1) Senate complete once again
Wednesday’s meeting began with the swearing in of Sen. Ryan Boyle, who will fill the seat vacated by Nicole Perry following her resignation. He serve the rest of her term.
Boyle, a senior education major, took to Facebook following the meeting to announce his appointment, stating “Hopefully I can get some meaningful work done before my term is up.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Eric Musick attended his first full senate meeting in the seat; he is filling in for James Walker, who also resigned earlier in the semester.
2) University administration announces new project
Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, along with Associate Vice President of Student Life Walt Miller, addressed the senate on ongoing campus projects.
In addition to giving updates on Johnson Center and Child Care facility renovations, Miller announced that the University is in the very early stages of a new project: a new recreation activity space on South Campus.
“We realized as a campus that we had very limited outdoor space for recreational or special events. We have met with South Campus, and are working to identify an area that ... is a placeholder for an intramural activity space down near the tennis court area,” Miller said.
Torres said they are partnering with the athletics department on the potential project, but the first step is getting support from students, starting with ASUNM.
“You live here,” he said. “You know the needs better than we do, so we need you.”
Sen. Gabe Gallegos gave his support for the potential intramural activity space, saying he’s excited for the idea to further develop.
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“I’m looking forward to seeing that come to fruition,” he said.
3) Election season has begun
Elections are still a few weeks away, but the window is closing for those interested in running to be a part of ASUNM Senate.
Fall election are devoted solely to senate seats, and ten full-term (one year) appointments are up for grabs. Interested students can pick up a packet from the ASUNM office. Packets are due by 5 p.m. Monday at the office.
The only requirements to run are to be enrolled in at least six credit hours, and have a 2.5 cumulative GPA, according to the ASUNM website.
Early voting is Nov. 5 and Election Day is Nov. 11. For the first time, students will also have the ability to vote online via the MyUNM portal during the same times that polls are open in November.
Other important dates, such as mandatory candidate meetings and endorsement forums, can be found at http://www.unm.edu/~election/dates.html.
4) Senate votes to keep ethics workshop
By a vote of 4-15-0, the Senate failed a bill introduced by Sen. Delia Brennan and Sen. Bisaan Hanouneh that would have taken out a portion of the ASUNM Law Book requiring the Chief Justice to conduct an ethics workshop.
The code, which states that the workshop would be held to educate “any ASUNM individuals who represent the student body on the ethical behavior expected during a term,” is fairly young – it has only been a part of ASUNM policy since the spring.
Brennan explained the reasoning behind the legislation to strike that code, saying that “ethics are relative to each person,” and being hired or elected for ASUNM indicates that an individual is essentially up to the task.
However, some senators believed the importance of such a workshop was understated. Sen. Gabe Gallegos said he would be open to having a behavior workshop for the benefit of new senators.
“As a Senate we voted on an ethics code of conduct, and I feel like that’s our guiding source,” Gallegos said.
Sen. Brad Sedillo, citing an episode of the T.V. show "The Office" in which the characters host an ethics seminar, said that calling it an ethics workshop might not be the right terminology.
“I think the purpose [of the workshop] is not how to conduct ethics. I think this is a behavior seminar on the way you act professionally as a senator, as opposed to what you believe to be good,” Sedillo said. “I think ethics is an entirely different debate, and not appropriate in this context.”
Eventually the Senate was reminded that the first such workshop has not even been held yet, prompting those in opposition to the legislation to say it should at least be held to see how it goes.
“I think to take something away so quickly, even if one chief justice would be okay with this disappearing…who’s to say the next one won’t say [the opposite]?” said Sen. Ashley Hawney.
The Senate deliberated on the matter for about 15 minutes before the failing vote was taken, keeping the code in the law book, and the workshop in ASUNM policy.
5) Appropriations
35F – Unanimously passed
$2,165 to International Business Students Global to help fund travel to Brazil for the solidifying of plans to host an entrepreneurship market during the 2016 Olympics.
36F –Unanimously passed
$944 to the World Affairs Delegation to help fund travel to a model UN conference in Santa Barbara.
37F – Passed 17-1-0
$2,010 to the KIVA Club to help fund the hosting of a music festival at UNM.
38F – Unanimously passed
$5,327 to the American Institute of Architecture Students to help fund the hosting of a networking event, as well as travel to a conference in San Francisco.
David Lynch is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. Contact him at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @RealDavidLynch.
