Editor,
I would like to state my opinion in response to the article on the GPSA president recall petition published in the Daily Lobo on Wednesday. If those who are organizing the recall want to talk about democracy, I would like to know why they are not trying to first talk about the problems they see rather than go to the extreme of launching a petition for a recall of GPSA President Joseph Garcia.
As far as the complaints about financial mismanagement that people have, as a GPSA representative, I would be open to having a conversation about this with all parties. However, those behind the recall petition are apparently unwilling to do this and, instead, want to go to the extent of trying to get Garcia out of office for the remainder of his term, which ends in June.
As things stand, I find it very interesting that the majority of those leading the recall effort are also those who very openly have political differences with Garcia and other GPSA representatives. These are the very people who have incited hours of debate concerning their problems with the hate crimes legislation and questioning whether there is a need for graduate students to engage in dialogue about issues of diversity, including racism and white privilege in academia.
In opposition to what Rep. Gene Henley claims in the article - that such issues are irrelevant to most graduate students - there are many graduate students who believe GPSA has an obligation to ensure equality and justice for all graduate students, and that the University should have an obligation to the larger community.
In the past semester, Garcia has stood up for contentious issues such as the Iraq war resolution, the diversity resolution and the hate crimes resolution that might ultimately lead to a shifting of power in UNM's graduate schools regarding inequality in access and position as a result of race, gender, class, sexual orientation and the like.
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I am personally proud to be a member of GPSA where we have a progressive president, and by the fact that these resolutions have passed, a majority of members who take a stand on issues of social justice in academia and in the larger community.
Lucy Grinnell
UNM student
