GPSA must recognize all issues, involve undergrads in dialogue

Editor,

I'm writing in response to Beth Johnson's attack on GPSA presidential candidate B. Lee Drake. She argued that his emphasis on working to find common ground with undergraduate students is useless, as their only focus is the "Homecoming football dance." It's these kinds of negative campaigns that have turned students away from GPSA. If graduate students are going to fight back against increases in tuition and fees, we can't afford to spend time attacking each other on metaphors. We stand strongest when we stand together.

Instead of drawing lines between the various student bodies, we need to work to create a more functional student government that represents our values. We value diversity and the progress that GPSA continues to make in including everyone at the table. We value research and making it easier for students to get grants while reducing paperwork. It's these common-sense functions of GPSA that will make life better for graduate students. And regardless of whether we agree or disagree with undergraduates, we need to engage them in dialogue. Many of the biggest issues we face as students are shared, whether they are the increases in tuition and student fees, the administration's disregard for the faculty or the continuation of a hiring freeze that has hurt our departments. We have to be able to bring everyone to the table to solve these problems; chasing people away works against that.

I think Drake is the candidate that will best carry GPSA's values, and he is certainly the best candidate who can reach out to allies and bring them to the table. The crisis facing UNM is far too large to direct our energy against each other.

Adam Joseph Nazaroff

UNM student