The University of New Mexico has been no stranger to making national headlines in recent years, many of them putting the University under fire, as in the case of its handling of sexual assault cases and the campaign to abolish what is allegedly an offensive University seal.
UNM was back in the headlines recently because of its updated training for employees, which places a focus on sensitivity training. The online course is required for everyone who works at the University – staff, faculty, on-call members, and even student employees – to take before the start of 2017.
However, the training is getting backlash in national media.
In a recent Fox News segment, host Jesse Watters introduced the program while toting a smile and a nonchalant tone.
He said he felt like the training was too sensitive and that the measures the University was taking are superfluous.
“Apparently, I can’t call you crazy even if you are crazy,” Watters said while laughing along with his co-hosts.
The training is called “Intersections: Preventing Discrimination and Harassment.” According to UNM Human Resources, “Intersections” replaces the old program, “Preventing Sexual Harassment.” The University initiated the update so that UNM employees could be trained on all forms of discrimination, not just sexual harassment.
According to Heather Cowan, UNM’s Title IX coordinator, this particular course was selected due to its “interactive and engaging multimedia format, content that meets federal requirements and...it was highest rated by our students.”
Associated Students of UNM Senator Hallie Brown said she was upset about her school being put under such scrutiny.
“I was totally outraged and thought that Fox News completely misinterpreted the point of the training,” Brown said. “The Fox News reporter is obviously privileged enough to be removed from the reality that words like ‘crazy’ can cause discomfort or strong emotional reaction from those who suffer from mental illnesses.”
Watters and his Fox News co-hosts all had a similar reaction: humor and confusion.
The group agreed that adversity actually builds character and theorized that the program may have an adverse effect on students’ wellbeing by making them too emotionally fragile.
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There was not, however, any in-depth look at the training.
Fox News highlighted three specific aspects of the program: the damage that can be caused by offensive words like “crazy” and “psycho,” how to use gender neutral language, and how to avoid questioning people about their sexual and social identities.
The anchors also denounced the portion of the training that suggests not to out someone who may be trans, saying that that actually hurts the trans community.
However, Dechellie Gray, a junior health education major and member of Student Alliance for Reproductive Justice UNM, said looking at the training through a singular perspective is detrimental to trying to understand its context.
“It is kind of a very offensive thing to say and almost mock, coming from...news anchors who mostly look like cisgender, privileged people with money. They don’t quite understand everyone’s stories,” Gray said, adding that she and SARJ stand behind the training.
“It’s a good way to educate those who don’t realize they’re being offensive that they are in a nice way rather than calling them out on it,” Gray said.
According to its website, UNM Human Resources’ explanation of the program describes it as much more than what Fox News portrayed to a national audience.
“The Intersections training includes animated scenarios, skill practices, UNM policies and resources, sound and closed caption capability,” she said.
UNM said the training is extensive, and takes about an hour to complete.
Francie Cordova, director of the Office of Equal Opportunity on campus, said that not adhering to certain protocols outlined in the training can actually become a legal matter.
“Certainly if someone has a mental health disability or medical condition and someone referred to them as crazy, this may fall into an ADA violation,” she said.
Cordova added that from the OEO’s point of view, there is a boundary that must be respected, at least as it pertains to University employees and the environment they are fostering.
“At OEO we do not try to limit or police free speech,” she said. “But some things may cross the line into a civil rights violation when they are targeted at an individual because of a protected status.”
University employees who have undergone the training said they found it to be a useful tool.
“I felt that the information covered in it was really informative, especially for students who might not have had experience or training in that area,” said James Coulter, a UNM Bookstore employee. “It was presented in a rather generic and flat way which made it hard to focus on, but overall I thought it was important content being covered.”
Students said they recognize the intent of the program, and they think that intent is important.
“UNM already has a high enough dropout rate. It doesn’t need to be contributed to by easily avoided situations that can compound over time to make school seem like an unsafe place for the individuals this training is trying to protect,” Brown said.
UNM was the only university mentioned by Fox News, but “Intersections” is required training for schools all over the country. Ohio Wright State University, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Mary Washington in Virginia are among the other institutions that use this specific training, which UNM purchased from an external source.
Shelby Perea is a student at the University of New Mexico. She can be reached at skperea@unm.edu and @shelby_perea on Twitter.
