There are a number of things Buckner Creel said GPSA is not addressing.
He said sacrifices need to be made to have tuition increases, assistantships and student outreach addressed by the administration.
Creel said he is in a good position to be a servant to those who are not involved in the science departments.
"I feel that through the experience I have here and my solid position - not having a family and no outside commitments - I can help my fellow colleagues so they can be in a better position and get their degrees," he said.
Creel is a fourth-year physics and astronomy graduate student who has worked with the Graduate and Professional Student Association to lead committees in those fields.
He received his undergraduate degree from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind.
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He said he wants to visit every graduate organization on campus to address their concerns and find out what they think GPSA can do for them.
He plans to promote GPSA by keeping office hours, expanding its Web site and increasing internal advertising. He said the organization could reach out to more students who have not participated in GPSA.
If more funding isn't available for child care, he said he would like to work with UNM's child-care program to develop a list of certified child-care providers for graduate students, making it easier for them to access their education.
But, it all comes down to salary, he said.
"A higher salary is the main way graduate students can support families," Creel said. "We can encourage the University to provide assistantships for students who don't have them and at least let the students be on par with fellow students."
He said his highest priority is to develop dispute resolution for graduate students, so they have the ability to address problems that cannot be solved through the Pathfinder, the UNM student handbook.
He also said he wants to work with public-interest law to promote loan forgiveness at the New Mexico Legislature.
Creel said he would lobby to promote graduate research development grants and have GPSA support presentations to graduate students to raise awareness about grants.
He said scheduled office hours would make him accessible and students could come in and express whatever they feel or want to say about GPSA.
