Senate candidates prove to be apathetic, unqualified

Editor,

I am writing to voice my disappointment regarding our upcoming student elections.

I was present at Monday evening’s endorsement forum for the ASUNM spring elections and saw how unprepared some of those candidates were. Out of about 20 candidates that were present, I can honestly say that half of them have no business running for student Senate. These candidates were unprepared to answer the “real life” questions that were asked and seemed apathetic toward the issues that have a real impact on our campus.

Serious questions about campus safety were addressed with the answer, “I will develop giant maps” or “We will work on having more blue safety phones.” These candidates must be unaware that if a woman is going to get raped, it will occur regardless of how many blue emergency phones we have or how many giant maps are strategically placed throughout the campus. I see these responses as buffers that don’t truly address the campus safety issue. These candidates need to stop using band-aid solutions for serious problems.

When racial issues on campus were raised, these same candidates displayed an even greater lack of concern. Presidential candidate Andrea Cook, when asked how much time she has spent at African American Student Services or with the Black Student Union, responded by saying, “None … But I have black friends.” This is offensive because the number of African-American acquaintances that one has does not constitute a true understanding of the African American community and their issues.

One of the senatorial candidates, Nick Huffmeyer, responded to a question regarding whether racism exists on our campus with an apathetic answer and no solution. His response was, “There is racism on every campus.”

It must be nice to fall back on the white privilege of not having to deal, while the people of color on this campus don’t have the luxury.

Surprisingly enough, these two candidates run on The Connection slate. I will not publicly endorse any candidate or slate, but I do encourage the entire student body to vote for the people that understand the real issues and can provide real solutions to our problems. I recommend that all students get involved in this election and discover the issues that affect them personally.

--Ruth Arag¢n

Undergraduate student