The Associated Students of UNM is aiming to improve transparency between undergraduate students and their representatives with a new initiative aimed at those passing through campus.
Members of ASUNM said they were attempting to lessen the monotony of Monday mornings for passing students near the South Lot shuttle stop on Yale and Redondo earlier this week by providing them with complimentary coffee and donuts. It was the first installment of ASUNM Commuter Connection, a three-pronged of student-senator interaction event.
Members of the undergraduate student governing body said that, beyond just free breakfast, they hoped to provide passing students with an opportunity to interact, face to face, with their student representatives, and to get input on the issues most relevant to UNM students.
ASUNM Senator Tyler Wafer said a good amount of the students getting off the shuttle stopped by the table.
“So far, it’s been a great success,” he said. “It’s one of those things where if you get one person giving their input, then five (more) people are like ‘Oh, yeah, I can do that.'”
Free coffee and donuts were a factor in the successful turnout, Wafer said. He said he thinks of any opportunity to provide his fellow students with information as an opportunity for success.
“Just saying 'reach out.' If you have a question, come to the SUB, come to the first floor. Whether it’s about your bursar's account or (issues) with a professor, we know all these different resources,” he said, “and we are student advocates, so if anyone has any problems going on, we might not be able to get them an answer, but we can (put them in touch with someone) who can.”
Implementation of the Commuter Connection initiative on the part of ASUNM is reflective of a shift towards an organizational culture in which authentic representative/representee interaction is of the utmost importance, he said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“This is the first time we’re doing it,” Wafer said. “Maybe we’ll do it in the afternoon one time when people have had a whole day to read the Daily Lobo and get some kind of thoughts going in their head.”
Along with breakfast goods, members of the ASUNM Outreach Committee handed out flyers headlined containing news of things such as changes in printing costs on campus, increased student fees and New Mexico Senate proceedings regarding the Legislative Lottery Scholarship.
Additionally, the back of the flyer served as a timesheet on which interested students could schedule appointments with student senators during office hours.
A second handout asked students to provide their contact information and circle one of the six following topics: the lottery scholarship, school-wide wifi & technology, campus safety, student special events concerts, Johnson Center renovations and student fee increases.
Students were then asked to provide their thoughts and input on the topic.
Tessa Snyder, a sophomore health education major, said the Commuter Connection was well located, adding that ASUNM had some important things to say in letting students know that they have someone to talk to if they have questions.
"They made my morning seem a little bit better with all their free coffee and donuts and smiles,” she said.
Gabe Gallegos, ASUNM outreach committee chairperson, said the event was meant to target UNM’s commuter student population, which can easily be estimated in the several thousands. He said there will be two more Commuter Connections taking place: one in March and one in April.
“We’re only as good as the input we (receive),” Gallegos said. ”It’s smarter of us to go to students instead of expecting them to come to us.”
The vision of the Commuter Connection initiative is to generate an atmosphere in which proactive student government is the norm, he said.
“This has been totally exceeding my expectations for what this morning was going to look like,” Gallegos said. “It’s important for us as student government to have a very give-and-take relationship with the student (body). Yeah sure, let’s get input, let’s get feedback, but also, part of student fees go to student government, so it’s important to give back. If we can provide a coffee to a student, and maybe make a Monday morning not so terrible, my day is made.”
Johnny Vizcaino is a staff reporter at the Daily Lobo. Contact him at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thedailyjohnnyv.
