GPSA crossed a line when it passed a resolution Saturday demanding the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
The resolution will be sent to President Bush, all members of the New Mexico congressional delegation and the Board of
Regents.
It is reminiscent of a situation in the spring, when members of ASUNM tried to pass a resolution for the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles, who faced charges in Venezuela for the deaths of more than 70 people.
To their credit, the majority of ASUNM senators had enough sense to vote against that
resolution.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Student governments are organizations whose purpose is representing students' interests to the University president, the Board of Regents and the state Legislature.
They have a role to fill, and it is not to influence foreign policy.
While it is important to discuss these issues, it is not
GPSA's place to demand immediate troop withdrawal.
Rep. Benjamin Mabe voted against the resolution because he recognized that fact.
"The purpose of this body is to represent graduate students, not make politically charged statements that claim to speak for the whole graduate community," Mabe said at the meeting.
The resolution cannot reflect the opinions of all graduate students, yet that's what the representative who introduced the resolution claimed.
"It's a moral statement on the part of the graduate student body," Rep. Max Fitzpatrick said at the meeting.
There were 5,844 graduate and professional students enrolled in 2006. There are 33 graduate student representatives, according to GPSA's Web site. Of those 33, 22 were present to vote on the resolution.
GPSA representatives account for less than one-tenth a percent of UNM's graduate students. Furthermore, GPSA lacks the diversity to speak for all graduate student departments, as less than half of the 62 departments are represented in the
association.
"I don't think it's appropriate for the 21 of us to speak to the political opinions of 6,000 graduate students at UNM," Mabe said at the meeting.
And he's right.
The idea that GPSA could represent all those students' opinions on an issue as divisive and complicated as the Iraq war is not only preposterous - it is irresponsible.
Rep. Gene Henley illustrated this point at the meeting when he voiced support for the war
in Iraq.
Furthermore, if members of GPSA want to send a message that the United States should pull out of Iraq, there are other avenues to pursue this responsibly and effectively, such as petitions and letter-writing campaigns.
Doing such would ensure that only the opinions of those opposed to the war would be communicated, instead of homogenizing the diverse opinions of the UNM graduate student population into one message - one that does not even represent all of GPSA.
GPSA should focus on its mission - to represent students' interests at UNM. The time that was spent drafting this resolution, debating it and voting on it was completely wasted.
GPSA could have used that time and effort to explore an initiative that would benefit the graduate student body, not make inaccurate political generalizations about it.
If GPSA is so eager to delve into foreign policy, perhaps that's an indication it is not connected to its constituents.
