ASUNM Candidates had their final chance to speak out Tuesday by answering questions from students and student organizations.
ASUNM Election Commission Director Brian Moore said the commission hosted the event — which about 40 people attended — to give students a chance to decide which candidates will best represent them in ASUNM.
“Any student can ask a question directly to any of the candidates,” he said. “We get all the candidates in one place so that students can ask them directly what they really stand for.”
The candidates from both the Full Circle and Wolfpack slates discussed the issues that were of highest priority to them, such as sustainability, containing student costs, communication and campus safety.
Student Senate candidate Alonzo Castillo, who is running with the Wolfpack slate, said he wants to implement more sustainability on campus starting with the Student Union Building.
“This is our building,” he said. “If we start here and show the administration what we want, it is a great way to get the whole campus that way.”
David Conway, ASUNM presidential candidate, said his sustainability plan would include revamping the campus recycling program.
“We need more bins and we need them to be advertised better,” he said. “Make it so students want to keep using it.”
Conway said this would also mean staffing new programs to keep them efficient.
“We need to put our money where our mouth is and help out the University as far as staffing these new programs,” he said.
Full Circle slate presidential candidate Lazaro “Laz” Cardenas said his priorities included beefing up campus security by implementing student-run safety services.
“UNM is a safe campus,” he said. “But we want to bring the community together to keep it safe.”
Cardenas also said he planned to address the $10 printing allowance for students and explore other options.
“Right now we are taking a survey and it is 50-50 whether students want the printing cap or not,” he said.
Other candidates at the forum emphasized the importance of keeping down tuition and student fees.
“We need to keep student costs as low as possible,” said Wolfpack Senate candidate Kelly Williamson. “And definitely not increase pay for administrators.”
Among the biggest priorities for both slates was developing more student participation. Full Circle Senate candidate Nick Ramos said keeping students active is part of the college experience.
“I would like to have a bigger outreach to new students,” he said. “Try to get them involved and show them that there are a bunch of things that they can get involved in.”
Both presidential candidates acknowledged that new ideas could be difficult to implement after deep state budget cuts to university funding. Cardenas said dealing with a budget is a process, and he is prepared to handle it.
“We have to come up with a plan of what we are going to do and how much we think it is going to cost,” he said. “I want to do that right away.”
He said communication with the administration is key to making gains for students.
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“It is about the process and also having a strategic plan that fits the administration’s plan and the students’ plans, and then we can go from there,” he said.
Conway said his experience would set him up to work easily with the administration.
“We need somebody that knows the process, knows the people that are the stakeholders and can outreach to students,” he said.
Conway emphasized his ideas for a transparent administration, saying he plans to utilize Facebook, Twitter and the Daily Lobo to communicate with students.
“We are going to keep students informed on what we are doing,” he said. “So if I put something on Facebook, you can leave comments right away.”
*Early ASUNM voting:
Begins today
Regular Elections
April 14*
