DAILY LOBO new mexico
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monday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
March 29, 2010
Law students say no thanks to GPSA
by Andrew Beale Daily Lobo
Students at the UNM School of Law voted last week to secede from GPSA. Three-fourths of those who voted agreed with the statement, “I vote to withdraw the law school’s affiliation with GPSA.” The number of voters was not readily available this weekend. Genevieve Graham, who helped organize the secession vote, said she had expected the law students to vote in favor of seceding. “I am happy that three-fourths of the law students voted to secede, because I think that will be enough to show the regents that we want to
secede,” she said. The vote was cast through e-mail ballot from Wednesday until Friday. The ballot included three other items, which asked students if the Student Bar Association should represent law student interests to the University, whether the law students should pull all funding from GPSA and whether the current law student fees should be redirected to the Student Bar Association. All items on the ballot had more than 70 percent approval. The Board of Regents will still have to approve the motions before the school can create its own governmental body, Graham said. She said the law school still needs to create a document spelling out how the
law students’ government would function before the motion goes before the regents this summer. “The next regents’ meeting is in the summer, and before that we would put together a proposal that hopefully everyone would read, and maybe we would create a petition, too,” she said. GPSA President Lissa Knudsen said the loss of law students would deprive the GPSA of their expertise. “We’re really going to miss the law students,” she said. “They’re trained to interpret the GPSA constitution, and I think they were effective at that. It’s not just that GPSA benefitted from that ... I think it provided valuable experience for the law students, too.”
Knudsen said seceding from GPSA isn’t in the law students’ best interest. “I think it’s somewhat shortsighted. There might be a time in the future when law students would benefit from speaking with a unified voice with GPSA,” she said. Knudsen said the secession of the law school could lead other groups to follow their example. “This could potentially result in other departments wanting to secede from both student governments,” she said. “That could cause problems.” Graham said she supported the secession because GPSA’s interests don’t align with the law students’ interests.
“Secession has been talked about because the interests are too attenuated and not aligned, especially in the last couple of years, when GPSA has taken up some strange battles,” she said. Graham said an example of the separation of interests is GPSA’s decision to speak out against UNM’s Athletics Department last semester. “I think GPSA sort of went on a crusade to kind of denounce the actions of the Athletics Department. I don’t think that’s relevant to the interests of the law school,” she said. “I think they should be more focused on things like keeping tuition down.”
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‘Whose streets? Our streets!’ by Leah Valencia Daily Lobo
Community members paid homage to civil rights activist Cesar Chavez Saturday yelling “Whose streets? Our streets!” while marching through neighborhood after neighborhood, reminding residents that social and economic equality is obtainable. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and Mayor Richard Berry showed their support for Chavez’s fight, saying that his message is one of community. “This gave me a chance to stand up and honor a man that gave his life to better his community,” Berry said. “And to talk about the idea that if we, as individuals, take the time to stand up and dedicate our time and our energy to causes that we believe in, then we are going to make this a better place.” Denish agreed that Chavez represents a victory for workers, but said that the fight for equality is far from over. “This is a celebration of workers’ rights, equality and justice,” she said. “I think sometimes we forget that even with all the gains we make we still have a long way to go.” More than 300 people showed their support by marching from the Westside Community Center to the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico where the Recuerda a Cesar Chavez Committee organized a
day of festivities to commemorate the victory of gaining workers’ rights. Chavez was a Mexican-American farm worker who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. He employed boycotts, fasting and nonviolent activism throughout his life to improve conditions for farm workers. Chavez’s daughter, Liz Chavez Villarino, said the celebration was a remarkable tribute to her father because so many people came together. “Everyone has taken on his message in their own communities,” she said. “There is always a lot more to do, but as long as everyone works together and fights for what their community’s needs are, that is the greatest tribute to my dad.” Denish said that especially during times when money is tight, communities should be working to help each other. She said volunteering can help bring communities together and be an economic contribution. “I am a big supporter of community engagement and involvement,” she said. “I think anytime you have enthusiasm and people coming together over shared values that is the most important thing. That is what improves our communities.” Denish went on to say that students can make great contributions to their communities and their
Two dancers from Ballet Folklorico de Albuquerque High School perform at the National Hispanic Cultural Center on Saturday. Dancers, musicians and politicians came to the center to celebrate the life of the workers’ rights activist, Cesar Chavez. Emma Difani / Daily Lobo
see Civil rights page 5
Administration caps fees, student groups take action by Pat Lohmann Daily Lobo
Student organizations and governing bodies are speaking out against an administrative recommendation that prohibits student fees from increasing this year. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, vice president of student affairs, suggested that all new-money
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recommendations from the Student Fee Review Board be ignored to keep student fees at their current level. If UNM President David Schmidly adopts the recommendation, which avoids a $10 student fee increase to $447.28, several organizations will go unfunded. The organizations include the Public Interest Research Group, Community Learning and Public
Service and the Research Service Learning Program. Torres also recommended that the Queer Resource Center — another new-money recommendation — go without startup funding this year. So, representatives from ASUNM, GPSA, the Queer Resource Center and New Mexico Public Interest Research Group are hosting a joint press conference today decrying
the recommended cuts. In a press release released by PIRG on Friday night, representatives from the organization said the fee increase is justified and that the administration is overstepping its bounds by ignoring the SFRB’s recommendations. “Student activities and programs are a vital part of the college experience. It’s in this spirit that students should have control over their fees
Joint press conference on behalf of student government and several organizations, including the QRC Today 11-11:30 a.m. Smith Plaza
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