I am running for ASUNM president because I strongly believe that the role of any government - student or otherwise - is to offer powerful and representative advocacy on behalf of whatever constituent group it claims to represent.
As a three-year veteran of ASUNM who has served as an ASUNM senator and the ASUNM attorney general, I have had the opportunity to see the true power of this organization firsthand. I have also been able to observe many of its faults. A problem I've seen over the years is that many students who are not directly involved in ASUNM have very little faith in the organization. Many students don't understand what ASUNM does or why it exists. UNM has one of the most diverse student bodies in the country, and I believe that this feeling of disconnection comes from the fact that current members of ASUNM represent only a small cross-section of campus life. Many students feel there is nobody within their student government with life experiences or a life story similar to their own.
I am running for president of ASUNM this year on the Lobos Unidos slate because Lobos Unidos offers a real chance to dispel this feeling of disillusionment toward ASUNM. The idea for Lobos Unidos was hatched late last semester when several members of the slate met to discuss how we, as students, could combat the problem of our fellow students feeling disconnected from their student government. In creating Lobos Unidos, we discussed the need for more broad-based representation in ASUNM. We agreed that ASUNM should be made up of students as diverse as the campus itself.
We agreed that the members of our slate should be students who have already demonstrated their leadership in some area of campus life. We agreed that ASUNM must provide true advocacy within the University for all UNM students, especially during these difficult economic times of potential tuition increases, funding cuts and cuts in financial aid. We agreed that service and inclusiveness would bring lasting change to ASUNM, and we agreed that only through representation of the campus' diversity could ASUNM fulfill its most important purpose: fearless, inclusive advocacy for all undergraduates.
With all of this in mind, we have proceeded to assemble the most diverse and qualified ASUNM slate in years. Two of our slate members speak Spanish as a first language. Three of our slate members are part of the University Honors Program. Three of our slate members are active members of Greek organizations. Three of our members are currently resident advisers in the dorms. Five of our slate members have served as Student Orientation Leaders during the summer. We have athletes, international relations majors, multicultural Greek representatives and students from the campus ethnic centers.
In regard to our agenda for ASUNM, Lobos Unidos conducted an extensive survey of more than 2,000 UNM undergraduates in order to identify the issues that most concerned them. After tabulating the results, we found that tuition and student fees, the quality of service at advisement and financial aid, and UNM sustainability initiatives are those issues. We have therefore decided to focus the efforts of our slate over the next year on these three areas.
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Few of our slate members are established ASUNM insiders, but our slate does include one current and two former ASUNM senators, as well as officers and staff members from all levels of the organization. Indeed, we have the experience and the outside vision necessary to accomplish our agenda of change. Beneath the varied walks of life that our slate will bring to ASUNM lies our common drive - to leave the campus a better place for all of UNM's students.
Brian Moore is running for ASUNM president on the Lobos Unidos slate.
