UNM is cutting dorm costs by stripping services.
Telephones were taken out of the dorms at the beginning of the fall semester.
Housekeeping services in the apartments were discontinued, and students no longer get HBO.
Dupuy Bateman, director of Student Housing, said the money saved will be reinvested in the dorms.
"Every dollar of that money goes back into housing," he said. "It doesn't go to UNM or any place else in the University - it all goes back into the dorms."
Bateman said the University saved about $100,000 a year by discontinuing HBO, about $200,000 a year by discontinuing the housekeeping services and about $400,000 a year by cutting the phone service.
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Paula Loendorf, director of Campus Voice Services, said most students don't need phones in their rooms.
"They didn't think that students used the dorm telephones or wanted them, because a lot of students already have cell phones," she said. "The issue of money was part of it, too."
Dean of Students Randy Boeglin said there are still telephones in the dormitory halls, but they are used only by resident advisers and students with accessibility problems.
Students can also rent telephones from UNM, he said.
Bateman said the University conducted research with peer institutions before removing phone service from the dorms.
"Many (peer institutions) had discontinued providing telephones in the room because students, for the most part, would prefer to use their cell phones," he said.
Jacie Curry, who lives in Santa Ana, said she is renting a phone for convenience.
"It's important because what if your cell phone fails you or there's an emergency?" she said. "Sometimes you just need a landline. I don't think it's a lot to ask of a place where you live to provide phones."
Shauma Brown, a sophomore who lives in Laguna/De Vargas, said she misses having a phone in her room.
"It was very useful for some things, and it was an easy school number to remember, and when I had to give it out, it was a campus number," she said. "It's always good to have one."
Annarose Garcia, who lives in Hokona, said the dorm telephones were unnecessary.
"It doesn't really matter to me, because my parents and my family are long distance anyway and there isn't anybody in the local area that I would have to call," she said.
