DAILY LOBO new mexico
Two original comics see page 19
August 23, 2012
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Student positions remain unfilled
thursday
MOLTO BELLE
by Svetlana Ozden news@dailylobo.com
Although ASUNM President Caroline Muraida hired 35 people this summer to fill student positions on various University boards and committees, 20 positions have yet to be filled, meaning the student voice is still silent on some aspects of the University. Muraida said that throughout the summer, she held more than 100 hourlong interviews and that, as part of her presidential duties, she needs to continue to fill the empty board and committee positions. “It’s a personal passion of mine to link people to resources,” she said. “And it’s the responsibility of this office, not just the executive branch but as an organization as a whole, to make sure that the student voice is heard.” Some of the student positions that have yet to be filled include positions in Faculty Senate Committees, such the Athletic Council committee and the Scholarship committee, and Student Affairs Committees, such as the KUNM Radio Board and the Student Publications Board. Article I Section 3 of the ASUNM Law Book contains language that explains executive duties. This section mandates that the president of ASUNM “will be responsible for making appointments to various positions throughout the government during their term.” Muraida said one of her primary goals is to ensure that students fill the positions available so that the student voice is represented as much as possible on campus. She said student positions need to be filled before the student body can request additional student representation on campus. “You can’t have a discussion about the future without having an understanding about the present,” she said. “Before we can say ‘this is what we want’ as far as extended representation, we need to really acknowledge where we are and utilize the opportunities we’ve already been given.” Muraida said that although filling positions is one of her primary goals, she can’t say whether this was a primary goal of past ASUNM presidents. She said she has used experiences and hiring practices from past presidents to evaluate the issue and move forward with hiring. During her term, former ASUNM President Jaymie Roybal never discussed with the Daily Lobo that filling student positions
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Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 117
issue 5
Adria Malcolm / Daily Lobo A line of vintage scooters sits outside Blue Smoke Garage on Tuesday, waiting to be serviced. Blue Smoke is the only vintage-scooter repair shop in Albuquerque, and co-owner Sean Campbell said there is a two-week wait-list for services. See full story on Page 12.
Panelists prep to meet policymakers by Svetlana Ozden news@dailylobo.com
Eight UNM students spent the summer preparing to interact directly with national leaders and policymakers at a public-policy conference in Las Cruces. The 2012 Domenici Public Policy Conference, which will take place on Sept. 19 and 20, includes 20 student panelists, eight of whom are UNM students. The student panelists will discuss topics such as national security and entrepreneurship with various speakers, including political consultant James Carville, adviser to former President George W. Bush Karen Hughes, Colorado Rockies owner Linda Alvarado, former New Mexico Republican Rep. Heather Wilson and former New Mexico Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich. The UNM students chosen to participate are Jake Wellman, Sunny Liu, Richard Baca, Iric Guthrie, Mark Kunzman, Keioshiah Peter, Ehben Reed and Lauren Salvato. They will have 15 minutes to ask questions of their assigned panel speakers after each hourlong speech. Vice president of ASUNM and student panelist for the Linda Alvarado panel Sunny Liu said the panel is an opportunity for students to communicate with national leaders. Each group, which includes three or four students,
Sunny Liu works together to research its assigned speaker and formulate questions to ask after each speech. “It promotes awareness of national and global issues and problems that we will have to face in the future and makes us more prepared,” Liu said. “I think it will give some insight and ideas about those who have pioneered or burned a trail for us about some of their ideas and experiences and a projection about what the future will hold.” Liu said panelists were told to prepare for the discussion in advance by having a solid grasp of the wide range of issues the speakers could cover because the discussions may change focus. To prepare, his group gathered as much information as possible to have a well-rounded understanding of the speaker’s ideas, choices and actions.
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Jake Wellman “It’s almost impromptu in a sense, but it’s also structured with specific topics regarding our nation,” he said. “You have to be able to go with the flow of the conversation, so once you ask your initial question, if the topic sort of trails off in a different direction, you need to be able to pick up on that new subject and continue with related questions. You need to be able to think on your feet.” Liu‘s panel chose to focus on Alvarado’s stance on green building, issues regarding political stances taken by the food industry and how she has overcome social issues as a Hispanic female in an executive position. “We delved into research about our speaker extensively to find out some of her specific interests and to find some topics that might procure interest,” he said. “And we took some certain aspects of
her career and her life and her experiences to formulate some questions as well.” Student regent and student panelist Jacob Wellman, who is the only UNM student invited to the conference for the second time, said he sits on the panel for Wilson and Heinrich. He said that last year, he sat on the panel for Norm Augustine, retired chairman and chief executive officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the nation’s largest defense contractor, and discussed issues about the federal budget. “There were a lot of discussions about how we solve our nation’s fiscal crisis,” he said. “We talked about the future of the University and public support for the University and getting scientific research from the University out to the public.” Wellman said he enjoyed having the opportunity to discuss national issues and policy with his peers and that the conference allows students to interact with policymakers and speakers and formulate debate. “It’s an opportunity to tap into their knowledge about the state of New Mexico. It’s going to be exciting,” he said. “It was just incredible to have all of these people interested in public policy and be able to talk about that in a really exciting and engaging way. The students are awesome.”
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