Three UNM pre-law students selected to participate in 2026 National Model Constitutional Convention

Three University of New Mexico pre-law students were invited to participate in the Model Constitutional Convention at Washington University in St. Louis in May. Tatiana James, Nathan Sweeten and Valeska Kubiak were invited to participate in the event, which explores the process of amending the United States Constitution.

James graduated from UNM in May with a major in political science and a minor in economics, while Sweeten and Kubiak are both seniors majoring in political science and sociology. Kubiak is expected to graduate December, while Sweeten should graduate in May 2027.

The premise of the event is that Congress has responded to a call from 2/3rds of the states to amend the constitution. Attendees serve as delegates, who get to experience firsthand what the process to propose and ratify a new amendment looks like.

Kubiak served as the delegate for Arizona, while Sweeten represented New Mexico and James represented New Jersey.

"Walking into a room filled with some of the brightest undergraduate and law students in the country was intimidating but quickly became one of the most meaningful educational experiences of my life," Kubiak said. "I proposed an amendment to reform the Electoral College, not to abolish it, but to modernize a system even the framers intensely debated and never fully resolved."

"I left with a far deeper appreciate for why constitutional amendments are intentionally difficult. Our Constitution is one of the few enduring constants in an often turbulent political life and stability matters."

James proposed a green amendment, similar to ones put in place in state constitutions in Montana, New York and Pennsylvania, to ensure protections for the environment.

"Being able to collaborate, learn, discuss and coalesce with law students, graduate students, other undergraduates and academics was a remarkable and influential experience for which I am incredibly grateful, James said.

Sweeten said the thing he appreciated most about participating in the event was the chance to engage in dialogues that he previously had only studied in class.

"Working with students from across the country pushed me to think more critically, communicate more clearly, and stay open to perspectives that challenged my own assumptions," he said.

In total, 100 students attended the event, with about 60 percent of attendees coming from undergraduate programs. Each state was represented by two delegates, who worked together to propose, discuss and pass amendments out of smaller committees to be voted on by the entire convention.

"Every meaningful opportunity I have had as been the result of the support, mentorship and confidence that UNM has placed in me, Kubiak said. "This experience has left me more hopeful than when I arrived and reassured me that, despite our divisions, there remains a genuine desire among people to continue striving towards a more perfect union.

University of New Mexico Pre-Law advisor and visiting lecturer professor Lawrence R. Jones, who teaches multiple constitutional law classes and other law-related courses at UNM and who also serves on the faculty of the Model Constitutional Convention as a student-delegate mentor, was extremely impressed with the Convention itself, and in particular with the work of the three pre-law student delegates from UNM.

"Having served on the faculty of the first-ever national student Constitutional Convention in 2024 in Arizona, I had previously experienced first-hand of how educationally impactful that inaugural Convention was for the student delegates in attendance who learned by doing," Jones said. "So when the MCC founders announced that they were launching a second convention in 2026 with new student delegates from around the country, as part of my role as UNM's pre-law advisor I actively introduced and promoted the program as a powerful educational opportunity for our students, and sought to persuade my pre-law students to consider applying for admission to the national conference as a student-delegate."

Of the 20 amendments presented on the Convention floor, the delegates voted to pass six proposed amendments, including the following:

1.) An amendment allowing Congress to restrict Presidential removal of executive officers who lead independent regulatory agencies. and clarify vacancies.

2.) An equal rights amendment prohibiting denial on account of sex or sexual orientation

3.) An amendment prohibiting Gerrymandering

4.) An amendment to modify the 13th Amendment so as to prohibit slave labor or forced labor in prisons.

5.) An amendment to reform the taking of private property by eminent domain for private development (overturning the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case of Kelo v City of New London)

6.) An amendment to protect digital privacy rights and secure protection against unreasonable and warrantless searches and seizures and surveillance.

"So many students are excellent in the classroom, but a real test is whether they are willing to step up in public and state their positions," Jones said. "Here, so many students did so in bold and dynamic fashion. And in the end, the issue was not so much which amendments passed, but more significantly the effort involved by all in advocating, negotiating and fighting respectfully for their positions. This is what great, successful representatives are supposed to do in real life, and the fact that so many student-delegates in St. Louis were so participatory shone a tremendous light on all of their futures for sure."