Elections for the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico begin 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 26 and close 5 p.m. Thursday, March 27. Undergraduate main campus students can cast their ballots at vote.unm.edu. Beyond the candidates listed here, Finance Chair Hope Montoya is running unopposed for vice president, and 16 candidates are vying for 10 senate seats. Information about them can be found at election.unm.edu/candidates.
Mutazz (Tazz) Jaber (ballot #1) is running for president of the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico. Jaber is the current ASUNM vice president. His campaign focuses on issues such as parking, digital IDs, student housing, safety and the completion of projects that began during his time as vice president.
One of the programs Jaber hopes to fully implement is the Lobo Lift initiative, which would allow for students to hail a cart to drive them around campus in an effort to improve student safety, he said.
“That's something we're working on currently, but I definitely think under my administration I can get that done as president, because I have the ins and outs of what goes on with the Lobo Lift initiative,” Jaber said.
Student safety, more broadly, is an issue Jaber hopes to address — particularly increasing the safety of student housing. Jaber aims to collaborate with the Albuquerque Police Department, UNM Police Department, University administration and UNM students to create a comprehensive safety plan.
“We need to get everybody at the table and come up with a plan together, because it's the only way it's going to get done,” Jaber said.
Jaber hopes to increase the availability of parking for students if elected. He plans to collaborate with University administration as well as the state Legislature to obtain funding for the creation of new parking areas or the expansion of current lots.
“Parking is a polarized issue on campus that I fear is always brushed off to the side and deemed as too difficult of a project to get done,” Jaber said.
Another one of Jaber’s initiatives is the implementation of digital student IDs. His hope is to modernize the campus while providing a more convenient, economical and environmental student experience, he said.
“UNM is long overdue for a revamp of our Lobo ID cards,” Jaber said.
He also wants to improve the transparency of how ASUNM and the ASUNM president function, and he wants to give students more information about ASUNM’s initiatives.
ASUNM is working on plans to help resource centers in the event that the centers lose fundi
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ng due to federal actions — even considering giving up ASUNM office space for the resource centers to take over, Jaber said.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is a key part of ASUNM, Jaber said, which is shown through the ASUNM Office of the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“I'm very passionate about having DEI in all aspects of ASUNM,” Jaber said.
Jaber is endorsed by the Economics Club, Generation Justice of UNM, the Health Professions Symposium, the Muslim Student Association, Students for Socialism and Leaders for Environmental Action and Foresight.
Jaden McKelvey-Francis is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @jadenmckelvey
