ASUNM senatorial candidate Veronica Garcia, who is running with the Vision slate, said increased security on campus will be one of her highest priorities if elected.
"UNM consistently has a high number of incidents regarding students' safety every year," Garcia said. "It's time for that trend to stop. There comes a time when we, as students, need to say that enough is enough."
Garcia said that she will improve campus safety, especially for students who live in UNM's dormitories, through an increase in awareness, preventive measure and self-defense forums sponsored by ASUNM and lighting on Johnson Field.
"The key to solving this problem is through education," Garcia said. "All the ingredients needed to make this a safer campus - all that is needed is for all the different contributing groups to come together and make the students aware of how they can help. I think ASUNM can help with that."
Garcia, a junior majoring in Spanish, said that she is an outgoing people person that will strive to listen to the concerns and opinions of UNM students to improve the relationship between ASUNM and the community.
"ASUNM senators are here to represent their peers, and there is some improvement that can be made in that area," Garcia said. "Creating awareness of the issues on campus will help ASUNM make the students aware of all the ways that the organization can benefit them."
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Garcia said that tuition increase is another growing problem that needs to be addressed and would like to make students more aware of where their money is going through mass e-mails and ASUNM-sponsored newsletters updating the community on any potential increases.
"The cost of attending college has risen consistently and is an issue that ASUNM needs to face," Garcia said. "I would like to see financial aid rates and scholarship funding rise with the growing cost of tuition."
Garcia correctly named UNM Regs. Larry Willard, Maria Griego-Raby and John "Mel" Eaves, as well as student organizations HSAC, Special Programs and the New Student Orientation Program. She also correctly named UNM Provost Brian Foster and President Chris Garcia.
