The ASUNM Senate appointed chairs to four special committees and approved five presidential appointments in its opening session of the fall semester Wednesday.
The ad hoc committees that were formed during an Associated Students of UNM team-building retreat Aug. 17, are recycling, marketing, book exchange and Sept. 11. The Senate approved Sen. Lorenzo Garcia as recycling chair, Sen. Jonathon Maple as marketing chairman, Sen. Nicole Griego as book exchange chairwoman and Sens. Nicol†s Cabrera and Brian Lucero as co-chairmen of the Sept. 11 Committee.
Senators were then required to choose which special committee they would like to participate in, with the exception of the Sept. 11 Committee, which was optional.
The ad hoc committees are informal commissions designed to help the Senate achieve its goals throughout the year.
Sen. Lucero said he was grateful for the nomination.
"I'm happy someone would entrust me with this honor," he said. "I would like to make sure that this day is being honored in the right way."
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Sen. Cabrera echoed Lucero's statements.
"I'd like to pay my respect to all of the people of Sept. 11 by serving as chair of this commission," Cabrera said.
The Sept. 11 Committee will be responsible for planning campus events to commemorate the terrorist attacks.
The Recycling Committee will concentrate on implementing a campus-wide recycling program, the Book Exchange Committee will try to make text books more accessible to students and the Marketing Committee will explore ways to improve promoting ASUNM to students.
The Senate also ratified the appointments that the Presidential Elections Committee, one of ASUNM's three standing committees, made during the Aug. 17 retreat. They approved Sarah McKinney as ASUNM Student Special Events executive director, Gil Morales as ASUNM chief justice and University honors counsel, Grant Nichols as presidential aide and David Padilla as ASUNM attorney general.
Timothy Canova, associate professor at the UNM School of Law, was a guest speaker at the meeting and presented a resolution from the Socially Responsible Investing/World Bank Bonds committee.
The committee was formed to analyze data for a proposed UNM boycott of World Bank Bonds and is composed of individuals from the Anderson Schools of Management, ASUNM, Faculty Senate, GPSA, the law school, Staff Council, University Counsel, UNM Foundation and the World Bank Bonds Student Group.
The World Bank, formed in 1944 to help European countries rebuild after World War II, has come under criticism for lending money to debt-ridden countries and adding to that debt by imposing loan conditions that the countries may not be able to meet.
"It is a flawed institution and brings a lot of controversy," Canova said. "We're recommending that UNM not purchase any World Bank bonds."
The resolution will now go before the ASUNM Steering and Rules Committee for review.
ASUNM Vice President Heather Gabel concluded the meeting, saying that the Senate has gotten off to a good start and would strive to achieve its goals to better help students. "We are working hard together with the executive branch, and we realize how much more of an impact we can have together than as individuals," she said.
