Editor,
The past couple of weeks have seen the most accessible ASUNM election in the six years that I have attended this University. Thanks to multiple forums and the hard work of several of the candidates - notably those on the PAC slate - the students of UNM have had more opportunities to interact with their representatives than ever. Unfortunately, I do not believe that other candidates have taken the responsibility to contact their constituency.
Placing the burden on the busy students to find their representative is the modus operandi of ASUNM. Two of the three slates of candidates in this election - KEY and REACH - are running on platforms based on business as usual.
KEY has a wide variety of proposals that allege to make ASUNM more accessible to students, but it lacks direct action on the part of senators to contact the student body.
Meanwhile, REACH proposes a variety of programs that have already been implemented by the work of others. A bill passed by the New Mexico Legislature and signed by Gov. Bill Richardson last month makes busing free to UNM students. The program in question was proposed by Mayor Martin Chávez. Yet REACH has proposed the idea as if it were its own and not already a reality.
Additionally, it has proposed lighting on Johnson Field. According to the UNM Police Department, the most crime occurs in the residence halls, not on Johnson Field. It's far easier to address perception than reality.
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Both of these slates' positions are summed up by something REACH vice presidential candidate Matt Barnes has repeated ad infinitum: "We don't want to change the world." Why are they even running for office? Governing is about changing the world for the better. Anyone who lacks the ambition to change the world has no place in governance.
Diversity is a major issue in this election. For this, the PAC slate seems to have taken flack. Its opponents have been very offended that PAC would even care about diversity. It seems to me that KEY and REACH don't understand the problem. They assume that objections to the lack of diversity in ASUNM mean that opponents think of them as immoral, but that is not the issue. Disagreement is not the same as disrespect. But they have an uncompromising with-us-or-against-us attitude, which has no place in governance.
I strongly encourage all students to vote for the PAC slate of candidates, and especially for its fine presidential candidate, Katryn Fraher.
As former director of the NMPIRG student chapter, Fraher has overseen unprecedented success, supporting the governor's mandate to power state buildings with renewable energy, overseeing the registration of more than 1,000 new voters on UNM's campus and drawing national attention to the ludicrous price of textbooks. She is well-known and well-respected by the student body, the UNM administration, our elected officials and average citizens all over New Mexico.
Government is not a cult of personality, nor is it an exclusive club for those with the right friends. Government is a place where people come together to talk about our desires, and where we compromise with our peers, creating good policies that benefit every student. Government is a place where no one gets left behind.
Juan Carlos Holmes
UNM student
