The graduate student government meeting hit the ground running.
In the first council meeting of the fall 2019 semester, the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) confirmed seven chairs, ten committee members, a vice chair, a council recorder and a chief justice for the Court of Review all on Aug. 31. The council, GPSA’s legislative body, also confirmed members for their Legislative and Steering Committee (LSC) to form the committee, a hurdle that councilors in the Spring 2019 semester were unable to overcome.
In addition to providing graduate and professional students with grant money, GPSA appropriates money to student clubs and represents the interests of graduate and professional students to the University of New Mexico’s administration and to the New Mexico State Legislature.
Before the confirmations blitz, Council Chair Ben Brandley gave the council an impassioned speech about civic responsibility, calling on GPSA to reform an “oppressive” structure.
“Yes, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary. 50 years ago was a different world and the system was built to serve different people and we have to change. I mean, we just have to,” Brandley said.
Brandley, a graduate in the Communication and Journalism Department, brought up the lack of term limits for councilors as one such system in need of reform. He gave the example of a doctoral student being in power for several years and said, “that path leads to tyranny.”
Brandley said he had identified at least nine other areas in GPSA’s bylaws that need reform. For any reform or any other bylaws changes to happen, the council first had to form an LSC.
Nikhileswara Reddy Naguru was confirmed to be the LSC chair on a unanimous vote, and four councilors present at the meeting were confirmed to fill the committee.
GPSA’s LSC works much in the same way as the undergraduate-student government’s (Associated Students of UNM) Steering and Rules committee does. LSC writes and recommends changes to the GPSA bylaws and constitution. The changes must then be approved by the council and signed by the president. In the case of a constitutional change, the Board of Regents, UNM’s supreme governing body, also have to approve the change.
The Saturday morning meeting was also President Muhammad Afzaal’s first opportunity to address the semester’s council.
Afzaal told the council he was developing a process that would educate and train interested graduates in how student government works, in the hopes that it would lead to greater and more informed engagement within GPSA. Afzaal compared the institution’s purpose to ASUNM’s Emerging Lobo Leaders. In the Spring 2019 semester, Student Activities Director Ryan Lindquist called this sort of institution a “conduit to leadership.” Lindquist advises both GPSA and ASUNM.
Afzaal told the Daily Lobo the project was still in the planning phase and he would provide more details in the coming weeks.
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In his president’s report, Afzaal also told the council that GPSA would be hosting a celebration of the organization’s 50th birthday. Afzaal said the event would celebrate GPSA alumni, such as New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colón, and look to the future. Afzaal told the Daily Lobo the event would take place in November, but a specific date has yet to be determined.
Justin Garcia is the Editor in chief of the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.
