DAILY LOBO new mexico
wednesday April 2, 2014
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
GPSA candidates stress accountability by Chloe Henson
assistant-news@dailylobo.com @ChloeHenson5 Candidates for the Graduate and Professional Student Association’s president and council chair positions discussed collaboration, funding and accountability at a forum Tuesday afternoon in the Student Union Building. Glenda Lewis Glenda Lewis, a doctoral student at the College of Education, said if elected as president, she would aim to increase collaboration on campus and to continue the work of the current GPSA administration. “There needs to be more participation on campus and off campus, more inclusivity,” she said. Lewis said she can bring years of knowledge about the University to the presidential position, if elected. “I’ve been involved with the UNM community in some capacity for 25-plus years, as a student, as a graduate student, as an instructor, as a researcher,” she said. She said one of the issues she is most passionate about is promoting interdisciplinary research across campus. She said she plans to accomplish this by working with other academic resources at the University, such as the Graduate
Resource Center. “Within those shared learning spaces, I would hope that we can develop a sense of community,” she said. “Because that’s why I’m here.” Lewis said she aims to address the needs of some subgroups of the UNM demographic that feel underrepresented by student government. “As the current president of the UNM Black Graduate and Professional Student Association, I can tell you that there are many of my black colleagues who do not find that they are being served on campus,” she said. Texanna Martin Texanna Martin, a student pursuing a master’s degree in public administration, said she has worked with GPSA for more than six months and graduated with two bachelor degrees from UNM. She said she has experience with skills in management and administration, which could help her draft policies to help the University. “I have already moved forward by creating platforms for everybody,” she said. “Under (GPSA President Priscila Poliana’s) mentorship… she’s given me the opportunity to develop different organizational ideas.” Martin said that as GPSA president, she would aim to increase transparency, to
Frida Salazar/@FridaSg5/ Daily Lobo Graduate and Professional Student Association presidential candidate Texanna Martin answers an audience member’s question during a GPSA election forum on Tuesday afternoon. Martin, a public administration graduate student, has been working with GPSA as a project assistant. improve funding and to provide equity and Martin said she would also reach out to inclusion to students. students on north and south campus, who, She said her ideas regarding funding in- she said, feel disconnected from GPSA. clude making a new emergency research “I would say stop the separation grant for graduate students who need the and engage all graduate students at law money for last minute conferences. She said school, medical school and in the athletics the goal would require teamwork, but creat- department,” she said. ing the grant is feasible with time and effort. “I have done the research, and there are Council Chair programs out there at other universities Daniel Gray, a master’s in public adminthat do this, that already have a platform,” istration student, was the only candidate for she said. “I can develop a subcommittee to council chair to attend the forum. help me develop this for the University of see GPSA PAGE 3 New Mexico.”
Mayor proposes money for police training by The Associated Press
Albuquerque’s mayor unveiled a plan Tuesday to put more money toward police training and the city’s response to a still-pending federal investigation into the embattled department’s use of force.
Mayor Richard Berry’s budget plan sets aside around $1 million for those purposes as the city continues to draw intense criticism over recent police shootings. The move comes as the Police Department faces scrutiny over a string of 37 police shootings since
2010, including two fatal ones in March that prompted a large, violent protest on Sunday. The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating Albuquerque police over allegations of civil rights violations and excessive use of force. As the mayor sought money to
train officers on de-escalating runins with suspects and to institute any future Justice Department recommendations, mental health advocates called for a renewed push to get people the help they need. A coalition of advocates and business leaders on Tuesday
William Aranda / Daily Lobo Police officers line up alongside the intersection of Central and Cornell on Sunday afternoon in response to protesters.
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announced a campaign to bring a new mental health hospital to Albuquerque, a move they say could reduce police confrontations with residents battling mental illness. The group says a 100-bed facility is much needed in the Albuquerque area. “We believe these beds can make a difference,” said Dan Serrano, a retired Albuquerque police officer and president of the Westside Chamber of Commerce. “Too often, our officers in blue are encountering people who have not gotten the help they need and something bad happens.” Last month, Albuquerque police shot and killed a homeless man, James Boyd, 38, after a long standoff in the Sandia foothills. A helmet camera video of the shooting showed Boyd turning away before officers shot him. Boyd’s death helped spark a violent protest Sunday that forced the city to call out riot police and unload tear gas on demonstrators. The FBI said it would investigate the shooting. Meanwhile, Berry also included in his budget proposal $1 million for seven new civilian Police Department jobs to handle publicrecords requests and boost staffing in telecommunication, finance and the crime laboratory. That money is on top of the $1 million earmarked for training and carrying out possible federal recommendations. Those requests are part of a $496 million operating budget, a 3 percent increase over what was budgeted this year.
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