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ASUNM senators discussed Wednesday a resolution that would make it easier for students with no Social Security number to pay for their education.
Various students showed up at the meeting to advocate for Resolution 26F.
Joe Stevens, a representative of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), said the resolution would help students without Social Security numbers get certain UNM scholarships.
“It’s about giving the same in-state tuition, and treating undocumented individuals the same as documented,” he said. “It says, ‘If an applicant is unable to provide a Social Security number, the University will assign an alternative number … this will not impact the admissions.’”
Stevens said he hoped LULAC could become a co-sponsor for the resolution because of the organization’s support for it.
“Hopefully when this comes through, as a LULAC representative, as a student organization, as a constituent, we want you guys to vote for this,” he said. “Our council supports this resolution, our council wants it, and our council is made up of students that are undergraduates, which are what you guys represent.”
After Stevens spoke, 10 more students followed to advocate for the resolution.
Several senators expressed support for the student advocates, including ASUNM Sen. Meghan Maes, who endorsed the resolution.
“People come to this country, and they’re coming to go to college and further their education to be an asset to society,” she said.
Mendez-Cruz retires
Veronica Mendez-Cruz, director for UNM’s El Centro de la Raza, said at the meeting she would be leaving the organization after 27 years at UNM.
Mendez-Cruz said she and UNM students “dealt with many challenges” during her tenure at the University.
“We’ve dealt with many concerns,” she said. “Some racist behavior, some discriminatory behavior, and we, as leaders and administrators, and the directors need to be able to open up the board for all of our students to engage in positive and constructive dialogue.”
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Mendez-Cruz said she wanted ASUNM officials to attend forums to learn more about prospective candidates for her position.
“I would really hope that when the prospective candidates come into campus with you, I would really hope that you attend those student forums and have a conversation to learn more about what they envision,” she said.
El Centro de la Raza has a lot of issues to approach and support, Mendez-Cruz said. She said the organization had to support the Dreamers and the University’s homeless students.
Mendez-Cruz said she appreciated her job at El Centro de la Raza.
“It is a place where, if you’ve ever heard me talk about it, was the best job I could ever have,” she said. “And the reason why it was the best job anybody could ever have is because I worked with students like yourselves.”
ASUNM President Isaac Romero said he wanted to acknowledge Mendez-Cruz’s work at the University.
“I just wanted to recognize Veronica for her service here,” he said. “We’ve all been able to see how she’s helped the students here.”
Men of Color Initiative
In the meeting, Christopher Ramírez, a facilitator for the Men of Color initiative on campus, talked about the University’s initiatives to engage young minority men in higher education.
“We want to figure out how to plug students in to the existing services and also work with the existing resources and services so that they are accessible, not only to men of color, but all of our students,” he said.
Ramírez said some strategies increase the attractiveness of UNM for young men of color include hosting events.
“In our Students with a Goal program, SWAG, we bring middle school and high school boys and young men of color from the community to the campus for soccer and basketball tournaments,” he said. “But here’s the trick: we get them to come … and what we don’t tell them is we’re going to go to a college workshop.”
According to the UNM Men of Color Initiative Fact Sheet, 37.5% of black male students, 32.9% of Latino male students, and 14.8% of Native American males graduate at UNM, compared with 41.8% of white male students.
