ASUNM passed a resolution supporting the Student Fee Review Board Task Force’s recommendation to have more undergraduate students and fewer graduate students on the SFRB.
At an emergency senate meeting Wednesday, ASUNM President Laz Cardenas said the resolution will give undergraduates representation proportionate to their numbers.
Cardenas said 72 percent of students at UNM are undergraduates, and currently the board has four undergraduates and three graduate students. The resolution supports having seven undergraduates and two graduates on the board.
“Undergraduates are underrepresented in this process,” Cardenas said. “This is not a battle between ASUNM and GPSA, rather a battle for our constituents.”
The resolution passed by a vote of 16-3.
Sen. Heidi Overton, who helped draft the resolution, said it would ensure that undergraduates have a fair say on how their fees are spent.
“The percentages should speak for themselves,” she said. “There are issues that come up when we don’t have the right representation, which detracts from the undergraduate voice on campus.”
Katie Richardson, GPSA grant chair, said that the power distribution in the SFRB already favored the undergraduate students.
“Three graduates don’t earn a single dollar unless they can bring undergraduates on board with what they’re trying to say,” she said.
Sen. Melissa Trent opposed the resolution, and she said it was a blow to the student voice. The SFRB is composed of elected student representatives, who decide how fees should be distributed.
But the SFRB Task Force is composed of Provost’s Office appointees and makes recommendations on how to change the SFRB. The ASUNM resolution supports the task force recommendation.
“There are a lot of problems with this task force — these were appointed people — and these are not student voices that are being heard,” Trent said. “By passing this … we are saying that this task force has the right to change the SFRB.”
Other ASUNM senators said the resolution did not support the task force, but rather undergraduate student voice.
“Get over the task force. This resolution is not supporting the task force. It’s supporting one thing the task force proposed,” Sen. Daniel Parker said.
Richardson said that no support should be given to anything the task force does.
“They are making some suggestions that are really alarming,” Richardson said. “One of the things they are suggesting is that they divide SFRB into two groups: operational programs and student programs. The idea is that operational programs would be managed by a group of six students and five administrators, which basically means we would be losing our voice on student fees.”
Sen. Alonzo Castillo said that too little faith is being placed in the administration.
“As an ASUNM senate, we do have to work together with the GPSA, but we need to be on the same side as the administration,” he said.
Trent also opposed discussing the resolution Wednesday night.
“I only had an hour with this resolution,” Trent said. “I usually get resolutions the day before, and I have time to talk to my student groups… I don’t see why we couldn’t have discussed this earlier.”
Trent said senators were given too short of notice before the meeting, something that violates the ASUNM standing rules.
In response, a vote was taken, and the standing rules were suspended for the meeting, so the resolution could be voted on before the task force meeting yesterday morning.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
She said students were not given enough notice to attend the meeting.
“Students e-mailed us tonight to tell us that they wanted us to table this, because they wanted to have a say in this,” Trent said. “This is not enough time to decide on this really, really big issue.”
Sen. Terence Brown said that more action should be taken by students if they want to contribute.
“We’re so concerned about going to students. Why don’t the students come to us for a change?” he said.
