Editor,
The completion of the 2011 legislative session in Santa Fe is just the beginning of the new year for UNM.
With tuition increases looming and line items decreasing University-wide, the ability to converse, negotiate and compromise diplomatically is a necessary attribute to our leadership in the upcoming year. As student leadership elections approach, graduate and professional students can find that leader in GPSA Presidential Candidate Joseph Dworak.
From working alongside GPSA as an undergraduate and within the executive branch, I have witnessed firsthand the deficiencies in GPSA’s structure.
The organization is top heavy while the council, a board composed of representatives from campus departments, has little ability to participate in the GPSA’s organizational process. Much of the organization is cumbersome to navigate, and separation of legislative and executive branches is blurry.
Dworak sees this disorder and is committed to strengthening and legitimizing GPSA. Dworak streamlined organizations in the past, such as creating an electronic application system that allowed for an organized, accessible and transparent funding process as chair of a committee that appropriated $800,000 in student fees.
This semester alone, Dworak put in hundreds of hours working with the Constitutional Committee to rewrite and reorganize the GPSA constitution, a document approved by the council this weekend.
He wants to ensure that the president does not overstep his or her position and accords the appropriate powers to GPSA’s legislative branch — a reflection of our nation’s democratic process.
Past leadership experiences around the University have allowed Dworak to form solid and respectful relationships with faculty, staff and students by acting as a representative of their interests and dedicating his time to work towards their goals.
Dworak understands that, if elected, he must represent and collaborate with undergraduate and graduate students and gain respect from both groups.
He understands that strengthening the organization of GPSA will help increase its legitimacy, much of which has been decimated in past years.
As an active member of GPSA, I believe that Dworak is committed to increasing GPSA’s legitimacy, accessibility and transparency. He is familiar with the University and its operating system while also experiencing the process on a state and national level.
He is well-rounded, approachable and dedicated to improving GPSA and affording the students he will represent the best outcomes possible. Vote for Dworak online from Monday through Thursday.
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Theresa Rogers
UNM student
