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As election day approaches, two more candidates have placed their bids for a seat on the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico senate.
And they’re both running on their own.
Jazmin Irazoqui and Jaclyn Page are the only two independent candidates for this semester’s election.
Irazoqui, a senior majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance, said she had heard about the ASUNM senate, but had “always been involved in other things.” She said she became interested in running when El Centro de la Raza asked for one of her organization’s support to pass a resolution.
The resolution advocated for students living in New Mexico under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals memorandum to be able to qualify for in-state tuition.
Irazoqui said she was “very impressed” with what goes on in the senate, and began to wonder how she could get involved.
“The more I learned, the more I started liking it,” she said. “And I thought, ‘You know, it sounds like a pretty cool group to be a part of.’ You get to make decisions that not all organizations get to make and you do get to make that connection between the staff and the students that I think is vital to get.”
Irazoqui said she feels qualified for ASUNM not only because she fulfills the GPA requirements, but because her social and ethnic backgrounds would bring variety to the senate.
“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,” she said. “I feel I definitely fit the criteria. Not only am I a minority … but I feel I would feel a sense of diversity.”
She said if she could make a change in ASUNM, she would raise the standards for the senate.
“I know their GPA is a 2.5 requirement in order to be involved, but I think it would be even better to promote a higher standard,” she said. “We get told that GPA doesn’t necessarily indicate intelligence, but it does indicate dedication.”
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Irazoqui said a higher GPA could also help indicate a good time management skill for senators.
She also said that as a senator, she hopes to “fill that gap” between ASUNM and UNM staff and student organizations.
“I haven’t really had that interaction with ASUNM,” she said. “Not that they don’t try to reach out to students, but I think it helps to be one of those students that isn’t already in there.”
On the other hand, Page, a junior majoring in political science, said her father, a UNM alumnus, has encouraged her to get involved on campus since she was little.
Page said she decided to run for ASUNM senate because she wants to give back to the University.
“UNM has kind of given a lot to me, so I kind of wanted to give back to UNM in the form of running for public office, and kind of giving my ideas to the university,” she said.
Since she is a native New Mexican, Page said she thinks she could address the needs of students at the University. She said she knows by heart the issues that burden UNM students.
Page said she aims to help maintain the Lottery Scholarship. She said she supports slightly raising the minimum GPA requirement and requiring scholarship recipients to stay in-state after graduation.
“We kind of gave them an education, I think that students need to give back,” she said. “I think if they stay here for about two years to kind of pay back that Lottery Scholarship, I think that’s a way we can keep the program running.”
Page said she would also like to bring state legislators to the University for forums. She said she also plans to reach out to students by sending out weekly newsletters and having events where she can reach out to students as a senator.
“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,” she said.
Election day for the ASUNM senate is Wednesday.
