Editor,
I am a disabled student at UNM. I am also a U.S. Navy veteran. I have been filing complaints over the discrimination I have faced at UNM for years. I find the flag issue particularly troubling. There have been difficulties with the flag ceremony for some time. There is considerable acrimony between senior officials at UNM, some student organizations and the UNM ROTC.
I am curious to know how this ceremony is managed. Were the students responsible for taking down the Mexican flag properly trained in the correct procedures to maintain order and respect with regard to our national flag? Were they aware that it was required that they be present at the close of the day to lower the Mexican flag before the U.S. flag is lowered?
I have a great deal of respect for the University. I spent several years training as a professional artist at UNM many years ago. But there has been considerable social and structural degradation that has gone on at UNM since that time. Students with disabilities do not have adequate services, and we face extreme discrimination. The flag issue is inflammatory and the direct product of senior UNM officials failing to exercise proper authority.
Why are senior officials at UNM, who are responsible for proper order and respect required to maintain a learning environment, not being held responsible for this serious breach of social protocol?
Yes. The student who damaged the Mexican flag should be held responsible. So should the UNM officials, who failed to maintain the elegance and order - prior to and during this undignified incident - that UNM students, faculty and staff justly deserve.
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Frank Martin
UNM student
