Commentary: The Associated Students of New Mexico State University President Kevin Prieto and Vice President Emerson Morrow issued the following statement regarding the NMSU Athletics Proposal:
"The Associated Students of New Mexico State University appreciate NMSU Athletics and all that their programs add to our community. ASNMSU works with Athletics every year to increase awareness of our successes on the field and to boost attendance at athletics events through tailgates and cosponsored events which are paid for by student fees. We are proud of our Aggie Athletes. We are inspired by their victories this year and are hopeful for continued success.
With that being said, ASNMSU cannot support the request of transferring $1.1 million in Instruction and General funding to the Athletics budget. As students, we feel that the university's main obligation should be to offer a quality education and we should be investing directly into that very initiative. If this proposal were to pass, NMSU would be allocating more than half of the new money for 2018 allocated by the New Mexico legislature to Athletics rather than to academics. We do not believe transferring these funds would be in the best interest of students and the NMSU community.
Additionally, it is not beneficial for the university to eliminate the Athletic debt repayment, but we would look favorably upon conversations regarding the extension of the payment schedule. Students feel that NMSU Athletics should have the right to oversee the concessions at athletic events. Further discussions with appropriate parties are necessary regarding Athletics proposed role in operations a facilities for each athletic event. We ask that the opinions of students, staff, and faculty are taken into consideration on these matters.
As students invested in New Mexico State University, we enrolled with the promise that we would be able to obtain a quality higher education. In order to fulfill that promise to all NMSU students, it is crucial that we invest in academic programs and staff first. We believe that the potential consequences of this proposal would greatly outweigh its proposed benefits."