School Spotlight
University of New Mexico
Location:
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Type:
Public
Speech Code Rating
University of New Mexico has been given the speech code rating Yellow. Yellow light colleges and universities are those institutions with at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application.
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Hate/Bias Incident Reporting
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: September 30, 2021What is a Hate/Bias Incident? A hate/bias incident is an act of conduct, speech or expression to which a bias motive is evident as a contributing factor (regardless of whether the act is criminal). A hate crime is an incident that has risen to the level of a crime. All hate crimes are bias incidents but not all bia... Read MoreResidence Hall Handbook: Bias-Related Incidents and Hate Crimes
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: September 30, 2021As a resident, if you are involved in the violation of any of the Community Standards, you will need to participate in the Residence Hall Conduct Process. … Bias is a preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group or persons based on their race, gender, gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orie... Read MoreAdministrative Policies and Procedures Manual – Policy 2500: Acceptable Computer Use
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 30, 2021Users shall not use computing services: … to send chain letters, pyramid schemes, or unauthorized mass mailings; Read MoreAdministrative Policies and Procedures Manual – Policy 2720: Prohibited Discrimination and Equal Opportunity (Interim)
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 30, 2021“Sexual harassment” under this policy is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that is sufficiently serious (i.e., severe/pervasive) and objectively offensive as to deny or limit a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the University’s programs, services, opportunities, or activities; or that has the purp... Read MoreAdministrative Policies and Procedures Manual – Policy 2220: Freedom of Expression and Dissent
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 30, 2021Because of size, safety, logistics, and other considerations, the following types of speech activities must be scheduled in advance: … Planned demonstrations on campus. A planned demonstration is a public manifestation of protest, condemnation, or approval; taking the form of a mass meeting, procession, picket... Read MoreResidence Hall Handbook: Intimidation
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 30, 2021Intimidation is to unlawfully place another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack. Read MoreAdministrative Policies and Procedures Manual – Policy 2240: Respectful Campus
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies
Last updated: September 30, 2021The University of New Mexico is committed to freedom of academic inquiry and encourages an environment of free expression and open debate. UNM does not attempt to shield people from ideas they may find unwelcome, disagreeable, or offensive. All members of the campus community are provided with the broadest possible ... Read MoreAdministrative Policies and Procedures Manual – Policy 2220: Freedom of Expression and Dissent
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: September 30, 2021As an institution that exists for the express purposes of education, research, and public service, the University is dependent upon the unfettered flow of ideas, not only in the classroom and the laboratory, but also in all University activities. As such, protecting freedom of expression is of central import... Read MoreAdministrative Policies and Procedures Manual – Policy 2740: Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 30, 2021Sexual harassment as an umbrella category includes the offenses of sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Sexual harassment is defined as conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would co... Read More
FIRE surveyed roughly 37,000 students at 154 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. In 2021, FIRE released rankings of those schools, based on a number of factors, including openness, tolerance, self-expression, administrative support for free speech, and campus policies, scoring overall speech climate on a scale from 0-100. See the full report on FIRE’s 2021 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Rankings / out of 154 colleges surveyed |
|
| Overall Ranking | 106 |
| Ideological Diversity | 6 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 58.51 |
| Openness | 10.17 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 9 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 7 |
| Administrative Support | 6.34 |
| Comfort | 15.86 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 10.15 |
| Speech Code | YELLOW |
University of New Mexico: Imposition of Excessive Security Fees for Controversial Speaker
January 26, 2017
FIRE wrote to the University of New Mexico, explaining that its security fee policy violated the First Amendment because it granted administrators unbridled discretion to impose or waive security fees based on whether the university favored the views of the speaker — in this case, Milo Yiannopoulos.
Department of Justice: Letter to University of New Mexico Says Title IX Requires Violating First Amendment
April 27, 2016
In an April 22, 2016, findings letter concluding its investigation into the University of New Mexico’s policies and practices regarding sex discrimination, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found the university improperly defined sexual harassment.
University of New Mexico: Censorship of Professor After Joking About Pentagon Attack
October 23, 2001
University of New Mexico Professor Richard Berthold addressed the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 in his Western Civilization class, remarking, “Anyone who can bomb the Pentagon has my vote.” Berthold apologized for the statement, and his speech was protected under the First Amendment, but University of New Mexico President William C. Gordon still nonetheless… Read more
Lawsuit: University of New Mexico violated professor’s due process rights
January 6, 2020
Nick Flor, the University of New Mexico professor suspended without pay after wrongly being found responsible for sexual harassment, has filed a lawsuit against the university in New Mexico state court for violating his due process rights. I first wrote about Flor’s case last month, after Robby Soave at Reason wrote an exposé of the… Read more
A mockery of justice at the University of New Mexico
December 10, 2019
I first corresponded with University of New Mexico professor Nick Flor in September, when he sent an email through FIRE’s case submission page. In his email, Flor detailed how a brief, ill-advised romantic correspondence with a 35-year-old female graduate student (who was not in any of his classes or under his supervision) turned menacing when… Read more
VICTORY: University of New Mexico Suspends Speech Code, Waives Speech Tax for Milo Yiannopoulos Speech
January 26, 2017
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 26, 2017—Two University of New Mexico (UNM) student groups will no longer have to pay a $3,400 tax on speech to host Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos on campus tomorrow. One day after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) wrote to UNM about the threat posed to campus free speech by… Read more
DOJ’s Misguided Expectations of Campus Administrators
May 5, 2016
Since the release of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) April 22 findings letter to the University of New Mexico (UNM), my colleagues have been analyzing many of its problematic aspects. From the overbroad definition of sexual harassment that threatens First Amendment rights on campus to the micromanaging of Title IX compliance, one thing is… Read more
UNM Findings Letter: The Growing Micromanagement of Title IX Compliance
May 3, 2016
Last week on The Torch, my colleagues examined several alarming aspects of the April 22, 2016 findings letter released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concluding its investigation of the University of New Mexico’s (UNM’s) handling of sex discrimination complaints by students. Today, we shift focus from the burden that DOJ’s findings will likely… Read more
With Feds’ Letter to UNM, AAUP’s Predictions of Title IX Overreach Materialize
April 28, 2016
Last month, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) released a draft report titled “The History, Uses and Abuses of Title IX” detailing tensions between the federal government’s interpretation of Title IX and the academic freedom and speech protections that faculty require. The group accused the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of… Read more
DOJ Findings Letter to UNM Exacerbates an Already Significant Problem with University Speech Codes
April 28, 2016
As has been covered extensively on The Torch by my colleagues, the Department of Justice (DOJ) significantly harmed free speech on college campuses recently with its findings letter to the University of New Mexico (UNM) concluding an investigation into the university’s policies and practices regarding sex discrimination. Unfortunately, DOJ’s letter doesn’t just create a new… Read more
DOJ Demands Clarity from UNM While Mandating Confusing Sexual Harassment Policy
April 27, 2016
This week on The Torch, FIRE is providing an in-depth look at the letter of findings the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent to the University of New Mexico (UNM) last week at the conclusion of its investigation into the university’s sexual misconduct policies. Among DOJ’s objections to UNM’s policies is the following troubling observation: “At… Read more
New DOJ Letter Threatens Campus Speech, Warns Former OCR Attorney
April 26, 2016
Free speech on college campuses was dealt a significant blow last week when the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a findings letter against the University of New Mexico (UNM). The letter, reminiscent of the 2013 findings letter and resolution agreement with the University of Montana (proclaimed to be “a blueprint for colleges and universities throughout… Read more
Department of Justice: Title IX Requires Violating First Amendment
April 25, 2016
WASHINGTON, April 25, 2016—The Department of Justice now interprets Title IX to require colleges and universities to violate the First Amendment. In an April 22 findings letter concluding its investigation into the University of New Mexico’s policies and practices regarding sex discrimination, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found the university improperly defined sexual harassment. DOJ… Read more
Student’s First Amendment Suit Against U. of New Mexico Will Proceed
October 17, 2014
If there is a safe place to share controversial opinions without punishment, it should be a class at a public institution of higher education that professes to foster discussions by “open minds.” Yet despite the inclusion of these words in the syllabus of the University of New Mexico’s (UNM’s) “Images of (Wo)men: From Icons to… Read more
University of New Mexico Apologizes for the Wrong Thing
October 3, 2014
The other day, my colleague Samantha Harris wrote about October’s Speech Code of the Month, an overbroad sexual harassment policy at the University of New Mexico (UNM) that the university itself is violating by hosting “Sex Week” this week. As Samantha wrote, the policy prohibits “displaying sexually suggestive or derogatory objects, pictures, cartoons, or posters,”… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: University of New Mexico
October 1, 2014
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for October 2014: the University of New Mexico. The University of New Mexico’s (UNM’s) Sexual Harassment Policy (PDF) states that “[e]xamples of sexual harassment which shall not be tolerated” include “suggestive” letters, notes, or invitations. The policy also prohibits “displaying sexually suggestive or derogatory objects, pictures, cartoons,… Read more
Four Key Points About Free Speech and the Feds’ ‘Blueprint’
July 15, 2013
It’s been more than two months since FIRE and the higher ed community were shocked by a letter issued jointly by the Departments of Education and Justice to the University of Montana. FIRE staff have blogged extensively about the Departments’ “blueprint” for campus sexual harassment in the last 10 weeks, but there are four crucial points that I… Read more
FIRE Remembers September 11
September 11, 2007
Today, FIRE joins individuals across America and around the world in reflecting upon the tragic events of September 11, 2001. As university students and professors from Maine to California host commemorations today to remember those who suffered and died six years ago, we take a moment to look back at how those events played out… Read more
FIRE’s Work Lauded in Newspapers Nationwide
December 12, 2005
It’s been a good couple of days for Justice Brandeis’ maxim that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” Thanks to articles in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, news of FIRE’s efforts to disinfect the swamps of repression currently passing for American universities is reaching an ever-increasing number of… Read more
The Chill Is Nothing New
September 9, 2005
There is a chill on campus, but that’s nothing new. For decades, campus speech has been chilled by speech codes and other attempts to prevent expression that might offend. Some would like to imagine that the excesses of “political correctness” are ancient history, but repression in the name of tolerance hasn’t gone anywhere. Oppressive speech… Read more
Spokane Newspaper Denounces WSU Censorship
July 19, 2005
Mere hours after FIRE went public in defense of Washington State University student Chris Lee’s free speech rights, the newspaper most devoted to covering Washington State University wholeheartedly endorsed FIRE’s position in a powerful editorial. The editorial is even sweeter given that the paper in question, the Spokane Spokesman-Review, was responsible for running a fairly… Read more
The Eighth Annual Muzzle Awards: Dishonorable mentions
July 1, 2005
Dishonorable mentions • One-legged World War II veteran Noel Dube has the dubious distinction of having two of his First Amendment rights violated — freedom of speech and of religion. Dube, 85, had to take the Town of Pepperell to court in order to keep a religious shrine on his property that included a 24-foot… Read more
No Jokes, Please: Demonize First, Ask Questions Later
November 24, 2004
Have you ever lived in an apartment building? Have you ever been annoyed that some people take the elevator when they are going up or down only one or two flights of stairs? The fact that some people would rather slow down the elevator for everyone else rather than take the stairs drives many people… Read more
Victory at University of New Hampshire
November 12, 2004
DURHAM, N.H., November 12, 2004—In a victory for free speech and fundamental fairness, University of New Hampshire (UNH) sophomore Timothy Garneau is returning to a UNH dorm today after being evicted for posting fliers joking that freshman women could lose the “Freshman 15” by walking up the dormitory stairs. The Foundation for Individual Rights in… Read more
Flyer-Posting Soph Moves Back Into UNH Dorm
November 5, 2004
(AgapePress) – The University of New Hampshire student who was kicked out of his residence hall for joking about female freshmen gaining weight has been allowed back in campus housing. The school’s change of heart comes after an education rights group accused the university of violating the student’s First Amendment rights. Sophomore Tim… Read more
My Five Minutes of Infamy
November 25, 2002
Prior to 11 September 2001 I was simply a professor of classical history, popular on the campus but essentially unknown beyond the confines of the second-rate university where I have taught for the last thirty years. Then, on that day, while preparing to leave for an eight o’clock Western Civilization class, I watched in amazement… Read more