The unofficial election results for the presidential and vice presidential roles of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico were announced on Wednesday, March 9 with Ian May and Krystah Pacheco winning to become president and vice president, respectively, for the 2022-23 school year. In their campaign, May and Pacheco focused heavily on student outreach, which reflects their future goals as well.
Many initiatives in May and Pacheco’s campaign came not just from themselves but from conversations with students and student organizations about what they wanted to see in their next undergraduate student leadership.
“The biggest thing is visibility. During our campaign time (approximately) a third of students didn’t even know what ASUNM was, and especially I think it’s really important we have that presence on campus,” Pacheco said. “Students are paying an ASUNM fee, we have a lot of programming, we have a lot of resources for students so I think it’s really important they know what their student government is but then beyond that what we’re doing to serve students.”
ASUNM can help fill in the gaps that UNM administration may be lacking in outreach, according to May. He said there needs to be more than just an open-door policy, which should be the bar of what is expected from student government; they should actually be going out and following up with students.
“I think as the student government, it’s our job to facilitate that kind of connection because it doesn’t seem like the administrators are going to do that at the moment, and they’re so busy so I don’t even want to put the blame fully on them, but I do think there are some steps that need to be taken there,” May said.
May has acquired knowledge on how student organizations work and what they need from his time serving on the ASUNM Finance Committee and Governmental Affairs Agency as well as helping run the World Affairs Delegation. Pacheco thinks ASUNM senators could be doing more for their relationships with student organizations, such as visiting them rather than just sending the required biweekly email.
The goal is to “lay the groundwork” for this kind of student follow-up as well as teach other senators how to do it, according to May.
Both May and Pacheco lobbied in Santa Fe during the recent legislative session on behalf of the lottery and opportunity scholarships. Those scholarships, as well as student-led initiatives, remain a significant part of their priorities. Pacheco mentioned that the opportunity scholarship is only on a yearly basis and “establishing the longevity of that for New Mexican students is something that’s really important.”
May and Pacheco will hold Senate elections to determine their administration, for which applications were due Monday, March 21. Current ASUNM President Greg Romero said he hopes this ASUNM race and its candidates allowed students to “open their eyes to ASUNM.”
May said one of his and Pacheco’s goals in the elections will be to have a broader reach of students hired, not just those within ASUNM. He said although a position like the chief of staff should be someone who is knowledgeable in ASUNM workings, a position like the one with the Southwest Film Center could be someone more involved in the film community.
“Historically a lot of the positions have been hired based on dedication and involvement … in ASUNM, which I think is a really good metric except for the fact that there (are) a lot of really good, powerful student leaders on our campus that are doing other things,” May said.
Romero’s biggest piece of advice for May and Pacheco is to have a strong team with the same priorities and initiatives as them.
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“Working with others is going to be the biggest thing you can possibly do. If you want to accomplish as much as you can, you can’t do it alone,” Romero said.
Although ASUNM doesn’t make decisions on vaccine or mask requirements, they are often consulted by higher administration for student feedback. May, who said he will personally still be wearing a mask despite the mandate lift, brought up a talk by Provost James Holloway at a Senate meeting on March 9, where he discussed the mask mandate lift.
“He talked a lot about how informed UNM’s decision to lift this was, consulting with a team that they created for this as well as following CDC guidance. And to be honest with you, I don’t know if I solidly believe whether or not … UNM should have repealed it. Ultimately, it’s not even my job to decide that if I am advocating on behalf of students; it would be getting student voices in on that decision,” May said.
Pacheco, however, feels confident in UNM’s decisions, especially since approximately 95% of students have had at least their first vaccination. She also said if state or national guidelines change, she’s sure UNM will follow suit.
To prepare for his position, May has already been attending meetings with various individuals and groups to ensure a smooth transition. Romero said he will share as much information as possible to make the transition as seamless as possible.
“There’s been a lot of successes this year for (Vice President) Ryan (Regalado) and I but also a lot of areas where we don’t think we’ve hit the mark as well as we could have, but that doesn’t mean that the journey is over,” Romero said. “I think it’s our job to kind of relay messages over to the new administration, talk about why the things we’ve seen are so important and then just kind of also incorporating what Ian and Krystah want to do into those things and showing them kind of how they can operate within the realm of ASUNM.”
May said he wants to focus on the campaign’s goal of student outreach before he takes office officially, especially with those that helped him and Pacheco get elected. May also emphasized the importance of avoiding burnout, something he said the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened, so he will also be taking some time for himself to prepare.
May and Pacheco start on the last day of the spring semester, May 14, and will stay in term until the last day of the spring 2023 semester. These election results remain unofficial until fully ratified by the Election Committee.
Megan Gleason is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @fabflutist2716
