Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi

GUEST COLUMN: Native students, instructors especially vulnerable to campus reopening

While the rest of the Southwest opened up its doors and gathered for July 4 festivities and birthdays, those in the Navajo Nation and in pueblo communities remained at home. A fraction of those who remained at home are Native American college students, including some who are students at the University of New Mexico and some who will make their college debut this fall. When I learned that UNM was taking a hybrid approach to classes for the upcoming semester, my first thought was about those Native students and exactly how this approach would likely affect them. As a Native student and a Native core writing instructor in the English department, I found the decision disconcerting.