Editor,
We appreciate the attention the UNM Graduate and Professional Student Association Council is getting as we deliberate on what message to send UNM administration on its handling of the Locksley incident. But we would like to point out that democracy isn’t neat and clean. The frustration expressed in Friday’s Daily Lobo editorial mirrors ours, but we all need to understand that the process in place is there to ensure that minority positions are also heard.
After all, checks and balances and no tyranny by the majority are fundamental tenets
of democracy.
Those of us in leadership positions constantly hear frustrated fellow graduate students voice concerns that the reputation of the school at which we chose to get our masters and doctorate degrees is eroding, and with it the value of our educations. We are also concerned about our money and student fees going to the very institutions that are eroding UNM’s reputation.
We desire to have our voices heard, but we need to realize it’s rarely those on top who will most be affected by our actions.
It is certainly not the intent of the GPSA to hurt our good student-athletes or sports administration students whose educations are funded through the Athletics Department general fund. Our intent is to send a clear message to the administration that we are not happy with what it is doing to our University.
At the Dec. 5 regular GPSA council meeting (at which everyone is welcome), we will be discussing how to best send a message of discontent without hurting other graduate students and student-athletes. Our goal is to best represent the views of our constituents and create a referendum that will go to every UNM graduate student for a vote in the latter part of January.
In the meantime, we would appreciate the input of every graduate student. Our Dec. 5 GPSA council meeting agenda and the language for the proposed ballot measures can be found on the GPSA Web site at:
Unm.edu/~GPSA/council_schedule.shtml.
Danny Hernandez
GPSA Council Chair
Sid Solano
GPSA Elections Chair and
Council Representative
