by Jennifer Onuska
Daily Lobo Columnist
At this point in the year everyone has found their classes, everyone has bought their books and everyone has eaten at the Frontier several times to service the craving that they missed over the summer.
With all of that said and done, we now have 15 weeks to go in the semester and many decisions to make on how we want to spend our time. It is easy to decide to drive to UNM, attend class and leave without a second thought. However, if you want to capitalize on your student fees, please take some time to get involved. A large portion of your student fees goes to fund student groups and ASUNM executive agencies that put on programming, functions and celebrations for students like you!
In addition to the approximate 250 student groups here on campus, there are six Associated Students of UNM executive agencies that work hard to provide outstanding programming for students at the University of New Mexico. These six executive agencies are a part of the undergraduate student government. They are student-run and work extremely hard to reach out to the students at UNM.
This past week during Welcome Back Days, co-sponsored by ASUNM, you may have noticed the bands that played daily during lunchtime at the Cactus Garden. ASUNM Student Special Events, one of the six agencies, brought these bands to you. In addition, SSE co-sponsored the "Spider Man" movie with a second executive agency, the Southwest Film Center. This attracted more than 600 students.
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These two agencies doubled up again last Thursday, showing "The Wizard of Oz" by the Duck Pond. The best part about all of these events is that they were free. Throughout the semester, SSE will be bringing many more bands, speakers, multi-cultural programming and will prepare for its large celebration, Fiestas, in the spring. The ASUNM Southwest Film Center also will be hard at work showing a variety of films in their temporary location in the Fine Arts Center. It is renowned for being a premier theater for alternative cinema.
As you walked past the tents during Welcome Back Days, you may have also noticed students making pottery and displaying their creative crafts. This happens to be another executive agency, which is called the ASUNM Crafts Studio. Temporarily located in the Communications and Journalism Building, the ASUNM Crafts Studio provides a place for students to do, or learn to do, ceramics, pottery and jewelry. For a small fee, students and community members can purchase a semester membership.
Homecoming is right around the corner and happens to be another executive agency. This year's ASUNM Homecoming events will begin on Monday, Oct. 21, continuing throughout the week, and concluding with the game on Oct. 26.
The ASUNM Homecoming Committee is responsible for planning activities for the student body during the fall celebration for that entire week. A few traditional events include king and queen elections, Cherry/Silver games, a pep rally and the Lobo Howl. New events and new ideas are always welcomed. The next Homecoming Meeting is tomorrow, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m. in Dane Smith Hall, Room 232. Please come by to be a part of the team.
The next agency, the ASUNM Elections Commission, is responsible for conducting two general student government elections and the Homecoming king and queen election. This process includes planning the election, regulating the candidates, training poll workers and ruling on any contestion of elections. The next student government election will be in November, so if you would like to run for Senate, call ASUNM for more information.
The final executive agency is the ASUNM Lobby Committee. This agency was created to allow students to voice their opinions and priorities at the state Legislature. The committee has been successful maintaining the Lottery Scholarship, securing funds for campus improvements, and continues to push for year-round tax-free textbook sales.
So, now that you know a few of the many activities available in your undergraduate student government, how are you going to spend the next 15 weeks?
