The Associated Students of New Mexico State University held their fifth general meeting at the Corbett Center Student Union Senate Chambers at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20.

Four senators passed their first bills in the Senate. Among those include Marcus Sanchez and Melina Burnside.

Sanchez is a senior at NMSU, double-majoring in Criminal Justice and Government and represents the College of Arts and Sciences.

Sanchez’s bill was for the Reformed University Fellowship. The group went to Florida for a conference and eight students were able to attend.

Sanchez admitted he was nervous about his first bill before it had been passed.

“I knew very little up until this point,” Sanchez said. “I felt pretty confident going in, once we actually started for second readings today.”

Sanchez said once he got through that, it was a lot easier.

One of the things Sanchez said put him at ease was the amount of support he had from other senators.

“They want to see the students and the people they’re serving get the funding they deserve,” Sanchez said.

Burnside is a senator for the College of Health and Social Services. She is pursuing a major in Social Work with a minor in International Studies.

Burnside is serving her first term as a senator and said she accidentally stumbled upon her bill. She said she was backpacking in Colorado with the Outdoor Rec. Program when one of the girls on the trip told her she needed a bill written.

The student said she had gone on a conference and needed reimbursement for the trip. Burnside said that although the student was from the College of Engineering, any senator can write a bill for students.

“I kind of wanted to dive right in,” Burnside said.

She said her first bill had plenty of mistakes, so when it passed through the standing committees, many adjustments were made.

Nonetheless, she said she considers her first bill as an accomplishment.

“Being a senator is a big responsibility,” Burnside said. “It’s a matter of being passionate for what you’re doing and getting stuff done.”

Burnside agreed with Sanchez that passing a bill can be a scary process, but now that she’s done it, she can write more bills that will assist her representatives.

“Now I feel a lot more confident,” Burnside said.

The Senate also talked about updates to the law book and homecoming goodies, including homecoming bandanas and hand sanitizers.

Members also mentioned NMSU Votes, which will be held on Sept. 27 in order to get students registered to vote. Students will also have the opportunity to meet with organizations such as College of Democrats and College of Republicans in order to get informed on candidates for the upcoming election.

The Student Tech Advisory committee also reported some updates on technology rentals, including calculator rentals being extended from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to a 24-hour period. Tablets can also be rented for $5 a day, $20 monthly or $40 per semester.

The next ASNMSU general meeting will be held in CCSU at 6 p.m. on Oct. 4.