Tim Serna

Sen. Tim Serna, presidential candidate on The People slate, says he will hold senators accountable for their actions and will work hard to make sure students are the focus of the University.

“I don’t want to say people haven’t been doing their jobs — because they have — I just think it can be done better,” he said.

Serna said ASUNM President Jennifer Liu and past presidents have been respectful at Board of Regents meetings, but have not established that the regents are there because of the students. Serna said he has the ganas to let regents know that the students are the ones that count.

“Who cares if the administration isn’t happy?” he asked. “What matters here is that the students are happy.”

He said he is proud of the work that he and members of The People slate have done this semester. He said he wants to continue communicating with students so he can address their concerns.

Serna said his greatest accomplishment in Senate has been the establishment of the ASUNM Public Relations Ad Hoc Committee. He said he and members of the committee want to get ASUNM’s Student Special Events to sponsor socials during LOBOrientation as a way to introduce new students to representatives from the student government.

“I know I didn’t get that when I went through my orientation program,” he said. “It took me until a year ago to really get involved with student government. I think if we were able to incorporate that at an earlier time, it might help out.”

Serna said some of the worst public relations come from senators not doing their jobs. He said he wants the Senate to pass standing rules at the beginning of each semester that will require senators to document their communication with student organizations.

“Dates, times, everything,” he said.

Serna said the rules will improve communication between the Senate and student organizations during budget workshops and will hold both sides accountable for their work or lack of participation in the process.

He said he also wants to tape-record senate meetings to hold people accountable for discussions prior to their votes.

Serna said he has made friends with senators that he never expected to get along with, but a division in the Senate still exists.

“I ran last semester as the openly gay Chicano candidate and I wear those labels proudly,” he said. “But, I try not to let them create lines of division between us.”

He added that you do not have to be a member of an underrepresented group to support one.

Serna is involved with M.E.Ch.A., works at El Centro de La Raza and waits tables at Blue Corn CafÇ & Brewery. He said he likes to go salsa dancing, though he rarely gets to relax these days because of his duties as a senator and candidate.

“My life has pretty much just turned into one big meeting with a class thrown in every now and then,” he said.

Serna said campaigning is getting rough because he is running against presidential candidate Sen. Andrea Cook, whom he works with on the Public Relations Ad Hoc Committee, and Sen. Steve Aguilar, whom he works with on the Finance Committee.

“It’s a really weird position to be in right now,” he said. “I know there are things that we can call each other on. I know there is some serious mud that could be slung, but I personally don’t want to go there. I’ve never wanted to go there, and, you know, there is potential that it could.”