increase in tuition of 7.9 that was never brought forth so we had no opportunity to address that if we had perhaps we'd have been able to avoid this situation let me just let me just say that one of the the things that and I'd like to say the president may contact me two days ago and advise me of what had occurred and his in his position he feels that that the action that has been taken by the Regents was done in a reasonable manner that that the position that the position taken by the that the position taken by the Regents is is both needed and and and and very reasonable under the circumstances and I told them I didn't know about all that but I appreciated him advising me of it but I'm here to tell you right now that it appears to me that the reason at this point and the vegetation means anything in a free society that it would be incumbent upon the Regents of the State of New Mexico or the University of

New Mexico to at this point recognize that we have a problem that we have a disagreement that should be taken care of in a manner that is better for all of us and that they should call themselves into session and basically set a more torium on this action and establish a series of meetings where this subject could be discussed in a more in a more opportune fashion where different opinions can be heard and perhaps we could do something but at least show that there is that there is not the hard line that is being exposed in the administration that we are willing to back off and let's talk some more and see whether or not the legislature of there is some other way to address the problems that we have in a in a in a fashion that'll make all of us feel good that we acted accord in accord and reasonably and came out with a solution but if need be I would encourage you to continue your efforts at this particularly regarding from my standpoint we'll do everything that we can in finality and I hope that the news media picks this up one of the things that was most that was most two things one of the things that was most disparaging to me during the legislature and for you to know and I always they

always reported but all the little problems that we have in in different situations that aren't very important but it was amusing to me this year that when President May was asked in Senate Finance Committee by myself I was trying to get to another to another issue and President and President May was asked and President May was asked by me what is the tuition presently at the University of New Mexico and I'm sorry to tell you that President May did not know that President May was unable to tell me what the what the tuition was at the University of New Mexico and and then he requested some other officials that were there and and and it was kind of sad to see that they had to flip through their books to find out what the tuition what the tuition was that the at the University of New Mexico and I can assure you that that's fact and then lastly and last night looking at the commentary that was issued by Channel 7 and by Mr. Gusky who's a pretty fine gentleman I was kind of dismayed when he mentioned that that one of the reasons that they may be supporting the administration at this point or want to respond from the students is that the students should recognize that

the that the increase that is being requested is one that basically goes in their favor and they get basically all the entire benefit personal benefit that is a total different idea of what education is in New Mexico I thought we were all this together that the more we educated our people the more we all benefited and that was the important part of it and and and I would hope that and I would hope that Channel 7 would I would hope the Channel 7 would take that into consideration and say that education is important not only for the individual but for the efforts and the and the and the progress that he'll make for all of us in the future I'm sorry that I've taken so much time but let me let me assure you that you have many friends and this coming Monday we will be meeting we had called the meeting before this coming Monday at six o'clock we will be meeting a democratic legislators trying to to encourage people to sign to sign on for a special session where this specific issue will be taken up and and hopefully we'll be able to rectify it thank you thank you you're listening to KUNM and Albuquerque we're broadcasting live from the

north side of the student union here at the University of New Mexico we've been listening to democratic state senator Mani Aragon who is one of the one of the speakers at the rally today students here at the University are still protesting the 7.9% tuition increase that was approved by the Board of Regents at this Tuesday the occupation of President Gerald May's office continues today now and its third day and there are now probably a good four five hundred people mostly students some faculty that are rallying on the north side of the student union here and we're going to continue now senator Mani Aragon obviously obviously we don't have a friend in Santa Bay with Governor Corrothers I see in the logo this morning that his response to the fact that the Regents should be accountable is no comment that's the kind of governor we have in Santa Bay no comment Gary right now I'd like to introduce a leader of this of this movement here on campus please welcome

once again senator Antonio Anaya first of all one day give you an update on what's happening at our new home Dr. Gerald May's office last night a group of six students four faculty two administrators and one Regent Regent Sanchez meant for close to two hours the purpose of the meeting was to open the door for negotiations to begin negotiations the students came forward and stated their platform where we stand the faculty came forward stated their platform where they stood the administrators did likewise let me kind of explain where we're coming from here the students are sticking to their original demands of a three point excuse me three point nine percent tuition increase and the faculty came across saying they were

resentful at the administration was pitting the students against the faculty at that time the question came up I believe it was a faculty member brought it up to to President Sanchez President of the Board of Regents Sanchez he asked Mr. Sanchez are you willing to call the Board of Regents back into session to reconsider tuition because that's the only way this is going to be resolved as if you call the Board of Regents back into session well we got around about answer we never really got an answer out of that I pushed him on it I asked and all that's in four times I said Regent Sanchez this is a yes or no question sir are you willing to call the Board of Regents back into session to discuss tuition we're willing to negotiate we were coming from zero we submitted a plan on three point six we're showing you where the money can come from it's a workable plan let's at least negotiate he said to my question would you call the Board of Regents back into session to at least consider to negotiate he said

flat out no I guess that's his manner his way of putting the ball back in our court and I can trust you that we are willing to play some hard ball if that's what he wants the actions that we have taken so far have at school's hall have made an impact but along the lines of civil disobedience they've been rather minor we've been sitting in Gerald May's office we've been sitting in the hallway we haven't been obstructing business we've been letting people go about and I can promise you that we are ready to take it one step further and we will still be within our legal rights of expressing free speech if Regent Sanchez feels it appropriate that we shut down business at school's hall that's what will happen if President May feels it's appropriate that we shut down business at school's hall that's what will happen and that's

what they're telling us by not by not negotiating with us second part of our current plan is to step up the political heat and I think a sign of that is today we've got support from state legislators we have support from the community and we obviously have support from the students Regent Sanchez also told us another thing last night that kind of bothered me he says you know I'm one of you I'm not an alien I'm not a stranger I understand I think that was pretty obvious after he heard the impassioned speeches of Tuesday the impassioned speech is here at students saying that we cannot afford to buy formula we cannot afford to buy diapers for our babies because you keep raising our tuition we can't afford these these increases we've proposed a workable negotiation he said no where do we go from here we play hard ball at this at this point what I'm going to ask of the students is total commitment to this cause we need more people at schools hall the

faculty senate is having an emergency meeting at 330 today basically at our request to review some things one is a possibility of a strike tomorrow a student strike let me clarify that let me clarify that that would not be a faculty strike but a student strike they're going to be considering that at this time we feel it's appropriate but we want to have we want to have the faculty say I'm on this before we go ahead and make a decision on that but we do need your support we do need your continued support we do need to do need you over at schools hall I was had an interview this morning myself and Charleston Fobbs on a radio station and a question came up they said you know a colleague called in he said what is a hundred dollars to you people this has grown to be something more than just a hundred dollars it's been proven as it was proved Tuesday that a hundred dollars is a month's worth of food for a family it's been proven that a hundred dollars that a hundred dollars is the determination of whether or not some people will come back to school but beyond

that hundred dollars worth fighting for is an ideological issue it's an issue that what the regents and what the administration is telling us that they're going to close down this university basically to those who can't afford it this is going to become an elitist institution only those who can afford we sing statistics of decreasing minority enrollment and minority in general and that's we're willing to negotiate this and and take it on as they appear not to be willing to we're going nowhere so the balls back in our court we're willing to play hardball and what we need is your support thank you thank you very much senator Antonio Anaya just a couple of reminders there's a box being passed around for donations to buy food and to pay for the flyers and we'd like to thank everybody that donated yesterday we raised up more than $250 and and that money goes to pay for food and to print the flyers we'd also like to thank the organizations that are here today I see the

communications workers of New Mexico New Mexico a corn is here we'd like to thank the people from KU&M for coming down here and broadcasting news on radio if anybody's listening and they'd like to come down please feel free we're on the North Mall just north of the student union building at the University of New Mexico right now I'd like to introduce a speaker that was here yesterday I think it's obvious by his show of support that he supports what's happening here on campus with us today please welcome once again state senator Tom Rutherford thank you you have a right to be heard and you have to stay here until they begin to listen to you you made the administration listen yesterday make them keep listening to you support your leaders sit at Shoals Hall tell your friends get the community to support you it isn't just this hundred dollars or the last hundred dollars or the

hundred before that or the hundreds before that it is the right to be heard before the Board of Regents it's a right to participate in the operation of this University and it's the right of all students in New Mexico to attend an institution of higher learning we have been too quiet too long if we had made this much noise when the Reagan administration began to cut back on student aid and financial aid things would be different today if we had been this loud when the university and others began to cut back on money for day care we may not be here today but we are here today and our voice has to be heard I think the administration is listening in the Board of Regents aren't yet but the administration if they listen closely and they pay attention and I think that you will get them to do that will be you your ally in front of that Board of Regents and that's what I hope you will work towards I think your

leaders are doing a wonderful job and I hope you will continue to support them I support you thank you thank you thank you very much State Senator Tom Rutherford we have once again an awful lot of people that are that are here to speak I think this shows the support within the community not just in the University not just in the students and the faculty but community-wide across the state people have come down from Santa Fe our state representatives are here and I'd like to thank them for showing their support another group that has supported this movement on campus today is New Mexico Acorn right now I'd like to bring Andreas Valdez from Acorn to speak to speak next once again I'd like to remind everybody there is a box for donations being being circulated we are broadcasting live from the mall at the University of New Mexico thank you thank you we like to to commend the students for taking this brave action and

standing up against the the bigotry portrayed by this Board of Regents it's about time that we put a stop to this bigotry it's the position that the Board of Regents has taken is is is against law and moderate income people and this issue of tuition hikes is not only an issue for students it's an issue for the community whenever they raise tuition above above the point where a lot of more than come people can no longer come to school it's time to put a stop right now you know I've been to a couple of demonstrations not just here on on campus but in Washington DC years and years ago and and part part of demonstrating and part of these kind of movements are meeting people that are

aligned for one cause and and I think that's one of the most beautiful things about the last few days here on this campus you know one of the things that people like to say about New Mexico is that there are many different types of people in New Mexico well I think that's true but I also think it's true that all of the different kinds of people all of the different philosophies all of the different points of view are being brought together on this campus the last few days and I know it's going to continue in the future as long as Gerald May and Robert Sanchez and the Board of Regents continue to be unaccountable then we will continue to be in solidarity against them like now I'd like to introduce from the Alumni Association please welcome Ford Davis I need to clarify something first off then I'm not from the Alumni Association I am an alumni I'm not sure why I'm on this list outside of I came

down yesterday to find out what I wasn't getting through the media which was answers to all the questions that are up in the air and what I'd like to do most of all is to commend the students which I watched for several hours last night who are doing what has only succeeded in this country the Civil Rights Movement through a peaceful but forceful protest and I ask any alumni of the University and concerned people to come down and join in this protest come down and find out what the facts are come down and take part if it had to work my you know what off to make it through here that's about the only thing I represent here is those many students who had to fight to get an education and this was back in the 70s when it really wasn't that expensive and you're looking at increases now that are double what I paid if not much more and the money isn't worth as much so come down and take part those people listening on the radio if you're alumni at the University come down and take part in this

we need your help thank you very much I think I think is very representative that that so many groups from around the community and around the University campus are here in solidarity today I hope that's getting across to Gerald May and the regions at this University it's not just the students complaining about another $100 in tuition it's everybody saying this must not happen at this University Gerald May and the Board of Regents must be held accountable for their decisions right now I'd like to introduce a man that was here with us a year ago demanding that these people be held accountable please welcome back graduate student Dan Moore hello out there in radio land and hello to everyone here today students

faculty students of mine either we won't have class tomorrow we'll be on the mall we're studying all about protest and what I was watching the media last night you know they keep saying 60's style protest but it reminds me more of the Boston Tea Party taxation without representation is a clock of shit it is baseball season folks so get ready for tomorrow I think Gerald May has about two strikes on him and he may be out of here what do you think okay one last thing this is the the University of New Mexico the home of the Lobo and just like the

Lobo we are facing a problem we're facing we are endangered species students at this University and like the Lobo we have this green fire in our eyes and we will let it burn and burn and we will win this this what is this we will win we will win and I will get off the radio thanks very much Dan Moore we have we have one more speaker here today please welcome from the union of the homeless call Hertz just a couple of reminders while he's on his way up here if anybody has not had the opportunity to sign a petition they are available here they are available at Skulls Hall there's

there's still a box I believe for donations because it's going to be quite a weekend and these people that are occupying Gerald May's office not only need not only need your support from the union of the homeless call Hertz on behalf of the rank and file of the union of the homeless I want to let you all know that we stand firmly behind you in this struggle some of you may think well what is the homeless got to do with a tuition these guys don't pay taxes they don't worry or do nothing but the fact remains is that it's a struggle when I heard the two words economically disadvantaged I went to school at Oklahoma State University and there it didn't seem like we had this problem very often we

didn't have someone hiking the tuition on us once every five years so it's even worse than I thought I'm here today to this this to let you people know that I see that the gap between the the advantaged people and disadvantaged people and I see that it's crossing into all strata of society now when I say disadvantaged I'm talking about trying to to make ends meet you know where you're gonna put everything together but I just want to let you know that we are behind you and we'll stand with you and we believe in what you're doing and until this is over with you can you can count on us to be there I'm gonna tell all the boys down there what's that you've been listening to a live broadcast on KUNM from the North Mall of the student union here at the University of New

Mexico and we're gonna wrap it up now as we mentioned earlier the occupation of President Gerald May's office continues now in its third day students here are making contact with other student groups across the country at other universities and appear to be gaining some support there as well at this point we're going to get ready to send it back to KUNM don't forget that you can get an update later this afternoon also listen to the KUNM evening report at five o'clock this evening and we'll have a complete wrap up as well as an update on the events here at the University of New Mexico we're not going back to the studios of KUNM this is Marcos Martinez reporting and you are tuned to KUNM in Albuquerque and you have just heard a live broadcast