The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico assembled on Zoom Wednesday, Jan. 27 to elect a new president pro tempore, ensure more transparency in proposed legislation and call for a more collegial relationship with the Daily Lobo.
Raina Harper, a junior studying film and digital arts, was nominated for ASUNM president pro tempore by Finance Committee Chair Sarah Polsin. Polsin said she nominated Harper because “she’s such a well-rounded person” and “she knows what she’s doing.”
Harper, the only nominee, was elected by a majority vote. Votes were conferred confidentially to Ryan Lindquist, the director of the Student Activities Center.
After the election, the senate focused their attention on a cleanup bill authored by Polsin to amend the finance code and make the language consistent with the ASUNM Lawbook.
“ASUNM has historically used the term ‘budget revision’ amongst the senators during meetings, while the Lawbook language used ‘line item transfer,’’ Polsin said. This and a number of other semantic changes passed unanimously with 19 votes in favor.
Bill 3S, authored by Sen. Antonio Romero-Salas and others, aimed to “improve transparency between (ASUNM) and the student body,” according to Romero-Salas.
Ian May, the Finance Committee vice chair and a junior in international studies and computer science, said the bill was part of an effort to “reflect our adherence to the (New Mexico) Open Meetings Act” and a direct response to some senators’ attempt to re-introduce Bill 18F during the final full senate meeting of the fall 2020 semester after it was killed by the Steering and Rules Committee.
Bill 3S formally brought ASUNM senate rules into harmony with the Open Meetings Act, denoting that finalized agenda items must be posted online a minimum of 72 hours before a senate or committee meeting. Bill 3S passed unanimously with 19 votes in favor.
As the evening continued, senators took time to honor the retirement of Student Government Accounting Office (SGAO) supervisor and accountant Joanna Garcia. Garcia had been SGAO’s supervisor for five years.
Resolution 1S addressed the sometimes-tumultuous relationship between ASUNM and the Daily Lobo. The resolution acknowledged that there have been “several attempts to decrease the 8.5% (of student fees) allotted to the Daily Lobo from ASUNM and removed entirely in some instances” and that “the nature of the professional relationship between ASUNM and the Daily Lobo is a reflection of the merits of both of the organizations, their individual members and the University of New Mexico.”
Last fall, more than 100 community members and journalists logged on to Zoom to speak on behalf of the Daily Lobo during public comment in the committee meeting where the proposed funding cut was deliberated. The overwhelmingly negative feedback regarding Bill 18F lasted for more than three hours.
Harper said she wanted ASUNM to “work to strengthen this relationship (with the Daily Lobo) in all the ways that we can” and that the resolution is a “good first step” toward a friendly, professional relationship between the two student organizations.
Resolution 1S passed with 16 votes in favor with Sens. Jacob Griego, Polsin and Helen Zhao abstaining.
As UNM students continue to struggle with the stressors from receiving an education during a pandemic, ASUNM’s student leaders ended their first meeting of the spring semester on an optimistic note.
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Resolution 2S — the final action item of the evening — underscored ASUNM’s support of the COVID-19 vaccine and encouraged the student body to participate in vaccination efforts. Harper acknowledged the scientific reasoning behind herd immunity and the economic impact of COVID-19 as rationale. The resolution passed unanimously.
Hevyn Heckes is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @H_Squared90
