On Friday, April 4, the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico Elections Commission named Andrew Norton the winner of the ASUNM presidential race over current Vice President Mutazz Jaber, certifying the results of March’s election.
On April 7, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency in Albuquerque due to a "significant increase” in crime, authorizing emergency funds for the New Mexico National Guard to assist the Albuquerque Police Department, according to her executive order. Beginning in mid-May, 60-70 National Guard members will be deployed to Albuquerque, according to a press release from the governor's office. They will focus particularly on Central Avenue, which encapsulates the southern boundary of the University of New Mexico’s main campus. Lujan Grisham signed the order after APD Chief Harold Medina sent her a memorandum requesting assistance due to the “fentanyl epidemic coupled with an increase in violent juvenile crime.” In the memorandum, Medina wrote that the problem “can only be resolved with consistent and visible presence of APD officers to Albuquerque’s citizens.”
Construction on the new headquarters for the University of New Mexico Police Department is set to begin this month in the former Greek Lot. The new UNMPD headquarters, on the southeast corner of University Boulevard and Mesa Vista Road, will replace the current headquarters located in Hokona Hall and include an updated dispatch center, dedicated training areas and a public meeting room, according to Lt. Tim Delgado. The project will address the growing need for a facility dedicated to supporting effective operations, ensuring safety and enhancing community engagement on campus, Delgado wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo.
After receiving hundreds of public comments largely criticizing the University of New Mexico’s prospective affirmative action policy changes, the school released two new draft policies Thursday, April 10. The new draft policies keep in more references to affirmative action — or sometimes replace it with “inclusive excellence” — but still remove requirements for UNM to have an affirmative action plan and gather and report affirmative action data. The new policies also still remove the ability for a hiring official, in certain circumstances, to fill a position with a member of a historically underrepresented group if another more qualified member of a protected group is unlikely to apply. The previous draft policies — released March 28 — removed nearly all references to affirmative action.
On Saturday, April 5, Albuquerque joined cities across the country in a “Hands Off!” protest, during which thousands rallied at Civic Plaza to protest against the Trump’s administration’s actions. Speakers addressed local and national issues including immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, climate justice, Medicaid, Palestinian rights, the right to free speech, public education and the University of New Mexico’s policies. Speakers at the rally included labor activist Dolores Huerta, former Secretary of the Interior and current gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, New Mexico Women’s March Chair Samia Assed, UNM law professor Ernesto Longa, among others.
The Associated Students at the University of New Mexico senate voted Wednesday, April 2, not to open a resolution containing articles of impeachment filed against Vice President Mutazz Jaber for failure to fill two “critical” vacant senate seats in a timely manner, according to Resolution 1S. If there are vacancies in the senate, the vice president is responsible for contacting and appointing the official candidates who received the next-highest number of votes during the most recent general election who could fill those vacancies, according to the ASUNM Constitution. If the candidates appointed refuse the position, the vice president is obligated to accept applications for the vacant seats and appoint replacements, with approval from two-thirds of the senate, within 10 days, according to the constitution.
In March, the University of New Mexico Police Department began using body cameras. This comes over a year after the Daily Lobo reported that UNMPD did not use body cameras because of a loophole in a state statute. A bill during this year’s legislative session aimed to close that loophole, but it did not make it past the Senate. UNM announced that the police department would obtain the cameras in August 2024. So far, the cameras have worked well, according to Lt. Tim Delgado, who is in charge of UNMPD’s body camera program.
The Motel 6 that the University of New Mexico acquired in February is expected to be demolished within the next two weeks. The University purchased the property for $5 million, according to a memo from Thomas Neale, the UNM director of real estate. The motel sits on an approximately 1.57-acre plot of land just west of Lobo Village. The UNM Board of Regents also approved an offer for the 1-acre plot of land next to the motel priced at $1.25 million, according to a statement to the Daily Lobo by UNM Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Cinnamon Blair.
Last month, University of New Mexico Honors College Interim Dean Leslie Donovan sent an email to all Honors College members reporting that antisemitic messages were found written on a whiteboard in the Honors College building. According to Donovan’s email, the messages on the whiteboard said that “folks with Zionist perspectives are not welcome here.” Donovan asked recipients of the email to "immediately report information if they know who was responsible for writing the messages.” UNM anthropology professor Les Field told the Daily Lobo that antisemitism and anti-Zionism are completely different — and outlined the distinctions between the two.
The University of New Mexico released prospective changes to its affirmative action policies on Friday, March 28. The draft policies — which largely remove references to affirmative action — are available on the UNM Policy Office website for the campus community’s review and commentary through Friday, April 4. Affirmative action at UNM seeks to promote race and gender diversity in employment by recruiting qualified women, minorities, people with disabilities and protected veterans, according to UNM Compliance, Ethics, & Equal Opportunity.
The Associated Students at the University of New Mexico Senate passed the spring 2025 budget bill on March 12 during a full senate meeting that ran late into the night, after much of the allotted time was used for debate over discrepancies in pay raises for ASUNM executive staff and senators. By the end of the meeting, student service agency employees and other hourly paid executive staff were awarded an extra 60 cents per hour on top of their $12 per hour — a number that has remained since New Mexico’s last change to the state minimum wage — and senators an additional $150 to their stipend. The stipend is paid on a per-semester basis, meaning that each senator will now be paid $650 total for the one-year term they are elected for.
On March 10, the U.S. Education Department announced that sixty universities are under investigation for allegations related to antisemitic discrimination. The University of New Mexico is not on the list. Two days earlier, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Columbia University alum and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was involved in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator. Khalil is a legal United States resident with no criminal record, according to The Associated Press.
On March 11, Associated Students at the University of New Mexico presidential candidates Andrew Norton and Mutazz (Tazz) Jaber participated in a debate hosted by the UNM College Democrats. Vice presidential candidate and Finance Chair Hope Montoya, who is running unopposed, gave a speech supporting Norton’s vision for ASUNM. The candidates discussed food, housing, safety and the role of athletics on campus.
Elections for the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico begin 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 26 and close 5 p.m. Thursday, March 27. Undergraduate main campus students can cast their ballots at vote.unm.edu. Beyond the candidates listed here, Finance Chair Hope Montoya is running unopposed for vice president, and 16 candidates are vying for 10 senate seats. Information about them can be found at election.unm.edu/candidates. Mutazz (Tazz) Jaber (ballot #1) is running for president of the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico. Jaber is the current ASUNM vice president. His campaign focuses on issues such as parking, digital IDs, student housing, safety and the completion of projects that began during his time as vice president.
Elections for the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico begin 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 26 and close 5 p.m. Thursday, March 27. Undergraduate main campus students can cast their ballots at vote.unm.edu. Beyond the candidates listed here, Finance Chair Hope Montoya is running unopposed for vice president, and 16 candidates are vying for 10 senate seats. Information about them can be found at election.unm.edu/candidates. Andrew Norton (ballot #2) is running for president of the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico. Currently serving as the executive director of Student Special Events, Norton’s platform focuses on strategic decision-making, student services and amplifying student voices, he said.
The University of New Mexico Graduate and Professional Student Association election results are in: Civil engineering doctoral candidate Travis Broadhurst will serve as its next president. Broadhurst has been active in GPSA for the past three years, serving as the director of Boards, Committees and Elections and as the sustainability director. He has also been a civil engineering department representative to the GPSA council for the past two years.
The University of New Mexico reviewed and will revise its policies related to preferential hiring, promotion or compensation decisions based on gender, race or ethnicity following recent U.S. Department of Education guidelines and President Donald Trump’s executive orders. On March 6, UNM updated its website for guidance on federal executive actions to announce the policy review and upcoming revisions. UNM has submitted draft revisions to the Policy Office for review and expects approval and implementation over the next several weeks, according to UNM Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Cinnamon Blair.
On March 14, the U.S. Education Department Office for Civil Rights announced investigations into 45 universities across the country, including the University of New Mexico, for allegedly engaging in “race-exclusionary practices” in their graduate programs. In its announcement, the department alleged that the universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by partnering with a nonprofit that supports historically underrepresented candidates in obtaining Ph.D.s. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities that receive federal funding. The Education Department also initiated investigations into six universities for allegedly awarding race-based scholarships, and one university for allegedly having a program that “segregates students on the basis of race.”
Jayson Agos, a University of New Mexico junior and architecture student, called attention to difficulties that students with disabilities can face on campus. When Agos came to UNM, he was still able to walk but was later unexpectedly paralyzed from the waist down, he said. It was then that he began to notice the ways he said UNM was unsuccessful in accommodating students with disabilities. “My first semester here at UNM was a dark semester for me,” Agos said. “I struggled a lot because there was so much that caused me issues just to get to class.”
On Feb. 28, a meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office grew heated and ended with Zelenskyy leaving early. Following the meeting, a New Mexican Ukrainian organization and a University of New Mexico professor shared their reactions to the clash with the Daily Lobo. During the meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy, “You’re not acting at all thankful” in reference to the support Ukraine has received from the United States since Russia’s invasion. Later in the meeting, Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of running propaganda tours, campaigning for former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania and being ungrateful for U.S. aid.
Solutions by The State News
