On Wednesday, the Associated Students of UNM held its third full senate meeting of the semester. Here's an overview of what happened, including the introduction of two vital pieces of legislation.
UNMPD visits ASUNM
For more than an hour, UNMPD officer Luis Santiago discussed with the senate UNMPD procedure as well as things that students can do to avoid being in potentially dangerous situations.
The biggest thing that can make a difference in individual situations is awareness of one’s surroundings.
“I’m not saying to be paranoid; there’s a balance you have to use to keep yourself safe,” he said.
Among the things Santiago recommended that students do to stay safe is park under or near lights in parking lots at night, download the LoboGuardian safety app and be aware of UNMPD’s emergency number, which is located on the back of every student’s Lobo card.
Further, Santiago said to be cautious when it comes to social media, which is how many sexual assault victims are found by their harassers.
Santiago made it a point to start off by saying UNMPD has 40 sworn officers, a number he is satisfied with.
“I think it’s sufficient enough to man the University,” he said.
Sen. Brandon Aragon said he was concerned with the minimal UNMPD presence that he has experienced in his time at UNM.
“I’ve got to be blunt. In my three years, I’ve seen a lack of officer presence on campus. I never see an officer on campus; I just see UNM patrols and cars.”
Santiago responded to Aragon by saying that if it was up to him, every officer would be on a bike.
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“But that’s just not realistic,” he said.
ASUNM passes first resolution of the semester
The senate unanimously passed Resolution 1F, stating their support for the Lottery Scholarship in its current state.
The legislation, drafted by Sens. Brad Sedillo and Delia Brennan, is introduced at a time in which some state lawmakers have proposed changes that involve lowering the amount of money eligible students get from the scholarship. Overall New Mexico lottery sales are down in recent years, while tuition has gradually increased.
“(ASUNM) supports ongoing access for residents of the state of New Mexico to the Legislative Lottery Scholarship, and…encourages collaboration across the State of New Mexico through the Governmental Affairs Legislative Lottery Scholarship Summit,” the resolution states.
Earlier in the meeting ASUNM President Jenna Hagengruber said this year’s summit will be held Oct. 2, starting at 8:30 a.m. It will be a time for students to ask questions about the current state of the lottery, as well as potential future modifications it faces.
Several state lawmakers and school officials from around the state will be in attendance.
ASUNM passed a similar resolution as the one presented Wednesday evening in February, when the scholarship faced a possible change leading to less money for students currently enrolled.
“We need to be forward in our opinions and vigorous in our attempts at finding a solution that is best for all of our students,” Hagengruber said at the time.
Bill to approve transparency approved
A piece of legislation intended to improve senator accountability with their constituents passed the senate 18-1-0.
Bill 6F, created by Sens. Gabe Gallegos and Bisaan Hanouneh, states that senators must “contact their student organizations within two weeks” of being assigned the student groups they represent.
“We just want to make sure everyone’s on the same page from day one,” Gallegos said.
An amendment was proposed to include an “attempt to” clause as it pertains to senators contacting their assigned student organizations within the two weeks, but it was later rejected via senate vote due to redundancy.
“There’s just too much that could potentially go wrong, for a [variety] of reasons, so I think that it’s fine the way it is,” Sen. Brad Sedillo said.
Appropriations
11F – Unanimously passes
$804 to Lobo Builders to fund travel to a competition in Las Vegas.
12F – Unanimously passes
$1,007 to the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society to fund travel to a national conference in Providence, Rhode Island.
13F – Unanimously passes
$1,206 to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee to fund the hosting of speaker Corey Ciocchetti.
14F – Unanimously passes
$2,895 to the Mountaineering Club to help fund travel for future expenditures.
15F – Passes
$2,010 to the International Tuba to host the Youngblood Brass Band for a concert in October.
16F – Unanimously passes
$151 to the UNM Korean Club to fund food and refreshments for a Korean celebration.
17F – Unanimously passes
$4,134 to the UNM Running Club to fund travel to meets in multiple cities this year.
18F – Unanimously passes
$598 to the Public Relations Student Society of America to help fund attendance to a national conference.
19F – Unanimously passes
$821 to UNM Men’s Ultimate to fund travel to competitions in Flagstaff and Santa Fe.
20F – Unanimously passes
$2,006 to Lobo Hockey for travel to competitions in multiple cities this semesters.
21F – Unanimously passes
$754 to the Society of Physics Students to fund travel to physics conferences in Arizona.
22F – Unanimously passes
$66 to the Food Justice Initiative to help fund an organization banner.
David Lynch is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @RealDavidLynch.
