On Thursday, March 21, Anthony Tomaziefski and Mutazz (Tazz) Jaber were elected to be the next President and Vice President, respectively, of the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico.
The two current ASUNM senators campaigned on campus accessibility and safety, and ASUNM involvement and outreach. A total of 1,080 students voted – 7% of the undergraduate student body – with Tomaziefski and Jaber each receiving 418 votes.
“I’m really excited to get to work because the students voted for us for a reason,” Tomaziefski said. “The students voted because they believed in us, and once we get to office, we really need to prove why we deserve the position.”
Tomaziefski is most excited to work with University officials to install free feminine hygiene products in restrooms across campus, he said. He also wants to work with UNM resource centers and administration to advocate for gender-neutral restrooms.
“With the gender-neutral bathrooms and the free feminine hygiene products, this is something we look at as: it shouldn’t be a request, it should have been a given,” Jaber said.
Jaber is looking forward to building a stronger community between ASUNM, student organizations and Greek life, he said. As Vice President – a position that oversees the senate – he will encourage the 11 newly-elected senators to participate in the building of community.
Once they take office, Tomaziefski and Jaber want to begin collaborating with the Student Government Accounting Office and the finance committee to ensure student organizations understand how ASUNM’s budget works, Jaber said. This will allow them to fairly and accurately allocate funds and give everyone ample opportunity to receive funding, he said.
The hiring process for the pair’s executive cabinet will start sometime after the election results are certified, Tomaziefski said. In the coming months, they plan to prioritize student outreach to encourage people to apply.
“I think ultimately when we talk about culture and getting students involved on campus with their student government, it starts by getting these passionate and brilliant students into our positions within ASUNM,” Tomaziefski said.
In the outreach process, Tomaziefski wants to connect with students from every organization – academic, cultural and religious, he said. Jaber echoed the desire for a diverse cabinet.
“We don’t walk every walk of the students on this campus,” Jaber said. “We can’t, on our own, make decisions with full, equitable backing. It’s kind of the idea that, although we’d be the ones in office, the office would be everybody’s.”
Krystah Pacheco – current ASUNM president – said she is excited to see what Tomaziefski and Jaber do, especially because of their dedication and ambition.
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“As leaders, they’re go-getters,” Pacheco said. “I think that something special, especially for these positions, is somebody that’s willing to initiate conversation rather than wait for people to go to them.”
Pacheco is particularly interested to see the two leverage ASUNM’s ability to request funding from the state legislature for their accessibility initiatives, she said. She also hopes to see them continue campus safety efforts, like Lobo Lift.
“I think they have a great foundation and a great motivation to keep progressing a lot of the stuff that has been done, but they can be innovative with it,” Pacheco said.
Tomaziefski and Jaber will be inaugurated on Friday, May 10.
“Thank you to the student body for choosing us to be your next representatives,” Jaber said. “We hope we can live up to your expectations and work with the student body to create an ASUNM that they truthfully feel represents and reflects what they feel.”
Lily Alexander is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @llilyalexander
Lily Alexander is the 2024-2025 Editor of the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @llilyalexander
