GPSA is a student government, not just an advocacy group

Editor,

I am writing in response to Joseph Garcia's column in Tuesday's Daily Lobo. Garcia closed his remarks with the proposal that GPSA as a group and GPSA as a movement are two different things. This horribly flawed logic has persisted in GPSA for far too long and is perhaps the most prominent legacy of both Garcia's administration and his successor's.

We have somehow forgotten that GPSA is not only a student advocacy group; it is also a student government group. Yet, the responsibilities of GPSA in the latter have been ignored, and the group's resources have been shamelessly squandered, while our leaders smile for the camera and spin romantic tales of grassroots movements. Now Garcia comes along to promise us more of the same by passing the torch to B. Lee Drake. This is change?

No. Real change can only come from a leader who understands that making GPSA a movement requires effectively managing GPSA as a group. And real advocacy takes time. It takes tireless dedication, and it takes wisely spent money. In short, it takes a lot more than buzzwords and photo opportunities. Garcia promises us that Drake wants graduate and professional students to learn how to become more effective advocates. I'm sure that is true. But let me save you some considerable effort, Drake, and point you toward someone who already knows. Her name is Lissa Knudsen, and she is running for GPSA president.

Knudsen's successes as an advocate are near-legendary at UNM, and her knowledge and experience in Santa Fe have resulted in laws actually being passed, not just talked about and wished for. At the same time, she has consistently delivered efficient and effective leadership in her role as GPSA council chairwoman, even in the face of needless confrontation from others in the organization.

She has done these things by managing resources, not by wasting them. And she has done these things by remaining dedicated to a philosophy that the best way for students to learn how to make a difference in the world is to actually go out in the world and make a difference. That's what real change is, and that's also what real leadership is.

We have come to a time when the need may never have been greater for UNM students to have both a powerful voice in Santa Fe and a shrewd manager of our interests and money here in Albuquerque. So I say to Garcia and Drake that GPSA as a group and GPSA as a movement are not two different things. They are the same. And I say to the graduate and professional community that we are long overdue for a leader who understands this. Please join me today as I enthusiastically cast my vote for Knudsen for GPSA president.

Benjamin Mabe

UNM student