On Wednesday, Nov. 6, the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico passed 10 appropriations and one bill after ultimately denying a bill that would have, in part, created a new role in ASUNM.
Bill 12F would have amended the ASUNM Lawbook to create a position for a student advocate who would have represented any student acting as a defendant in an ASUNM case. The bill also would have allowed for more extensive questioning of witnesses in court procedures.
The ASUNM Student Court addresses disputes on conduct by various ASUNM government agencies and affiliated individuals. Past court cases include issues of campaign expenditures by legislators, the process around the appointment of replacement senators in the event of a seat vacancy, and eligibility for senatorial elections, according to the ASUNM Student Court case files.
The bill’s sponsors included Sens. Shin Thant Hlaing and Mary Garcia, as well as Attorney General Hilaria Barragan. Alex Adams, who serves as the ASUNM executive director of governmental affairs, wrote the bill but said his endorsement was not in an official capacity.
Adams said he consulted with sitting and former justices and other people involved with the ASUNM judicial system. The consensus was that the bill was a necessary change to the lawbook, he said. The goal was not to create spectacle or to corner a witness, but to seek clarification, he said.
“We’re not playing ‘Who’s the better arguer?’” Adams said.
Most senators who discussed the bill said they supported creating a student advocate position to make the judicial process more accessible to students. All of the same senators advised against expanding the rules around questioning in court procedures, citing fear of antagonizing witnesses through confrontational questioning.
Student Activities Center Director Ryan Lindquist spoke during public comment about his own experience being under duress during court proceedings brought against him while he was a student serving in an elections position. Lindquist said that members of the court, who do not go through traditional law courses before entering their role, would not know how to protect witnesses from “what is basically harsh testimony, attacking testimony.”
Sen. Nicholas Romero was the first to suggest in discussion that the bill be split into two or three different bills — a sentiment that was later echoed by Barragan.
Barragan advised late in the discussion that the bill be failed by the senate, in part due to grammatical errors in the text. Sen. Josiah Ward motioned to bring the bill to an immediate vote, after which it failed.
Bill 13F passed unanimously, amending the ASUNM Lawbook to list specific definitions for "substantial" and "insufficient" as they relate to evidence reviewed by the court.
Vice President Mutazz Jaber commented on the high number of absent senators. He said it was concerning that ASUNM had “barely” met quorum — ⅔ of the senate present for a full senate meeting — that night and in other recent meetings. Sens. Garcia, Sierra Dedmon, Tanner Holly, Reese Mitchell, Gabbie Gonzales and Ty Longoria were absent for Wednesday’s senate meeting.
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All appropriations proposed in Wednesday’s meeting passed. These included requests for travel costs for national gatherings for five student organizations: United Greek Council, Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity and the American Institute of Architecture Students.
The appropriations also included requests for money to buy materials for one-time events for four organizations, including Powerful Movement of Educated Sistas, MEChA and the American Choral Directors Association.
The fourth request for event fees was an appropriation from the newly-formed Lobo Lettuce Club. Similar clubs with the same name nationally hold competitions “to see who can finish a head of iceberg lettuce fastest,” according to the UCLA Lettuce Club.
The Kiva Club, an organization that supports Native American students, submitted an appropriation requesting money for supplies for events. Its upcoming lineup of events will take place during the week of Monday, Nov. 11 in honor of Native American Heritage Month.
Among the events is a Traditional Wear Day, which would “allow Native students to openly express their cultural identities on campus, explore different cultural identities, and get recognized for it,” according to the appropriation bill.
ASUNM’s next full senate meeting is on Nov. 20.
Editor’s note: Shin Thant Hlaing is a reporter for the Daily Lobo. She was not involved in the reporting or writing of this article.
Elliott Wood is a freelance reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
