The incumbent GPSA President Travis Broadhurst, having previously served as sustainability director and director of boards, commissions and elections, is running again for president (ballot #2).
While president, Broadhurst reinstituted the Parking and Transportation Services Advisory Committee — with representatives from the graduate, undergraduate, faculty, staff and athletics communities among others — which provides feedback and input on parking and transportation matters around campus, he said.
Broadhurst led an initiative, in collaboration with the UNM School of Medicine Dental Hygiene Clinic, to subsidize the cost of dental cleanings for graduate students who may no longer fall under their parents’ insurance.
In both cases, Broadhurst said the work is not yet done.
“Unfortunately, for a lot of things at UNM, it takes multiple years to really effectuate change and that’s just a product of the University setting I think, bureaucracy and different levels of governance that the University has, let alone GPSA,” Broadhurst said. “In order to do a lot of the things that I came in wanting to do, some of those things can’t be done in a year.”
Broadhurst said he’d like to see PATS conduct a study on which 24/7 reserved spots are being consistently used, as well as when, given that graduate students often work through the evening and sometimes park far away from their building, leading to long walks back to their vehicles at night. The goal of the study would be to see if some permits could be reallocated to graduate students who would benefit from a pass with extended hours in greater proximity to University buildings.
He also would like to expand the dental hygiene partnership to make more services free to graduate students, like X-rays and preventative care.
Broadhurst said in a second term he would seek the creation of an opt-out model for some student fees that may not be applicable to everyone, giving the example of allowing a virtual student to forgo the athletics fee or SHAC fee if they won’t ever be close enough to participate in either program.
“I think there’s caveats to that. There’s nuances. It’s not a one-size-fits-all type solution, but these are the types of things that, having been in the position for one year, I’ve noticed that these are some things that we could try to change,” Broadhurst said.
Broadhurst said, if reelected, he would continue to seek greater state allocations to the Graduate Scholarship Act to allow a greater number of graduate students to receive funding.
“If graduate students have really enjoyed what GPSA has done this year, and they want somebody who has that experience to continue pushing GPSA farther next year, then I’m the best candidate for that role,” Broadhurst said. “If they want to see it go in a different direction, then Marisa (Page) is going to do an awesome job, and she’s a truly terrific person.”
Elliott Wood is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
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