No, however, UNM encourages organizations or student groups to notify UNM personnel of any planned rally to ensure the interests of all members of the campus community are taken into account. Any rally must comply with UNM policies. Please visit (website link) for more information regarding how to host a rally on campus.

Yes, UNM supports freedom of speech and assembly. As a member of the UNM community, your conduct is always subject to all relevant UNM policies such as the Student Code of Conduct, the Faculty Handbook, and the University Administrative Policies and Procedures (“UAP”). Protests are permissible as long as they do not disrupt or interfere with sanctioned functions or official university activities.

Yes, student organizations may reserve space on campus for a permissible event and limit attendance, consistent with the UNM Space Reservation Procedures https://freespeech.unm.edu/hosting-events/index.html Attendance may be restricted to holders of tickets or those with proof of invitation to such event. Restrictions based on any protected characteristic or affiliation are strictly prohibited.

Yes, photographs of or at campus events are permitted, subject to all relevant policies and procedures governing the use and publication of such photographs and the use of UNM trademarks. See UAP 1010. Individuals seeking to video or photograph event activities for use or publication by the event sponsor, or otherwise, are required to meet with University Communications and Marketing prior to photographing or filming activities on campus to ensure compliance with all applicable policies and procedures. Photos or videos taken on campus may not be used for commercial purposes without the prior permission of authorized UNM personnel.

Freedom of speech means that all views have a place for expression—even those that others may find offensive, repugnant, hateful, unpleasant, hurtful, or wrong. Freedom of speech is not limited to the spoken word and includes expression in the form of words, pictures, or actions. UNM community members who hear speech they don’t like are free to offer their own speech in response, but they must respect the rights of other speakers to share their views. While the First Amendment to the United States Constitution affords broad protection for most kinds of speech, there are some limitations that are discussed below.

Yes, as a public institution of higher education, UNM does not prohibit speakers from outside the UNM community to express their views on campus, so long as their activities are lawful and do not disrupt the functions of the campus. All university rules regarding the time, place, and manner of expressive activities—such as limits on amplified sound and prohibitions on sticks and open flames—apply both to members of the UNM community and members of the general public (i.e., campus visitors).

Freedom of speech is the right of a person to articulate opinions and ideas – even opinions and ideas that may be unpopular, controversial, or disagreeable to others – without interference or retaliation from government entities. The term “speech” constitutes expression that includes far more than just words, but also what a person wears, reads, performs, protests, and more. UAP 2220 addresses UNM’s policy regarding freedom of expression and dissent. In the United States, freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The United States free speech protections are among the strongest of any democracy; the First Amendment protects even speech that many would see as offensive, hateful, or harassing. This is not to say that a person has an unfettered right to say anything in class or on campus, only that a vast amount of speech is protected even if it is offensive or morally questionable.

Public institutions like UNM have the discretion to adopt rules regulating the time, place, and manner of speech, expression, or assembly on campus, so long as the rules are content- and viewpoint-neutral and are narrowly tailored to serve a compelling institutional interest. The right to engage in speech, expression, or assembly on UNM campuses is not an unfettered right to speak at any time, at any place, or in any manner that a person wishes. UNM can regulate where, when, and how speech occurs to preserve its educational mission, to secure its buildings, facilities, and common outdoor areas, and to achieve other compelling public interests, such as protecting its students and considering public safety.

While the First Amendment protects a broad range of expressive activity (including speech that may be controversial, hurtful, or repugnant), there are types of expression that are not protected. Many speech activities that are unprotected (e.g., libel, slander, false advertising) are more common in a commercial setting. The following types of speech, more likely to be seen on a university campus, are not protected: Speech activities that incite imminent lawless action or are likely to incite or produce such action (aka “fighting words”); Speech that threatens an individual, or group of persons, directly (true threats of violence that places the target(s) at risk of bodily harm); Certain obscenities, however obscenities in the sense of merely vulgar words are protected; Fires that violate local or state laws prohibiting the burning of anything in public; Speech that violates intellectual property law; Speech that is disruptive or that interferes with official university functions or activities.

Hate speech is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.” In New Mexico, certain criminal conduct that is “motivated by hate” is considered a hate crime and may lead to an enhanced sentence or alternative sentence. Hate crimes are committed “because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.” While hate speech may be offensive and hurtful, it is generally protected by the First Amendment. However, any expression that constitutes a true threat, or incitement to imminent lawless action is not protected speech. Discriminatory harassment or defamatory conduct by a member of the UNM community may violate campus policies prohibiting such conduct.

Individuals, or groups of individuals, engaging in activities that violate the UNM Student Code of Conduct, Visitor Code of Conduct, or other UNM policies can be held accountable or sanctioned for violating such policies.

Yes, the following University policies address freedom of expression on campus: Student Handbook (aka The Pathfinder), and specifically: Student Code of Conduct Visitor Code of Conduct Campus Violence Weapons Prohibited on University Property University Administrative Policy (“UAP”), and specifically: UAP 2220: Freedom of Expression and Dissent UAP 2060: Political Activity UAP 2210: Campus Violence UAP 2240: Respectful Campus UAP 2720: Prohibited Discrimination and Equal Opportunity UAP 3740: Media Response UAP 1010: University Graphic Identification Standards (use of logos and trademarks) Faculty Handbook, and specifically: C150: Political Activities of UNM Faculty Regents Policies, and specifically: RPM 2.1: Free Expression and Advocacy RPM 2.2: RPM 2.8: Visitors to the University RPM 6.5: Political Activity by Employees