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We are writing as faculty, staff, and students concerned about your recent decision to allow the
Milo Yiannopoulos event to proceed on campus in the name of free speech while going a step
further and suspending the security fee for the event.
The speaker proudly calls himself a professional troll. He was banned from Twitter for
committing and inciting hate speech, and he disparages women, Muslims, the LGBTQ
community, Latinxs, and immigrants under the guise of comedy and free speech. He engages in
hate speech designed to provoke violence, which we believe constitute fighting words that are
not protected under the First Amendment and are antithetical to UNM policies (e.g., Regents'
Policy Manual - Section 2.4: Diversity and Campus Climate; Administrative Policies and
Procedures Manual - Policy 2240: Respectful Campus; particularly section 4). During his speech
at UNM, he posted on screen the ICE hotline for audience members to call in order to purge
your local illegals. These statements are clearly made to intimidate Communities of Color,
including undocumented members of our community. Statements made throughout his past
writings and speeches serve to incite discrimination and acts of violence based on perceived race,
religion, gender, or sexual orientation. The UNM administration has spent recent years working
to increase awareness against sexual harassment and sexual violence, to build a safer climate for
all through support and advocacy efforts, compliant with the federally-mandated laws of Title IX
and the Clery Act. The universitys handling of this event profoundly undermines this work. By
giving this speaker a platform to spread discriminatory views, by rescinding the security fee
and then marshalling state and local police force to aggressively suppress student protests, UNM
and the Board of Regents have undercut stated goals of creating a safe learning environment on
this campus.
The decision to waive the security fee, apparently made following a January 23 Albuquerque
Journal editorial and subsequent pressure by the regents, sends a message that media pundits
who promote violence against certain communities are provided special access to public space at
the University of New Mexico. The fact that biased media sites, such as Breitbart, featured this
as a victory for their cause is telling. UNM assumed the financial costs of Yiannopoulos visit
by subsidizing the security costs, forcing staff off campus early, banning students, faculty and
staff from using central university resources, and most disconcertingly, sanctioning an aggressive
and militarized police presence on campus that targeted UNM community members who sought
to exercise their right to peacefully protest the speaker. As a result of this decision, UNM was
complicit in the use of police violence on its own campus against its own students in squelching
the speech of peaceful protesters in order to protect the speech of a white supremacist. Such
actions are unacceptable and hypocritical for an administration that claims to be protecting free
speech and the safety of those on campus. We heard reports such as the following from those
present:
From a UNM undergraduate: My friend [from] next door got arrested. Hes black and
has never been aggressive. He was at the front line with his hoodie on and his back
toward the police. They put him in a choke hold and threw him to the ground. I was
trying to console my friend (the fianc of the guy who got arrested), and they came in on
us at the side and one SWAT cop came in with the baton and shoved it in my chest and
asked if I wanted to be arrested tonight. It was so scary.
A UNM graduate student posted the following account on social media: Tonight I am
left with so much disappointment, anger, and disgust at the University of New Mexico, a
supposed Hispanic Serving Institute. Today I witnessed the militarization and the
excessive use of force by riot police on a University campus, all in the name of protecting
free speech. The University clearly showed tonight that they value and respect some
students over others. Because while white, conservative alt-right students were inside
being protected by police from SEVERAL police departments and surrounded by AR15s
pointed outward, other students from various coalitions were outside practicing THEIR
right to free speech and THEIR right to peacefully assemble. And this is where it became
clear that the University values the rights of some students while blatantly allowing the
violation of the rights of other students. Students of color, queer, Muslim, undocumented
students united to stand against hate tonight. Very quickly the peaceful protest was
declared an illegal protest and riot gear and horses were used against these students. The
University clearly allowed for the right to free speech of one group at the expense of the
bodies and free speech rights of countless others. While it shouldn't be surprising, I am
nevertheless disgusted that the University very willfully chose to not protect and keep
safe ALL of its students. I am however heartened by the surge of love and solidarity
between so many groups that stood outside. Inside the SUB the hatred was palpable and
I'm extremely saddened to see the amount of students so enthusiastically engaging in
hate.
Faculty in need of valuable academic and financial resources are continually told that our
institution is in a financial crisis. This reality is demonstrated as faculty and staff are continuing
year after year without raises while we see benefit costs rapidly increase. Now were also being
asked to make these sacrifices while the University subsidizes the costs of hosting individuals
who call our students dirty and ask UNM students and community to turn in the undocumented
to federal officials. Why should one invited media pundit be given so much university attention
and allocation of resources so that he can have his rights to preach hate?
We strongly advise you in the interests of students, staff, faculty and UNM community members
to reinstate and charge the security fee based on what the event actually cost the institution.
Otherwise, be prepared to face many requests on the part of various student organizations to be
reimbursed for the events they sponsor that feature public speakers, cultural workers, and
community educators, as these fees have not been enforced (or retracted) equally across student
groups. For example, members of the KIVA club and the College Democrats have reported
paying this fee in recent years. This suggests that UNM gives preferential treatment, under the
guise of First Amendment protections, only to guests who engage in racist hate speech.
In addition, we request community forums to discuss the role of police on UNMs campus and to
better define UNMs policy on protected free speech vs. fighting words intended to provoke
violence, the latter of which should be neither supported nor allowed on campus.