Editor,
As the national midterm elections are now over, it is time for UNM students to look toward the ASUNM midterm elections, which will have a direct effect on each
of us.
I have been an ASUNM senator for an entire year now, as I was elected in November 2005. As a member of the Senate, I have participated on the Finance Committee, in charge of disbursing funds to all of the student groups. For two terms, I have been heading the issue of improving and increasing UNM recycling. I have also been an active member of the ASUNM Lobby Committee, participating in the legislative session in Santa Fe last February, lobbying for a 0 percent tuition credit.
Through these experiences during my time in the Senate, I have gained intimate knowledge of UNM as a whole, including the diversity and interests of the student groups, the priorities of the administration and the demands of the New Mexico Legislature.
There was a letter in Monday's Daily Lobo from a member of the PAC - Power to Create Change - slate that, while sounding very proactive and encouraging, was not at all charitable to the ASUNM Senate or its members, and neither realistic nor credible in its goals.
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The letter claimed that if elected, PAC will make the University administration listen to the students, that it will hold it responsible when it does not act in the interests of the students, and that it will pass a tuition-freeze bill through the Board of Regents. As with many claims in any election, though these sound delightful and promising, they are neither realistic nor possible.
The administration does, in fact, listen to the students. Anytime I have either called its office or e-mailed it directly, it has promptly returned my messages and listened to my concerns. I have sat down and talked with many administrators as they have actively listened to the thoughts and feelings of my fellow students and me.
To pass a freeze bill or bird-dog the regents' meetings would only adversely affect the student position. Because the University is a state institution funded by the Legislature, the administration must meet the demands of the Legislature, the students and the taxpayers. Every year, the Legislature - not the administration - has mandated a certain percentage increase in tuition, as required by the Commission for Higher Education. This year, however, the Board of Regents held the UNM Budget Summit, in which all UNM students, staff and faculty were able to voice their concerns on tuition and the University's budget as a whole, leading to the least percentage increase in many years.
While all of the ASUNM senators have been lobbying both the Legislature and the administration about student concerns and keeping tuition increases minimal, the PAC has been conspicuously absent. Every ASUNM senator holds office hours in the SUB for two hours a week just so students who have issues get the opportunity to discuss them.
Finally, PAC's goal of increasing the funding for student organizations is a dream that we would all like to realize, but in order to increase that funding, we would have to increase student fees. The ASUNM Finance Committee, as well as the rest of student government, takes its job of funding student organizations very seriously and deliberates fairly over every request.
If any or all of these issues are important to you, the student and voter for ASUNM, I would encourage you to ask individual candidates questions and listen for yourself to what each candidate has to say.
Matt Beck
ASUNM senator
