ASUNM election results contested
A clause in the handbook for Resident Advisors on campus has raised concerns about the legitimacy of the ASUNM fall election results.
All ten members of the BAM! slate were elected Wednesday to serve as senators in the undergraduate student government. Eight members of the slate are Resident Advisors.
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But a term of employment for RAs in the handbook forbids becoming a member of the ASUNM senate.
The policy states that RAs should, “Assume no officer positions or chairperson positions in campus activities nor be a member of hall or campus student government.”
However, Wayne Sullivan, Residence Life and Student Housing manager, said the posting on the ResLife Web site is outdated. He said the RLSH administration rewrote the job posting online last spring allowing RAs to become ASUNM senators.
“We don’t mind them being senators and members, but they can’t be any in any major office or chairperson positions,” he said. “They can’t be ASUNM president, vice president, lobby chair — those are what are restricted.”
Sullivan said he is unaware of any current ASUNM senators who are also RAs with aspirations beyond that of a senator, but guidelines are in place should a conflict arise.
“In previous times, we’ve made people make a choice. If you get elected president, you cannot be an RA,” Sullivan said.
Patrick Call, director of Residence Life and Student Housing, said the clause on the ResLife Web site has been misinterpreted.
“I know that there’s piece in our agreement with them that talks about that but it is really intended for folks if they want to run for ASUNM president or vice president,” he said.
Since the administrative ASUNM positions are compensated, Call said they come with greater time constraints than those required of a senator.
He said the handbook was written before he became RLSH director and is not sure why RAs were ever forbidden from being senators.
All the same, the language will be changed next year to clarify the clause in question, Call said.
“We currently have other folks who are senators as well,” he said. “Even on my previous campuses, it really comes down to the hired positions because they don’t necessarily have the time to hold both.”
Candidates on the Bridge slate also said members of BAM! distributed fliers too close to the SUB polling locations, which violates the election codes. A decision on this contestation has not been reached.
Brian Moore, chairman of the ASUNM Election Commission, said the group will meet Sunday to hear testimony from members of both slates.
Check back soon for updates to this story.
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by Chadwick Johnstone
Typical corrupt politicians…Maybe Schmidly should allow the BAM members to become his personal interns? They sound like the type to conveniently ignore explicit rules…
by Tommy Paine
We attend a higher level institution of learning, it doesn’t take a grammar genius to be able to write rules and regulations to say what they are SUPPOSED to say. “Misinterpreted”?! Who are you trying to fool here? You [Res Life] clearly violated YOUR RULES and in order to save face in front of the campus you try these petty language tactics?! Residence Life should be ashamed of themselves and should not only should they rewrite THEIR RULES, but also advocate that the RAs concede their illegitimately won senate seats. Of course this wont be the case, it would show a level of class that is obviously non-existent with those in question.
by Max Forester
I cannot believe the UNM residence life is denying what is blatantly stated in their employee guidelines. I withdrew my RA application so that I could eventually be on ASUNM, and I was told by Res Life people that I couldn’t be on ASUNM if I worked for their department in any way. Why are they making some sort of exception for these 10 ?
by Chelsea Stallings
I am a current sitting ASUNM senator (and not an RA) and, as a concerned student, I would encourage all three of you to write letters to the editor for publishing. Several of the other senators think the same way you do and we’re sick of the rules being ignored. More people would see a published letter than these comments and it might encourage ResLife and the ASUNM Election Commission and Senate to draft and pass a more effective Election Code.