The 69th Senate of the Associated Students of New Mexico State University convened Oct. 30 to discuss bills, resolutions, and campus initiatives aimed at funding various NMSU communities and contributing to a safer campus.
Bill 191, proposed by Sen. Marcus Tercero and supported by student media advisor Fred Martino, aimed at funding a $20,000 transmitter for NMSU’s student media groups. These groups include KRUX radio and The Round Up.
“If the [current] transmitter were to go out, KRUX would be required to hire third-party engineers based in El Paso…totaling thousands of dollars without any guarantee of repair success,” Tercero said. “More critically, a complete transmitter failure would force KRUX off the air and place the station in jeopardy of losing the F.C.C. broadcast license.”
Martino stated that the current transmitter is at risk of failure and was last funded in 2006.
“The new transmitter, once installed, is expected to once again provide two decades of service to the community, to the students, and maintaining New Mexico’s only student-run radio station,” Martino said.
The bill passed with a unanimous (25-0) vote.
Bill 124 proposed in support of the NMSU women’s rugby team. The team requested funding to support away game fees and passed (26-0).
“We play without protective gear…a lot of these women go out there and put their bodies on the line because rugby is special to them,” Emerald Davis said, who’s a member of the women’s rugby team. “And I think it’s really good for women as a whole to include rugby as a sport.”
Resolution 19, supported by the Student Advocacy Board, requested funding for renovation and construction efforts that would take place 2025-2026. Renovations would take place in the athletics building, where a new weight room is proposed to be constructed and the current one repurposed into a student lounge and study room. Renovations would also take place in the basketball court, rock-climbing wall, reception desk, and more.
Previous construction efforts had been started but not finished, which the resolution seeks to conclude.
“There are so many open projects on campus,” director of Student Advocacy Board, Josh Wood said. “This is prime opportunity to really show the legislature that ‘Hey, when you give us money, we can close.’”
The bill also proposed safety renovations around campus. These would include installing more lighting, student access cards, cameras, and pedestrian traffic signals.
The resolution passed unanimously (25-0).
The senate addressed and approved several other amendments and bills set to fund student organizations.
Bill 185 caused controversy among the senate by proposing penalties for senators that fail to communicate with constituents on whether their bill passed or not within two business days. The bill aims to push communication among ASNMSU members and shorten the amount of time promised action is taken after bills are passed.
“I want you to keep your hands up and I want you all to look around right now and really think about why the only bills we discuss are ones that pertain to our own behavior,” Sen. Gage Anderson said. “That’s ridiculous. That is completely unbecoming, the only time we operate as a government and discuss and have any opinions about anything is how easy, or hard, our jobs become.”
Sen. Aishat Alatishe proposed an amendment to the bill that would lower the penalty from one point to half a point, prompting further discussion amongst senators. Sen. Aaren Ortiz-Ulibarri agreed with the notion.
“I agree with half a point, instead of one point, simply due to the fact that there are senators who put a lot of work in and do a lot of bills…it would suck for them to forget to let their constituents know and then be penalized just because they put in more work than other senators,” Ortiz-Ulibarri said.
Other senators disagreed, arguing that the act of emailing or sending a text to constituents is a simple and easy task. Sen. Rima Joukhadar argued that it’s akin to being penalized for not going to work, and passing the bill would simply hold senators accountable for their actions.
“Why is this the only thing we debate?” Anderson said. “We have more debate now about whether we’re going to give a half point or one whole point to senators than we have for the rest of the senate. That’s preposterous.”
Constituent Kassandra Vasquez expressed disapproval for the opposition against Bill 185. Vasquez argued that in the past, senators failing to let constituents know of passed bills and allowing the deadline to pass meant many student organizations were left without funding, and the time and effort put into working with senators was wasted.
Voting to lower the penalty amount from one point to half a point concluded with 12 affirmative, 12 negative, and one abstention, ultimately denying the amendment.
“You people are lazy, genuinely,” said Sen. Saul Angel Hernandez. “It genuinely disappoints me how much you do not want to vote…this is people’s lives, these are people’s rents, their food, their kids…so I really do think this bill should pass.”
Further arguments from one side included that senators should only be worried about the bill if they are not doing their job, and from the other side that the Senate should simply be taken less seriously. Sen. Grady Hodnett added that this semester, senators have never failed to let constituents know of any bills, and that senators are doing their jobs and successfully funding organizations. Ultimately, the bill passed with 14 affirmative, 10 negative, and two abstentions.
