Protect Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action at UNM
Protect Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action at UNM
The Issue
The changes in UNM's policies (listed below) will deeply affect students, faculty, and staff—especially those from historically underrepresented groups. This policy has helped ensure fair hiring, increased access for marginalized communities, and reinforced UNM’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Without this policy, UNM risks creating greater barriers for Native students, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans.
Draft Policy 3210: Recruitment and Hiring
Draft Policy 2720: Equal Opportunity and Prohibited Discrimination (Interim)
Draft Policy 2740: Sexual Harassment Including Sexual Misconduct (Interim)
UNM profits from being on tribal lands and has long emphasized its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Yet, removing this policy directly contradicts those values. Without it, there will be fewer safeguards to ensure fair hiring and retention practices, potentially harming efforts to recruit and support a diverse faculty and staff. This decision jeopardizes the progress UNM has made in fostering an inclusive campus and threatens to make it harder for underrepresented individuals to access opportunities they have historically been denied.
If we do not take action now, UNM will quietly remove this policy without transparency or public input. We must demand that UNM leadership hold a town hall to explain this decision and hear directly from the community. UNM cannot claim to value diversity while dismantling policies that actively support it. We must hold the administration accountable and ensure that Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action remain a priority at our university.
Sign this petition to demand that UNM leadership host a public town hall and commit to real equity and inclusion—not just in words, but in action!
Please do not ONLY sign this petition. Make your voice heard by clicking on the policy link and leaving a comment for the administration. Suggested wording for a comment:
Draft Policy 3210: Recruitment and Hiring - https://policy.unm.edu/under-review/university/d3210-2025.html
Draft Policy 2720: Equal Opportunity and Prohibited Discrimination (Interim) - https://policy.unm.edu/under-review/university/d2720-2025.html
Draft Policy 2740: Sexual Harassment Including Sexual Misconduct (Interim) https://policy.unm.edu/under-review/university/d2740-2025.html
Suggested Comment:
The administration’s proposed policy changes—including altering the language around sexual assault, weakening affirmative action in recruitment, and removing explicit commitments to diversity and inclusion—represent a fundamental shift in UNM’s values. These changes will have profound and lasting effects on the entire university community, yet they are being made without meaningful input from those most affected. It is unacceptable for such critical decisions to be made behind closed doors, with only an online comment portal for feedback. I urge UNM leadership to hold a public town hall where students, faculty, staff, and community members can engage in an open and transparent discussion about these policy changes. If the university truly stands for equity, safety, and inclusion, it must commit to engaging with its community in a meaningful way before making changes that could undermine these principles.
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The Issue
The changes in UNM's policies (listed below) will deeply affect students, faculty, and staff—especially those from historically underrepresented groups. This policy has helped ensure fair hiring, increased access for marginalized communities, and reinforced UNM’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Without this policy, UNM risks creating greater barriers for Native students, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans.
Draft Policy 3210: Recruitment and Hiring
Draft Policy 2720: Equal Opportunity and Prohibited Discrimination (Interim)
Draft Policy 2740: Sexual Harassment Including Sexual Misconduct (Interim)
UNM profits from being on tribal lands and has long emphasized its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Yet, removing this policy directly contradicts those values. Without it, there will be fewer safeguards to ensure fair hiring and retention practices, potentially harming efforts to recruit and support a diverse faculty and staff. This decision jeopardizes the progress UNM has made in fostering an inclusive campus and threatens to make it harder for underrepresented individuals to access opportunities they have historically been denied.
If we do not take action now, UNM will quietly remove this policy without transparency or public input. We must demand that UNM leadership hold a town hall to explain this decision and hear directly from the community. UNM cannot claim to value diversity while dismantling policies that actively support it. We must hold the administration accountable and ensure that Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action remain a priority at our university.
Sign this petition to demand that UNM leadership host a public town hall and commit to real equity and inclusion—not just in words, but in action!
Please do not ONLY sign this petition. Make your voice heard by clicking on the policy link and leaving a comment for the administration. Suggested wording for a comment:
Draft Policy 3210: Recruitment and Hiring - https://policy.unm.edu/under-review/university/d3210-2025.html
Draft Policy 2720: Equal Opportunity and Prohibited Discrimination (Interim) - https://policy.unm.edu/under-review/university/d2720-2025.html
Draft Policy 2740: Sexual Harassment Including Sexual Misconduct (Interim) https://policy.unm.edu/under-review/university/d2740-2025.html
Suggested Comment:
The administration’s proposed policy changes—including altering the language around sexual assault, weakening affirmative action in recruitment, and removing explicit commitments to diversity and inclusion—represent a fundamental shift in UNM’s values. These changes will have profound and lasting effects on the entire university community, yet they are being made without meaningful input from those most affected. It is unacceptable for such critical decisions to be made behind closed doors, with only an online comment portal for feedback. I urge UNM leadership to hold a public town hall where students, faculty, staff, and community members can engage in an open and transparent discussion about these policy changes. If the university truly stands for equity, safety, and inclusion, it must commit to engaging with its community in a meaningful way before making changes that could undermine these principles.
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The Decision Makers
- Unm
No response
The Supporters
Featured Comments
The University of New Mexico’s decision to amend policies meant to protect diversity, equity, and inclusion in response to political pressure is appalling. As an institution operating on tribal lands, in a minority-majority state, UNM has a responsibility to uphold—not dismantle—protections for the diverse communities that make up our student body, faculty, and staff. By rushing to align with federal regulations that do not yet mandate such changes, UNM is signaling that its commitment to diversity and inclusion was never a core value but merely a performative gesture. If these policies were truly implemented to protect marginalized groups, then rolling them back contradicts that very purpose. It makes it clear that these protections existed only to appease, rather than to uphold the principles of equity and justice that UNM claims to stand for. We demand transparency and a voice in this decision-making process. We call for a public town hall where the university leadership must answer to the students, faculty, and staff who will be directly impacted by these changes. Our voices must be heard before UNM takes any further steps that would strip protections from the very communities it should be safeguarding.
We cannot comply to federal policies before we are mandated to do so. More, we should not comply to policies that are harmful to our community, staff, and state EVEN IF federal policy mandates it. If we do not stand up for what is right, then who will?
unm is better than this.
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Petition created on April 2, 2025