by Ashleigh Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Students can give their 2 cents about UNM today in the SUB.
ASUNM will host an open forum at 7 p.m.
It will be a town hall meeting for students to ask questions and express concerns to senators and the Office of the President.
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Sen. Joe Sanchez said many students have concerns about parking, tuition and other aspects of UNM life, but they don't know who to tell or where to go.
"My main goal is to make sure students are heard," he said. "We have wanted to do this for a while - have students come and speak to a body of people who are there to listen to them."
Sanchez said all senators and student groups have been invited, and President David Schmidly may attend.
"We will have a representative from the president's office," he said. "President Schmidly said if he didn't have a conflicting appointment, he himself would attend, but at the very least, one of his staff will be there."
Not many students take advantage of the senators' office hours to discuss concerns, Sanchez said.
This will be the best place for students to approach the student government and administrators, Sanchez said.
Sen. Jen Berg said ASUNM needs student feedback to be effective.
"I want it to be known that we're not just going to ignore student input," she said. "We really want student opinions."
Students can comment on any topic during the forum, Sanchez said.
Berg said the forum will focus on five topics ASUNM is concerned with: sustainability, communication, online voting, Johnson Field and student-service agencies.
The senators will update attendees on the progress made in these areas and see what students want done in the future, Berg said.
"One aspect of communication we want to improve is getting the word out about different student organizations on campus," she said. "We need student input on the best way to advertise and get information."
Organizations within ASUNM, including Lobo Spirit and the UNM Craft Studio, also want to hear from students, Berg said.
Sanchez said the forum will be a monthly event if there is enough interest.
"Students can get used to coming here to ask questions," he said. "We will take these concerns back to the Senate, so we can work on these problems."
Berg said ASUNM will host at least one forum every semester.
"ASUNM is always looking for new ideas," she said. "We need input in order to head in the right direction for students."
