Adrian "Tio" Vega said his communication skills and "lead by example" approach make him the students' best choice for the next president of ASUNM.
"I'm a friendly guy; more than willing to help anyone who asks," Vega said.
Vega, a current Associated Students of UNM senator who is running on the Vision slate, added that those already involved in student government, in addition to newcomers, would be able to follow his lead in addressing important campus issues.
A senior majoring in criminology and pre-law philosophy, Vega said he thinks UNM students' biggest concern is and will always be quality of education.
"It's not like high school," he said. "No one forces you to go to college. How good an education we are receiving impacts everyone on campus. I have some goals set out that will have positive changes."
One of those goals, which Vega said will be his top priority if elected, is a modified teacher rating system. The proposed changes would allow incoming and continuing students access to evaluations of faculty members.
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"First of all, we need to change the current system so that students can see those evaluations," Vega said. "The ultimate goal is to get them into the schedule of classes so that students can see an evaluation right next to a course listing. Then they can make a choice."
Establishing a better line of communication between ASUNM and the student population is another of Vega's intentions, he said.
"In the past, students have been unsure how ASUNM affects them," Vega said. "That's something I want to change. I'd like to see more one-on-one communication taking place."
Last year's low turnout for ASUNM elections, Vega said, was due in part to a lack of competition. He added that many students did not feel like decisions made by student government had an impact on campus life.
"We need to let everyone, especially student organizations, know that ASUNM is important," he said.
Vega said his experience in the Senate has been one of his most valued accomplishments at UNM. Another was being an orientation leader last summer, which, he said, would give him a broad perspective as president.
"It really changed my view - how incoming freshman view the school and how confused they are sometimes," he said. "After you've been here awhile, you know the ropes and forget about how tough it was at first."
During his time as orientation leader, Vega said he met four of the people who would later become members of his slate. He added that the group formed a close bond and were later able to come together in recruiting others who "could make an impact on UNM in the right way."
The top ASUNM post is appealing to Vega because it affords an opportunity to accomplish goals that would not necessarily be attainable by a senator, he said.
"I want to leave this place better than I found it," Vega said.
He correctly named James Koch, Andrea Cook and John "Mel" Eaves as regents; AFRICA, the Black Student Union and the College Republicans as student organizations and Chris Garcia as president. He could not name Brian Foster as provost.
