UNM student organizations had a bumper crop of ASUNM Senate candidates to choose from during this semester's endorsement forum Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, 24 candidates representing three slates are in the running for 10 Associated Students of UNM Senate seats during the Nov. 14 election.
The forum, which is held before each election, allows candidates to introduce themselves and gives student groups the chance to ask questions about candidates' goals and experience. Student group endorsements are published in the Daily Lobo before the election.
Common themes in introductory speeches included unity between students and safety.
Several candidates lamented that students just come to class, then go home and said they wanted to develop programs to encourage school spirit and participation.
Tim Serna, a current senator running for reelection with the Campus Unity slate, said he would like to see the Senate sponsor more campus events and get more involved in the community to help unify students.
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"We need to do a whole lot more than we're doing now," he said.
Lisa Marie Gomez, also a current senator running for reelection with the B.U.S.Y. slate, said she wanted to help facilitate forums bringing faculty, staff and students together to talk about issues.
Many candidates also said, if elected, they wanted to tackle safety issues. Popular topics included increased security patrols and escorts, especially on weekends, and increased lighting in the parking structure.
College Democrats president Brian Eagan asked every candidate whether they would support a referendum to increase funding for the UNM Police Department. Most said they would support such a move, though a few said they would want to go over the details before committing to anything.
Eagan said he asked the question on behalf of the group mainly to raise consciousness of what he called a shortage in the police department.
"If they commit in public to raising student fees, it's actually viable," he said.
Most of the candidates expressed support for Constitutional Amendment Four, which increases the amount of student fees charged for ASUNM from $14 to $20, while lowering the amount that goes to the Student Publication Board, which publishes the Daily Lobo, from 12 percent to 6 percent.
"We need the student fee increase because groups and organizations aren't funded because there aren't enough resources for them," candidate Warren Ellis said.
Natalia Beraun, vice president of the Hispanic Engineering and Science Organization, asked nearly every candidate to name two events sponsored by the organization. About a quarter of the candidates were able to name events.
"So far I'm a little upset because I belong to the largest organization on campus and half the candidates have never heard of us," she said during a break in the forum.
One of the main duties of ASUNM is to represent and fund student groups.
Amanda Zubiate, who represented both the Phi Alpha Delta Pre Law organization and the Interested Ladies of Lambda Theta Alpha, a sorority for Hispanic women, said she appreciated the variety of slates and candidates but that many would need to brush up on campus issues.
