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Today, students have the opportunity to elect 10 Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM) senators.
According to the ASUNM Law Book, there will be eight locations on campus for students to vote at. Locations include the Student Union Building, Zimmerman Library, Student Residence Center Commons, Johnson Center, Dane Smith Hall, Casas del Rio, Mesa Vista Hall, Regener Hall and the Engineering complexes.
All polling locations will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., except for the site at Engineering, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There are two slates this year and two independent candidates running for seats in the senate:
Aspire for ASUNM
Candidates: Harold Chang, Emma Grazier, Taryn Levels, Grace Liu (incumbent), Karla Molinar, Spenser Owens, Mercedes Pratt (incumbent), Earl Shank (incumbent), Hunter Thompson, Rachel Williams (incumbent)
Summary: Aspire for ASUNM features four current senators who have worked in finance, outreach and steering, and rules. The incumbents sought to create diversity within their slate. Aspire’s goals for the senate include reforming outreach, increasing undergraduate research and increasing the quality of the UNM experience for freshmen.
Quote: “I think we’re all very diverse in our affiliations with UNM and ASUNM groups and agencies. I think that’s what makes us really great. We’re not the same person. We’re all different people. We’re all motivated to pursue what we think is important.” – Emma Grazier
Team You for ASUNM
Candidates: Colt Balok (incumbent), Andrea Butler, Lester Garcia, Samuel Greenblatt, Shayla King, Kaitlyn Loafman, Ayham Maadi, Derick Moreno, Lyndsay Stapleton, Katelynn Thornton
Summary: Team You aims to tackle large academic problems for UNM, such as graduation rates, retention rates and the Lottery scholarships. They also want to help fix smaller problems across UNM, such as teacher evaluation, Wi-Fi access and parking. Colt Balok is the only incumbent in the slate seeking office.
Quote: “I believe it is good to have a mix of the newcomers and incumbents in the senate. New issues arise, so it’s good to have people in there who know what they’re doing and can guide newcomers along, but also people with fresh ideas that haven’t been seen before.” – Kaitlyn Loafman
Independents
Jazmin Irazoqui
Summary: Irazoqui, a senior majoring in business administration, has participated in various organizations across campus, including the National Society for Collegiate Scholars, Beta Alpha Phi and El Centro de la Raza. If she is elected, Irazoqui aims to raise the standards for the senate, increase student involvement and fill the gap among student organizations, staff and ASUNM.
Quote: “You don’t just have to be a leader, but you also have to represent the student body that you are going to be representing. I feel I definitely fit the criteria. Not only am I a minority … but I feel I would offer a sense of diversity.”
Jaclyn Page
Summary: Page is involved in various organizations across campus and has had connections with UNM since she was young. She said she is running for senate to “give back” to the University. Page’s goals for the senate include reforming the Lottery Scholarship, bringing in state legislators for forums and increasing outreach to students.
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Quote: “I’d like to come and be able to tell people what we’re doing at ASUNM and have them ask questions so it can be a back-and-forth, honest conversation.”
Amendments
There are also four constitutional amendments for students to vote on. One would increase the number of ASUNM senators from 20 to 24. If approved, the amendment would seek approval from the Board of Regents, and, if successful, would take effect starting in the spring semester. The second would require all holders of ASUNM offices to carry six credit hours, not be on University probation and have a minimum 2.5 GPA throughout their tenures. The third would move composition requirements of the ASUNM Elections Commission from the ASUNM Constitution to the ASUNM Law book. The final amendment would replace gender-specific pronouns in the ASUNM constitution to gender-neutral pronouns.
