by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Roger Coffee was homeless for three years, but his life changed when he won two $100 lottery tickets in a week.
Coffee said he invested the money in selling jewelry and incense in front of the SUB and made a living out of his small business.
Things changed three years ago when the University told him to go away, he said.
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"Reagan said, 'Create your own job.' I did," Coffee said. "Now the University is saying your job isn't good enough and to go away."
Coffee was on campus Tuesday, not to sell incense and jewelry, but to collect signatures to allow street vendors back on campus.
Street vendors were prohibited from selling on campus when the SUB was renovated three years ago, said Walt Miller, director of the SUB.
"The mall is for campus activities, not to become retail space," Miller said.
He said vendors had to have permits when they were allowed on campus. Once the SUB was renovated, the permits were not renewed, he said.
"We just didn't renew them," he said. "Our first priority is the campus community. It is for the faculty and staff to use, and that is our mission."
Coffee said he had to pay a fee to sell on campus and would be willing to pay if he was allowed back on campus.
"Some of my taxes go to pay for this University," Coffee said. "I am willing to pay more money to the University to be out here. In the long run, vendors do help support the University."
Miller said vendors had to pay a fee when they were allowed on campus, but he did not know the amount.
UNM student Randy Sanchez said he did not know vendors were prohibited from the University.
"Capitalism - it's what it's all about," he said, signing Coffee's petition.
Sanchez said he does not see a problem with vendors on campus.
"I'm an entrepreneur myself," he said. "You got to do whatever you have to do to get by in life."
Vendors should sell their goods in surrounding areas, not on campus, Miller said.
"There is plenty of retail space around us," he said. "That's where they should be putting their foot and trying to build their business."
UNM is the biggest market for street vendors in Albuquerque because there is more foot traffic on campus than any place in the city, said Antonio Martinez, a local vendor also collecting signatures.
Since UNM prohibited vendors from selling their products on campus, Martinez and Coffee sell in the Downtown area on weekdays and at flea markets on weekends.
It is not the same, Martinez said.
"It's a little rough Downtown," he said. "There are thieves and hoodlums."
Coffee said since the University has prohibited street vendors, his income has been cut in half. He fears the next couple of months, he said.
"I will be bankrupt in two months if they don't allow us back, because the winter is always slower," he said.
It is a shame UNM does not allow vendors, said Petra Morris, a UNM graduate student. She said vendors added life to the campus.
"It detracts from the University," Morris said. "There is less action going on."
She signed the petition because she used to buy inexpensive books from a vendor on campus, she said. Vendors give students the opportunity to buy products from smaller businesses, she said.
Coffee said he rounded up about 180 signatures and will get more next week.
"We're trying to get as many signatures as we can get," he said. "We're going to try and put pressure on the administration."
Miller said he had not seen the petition, so he would not be able to assess the future of vendors on campus.
If all else fails, Coffee said, he will look toward entertaining people to make money.
"Street performances are not prohibited," he said. "I'll have to juggle and put a hat out."
