During a chalk mural competition Tuesday, one of the many Homecoming activities designed to promote unity on campus and rally support for the upcoming UNM football game, several observers became upset with images depicted in two of the student-created murals.
According to sources, this year's theme, "Homecoming On The Range," which naturally conjures images of cowboys fighting Indians, was decided on before Utah was announced as the UNM Homecoming opponent.
Some people on campus mistakenly thought the Utah mascot, a red-tailed hawk, was actually a Ute, which is the name of the university's sports teams, but is also a tribe of American Indian descent.
According to Utah University's Web site, the new mascot was recently decided upon to "reflect the soaring spirit of our great state and university," replacing a short-lived Crimson Warrior for politically correct reasons.
The murals in question, created by the Kiva Club and the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, both portrayed an image of a Lobo harming an American Indian.
"When we planned the design of our mural, the thought of it being offensive did not cross our minds," said Carlos Griego, vice president of Pi Kappa Phi. "We did everything in our power to remedy the situation when we realized our mistake, including issuing a formal apology to the Daily Lobo."
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The fraternity's mural reportedly showed Lucy Lobo lassoing an image of an American Indian, that several people in the crowd considered to be being hung.
"We had no intention of causing any disrespect to any Native Americans," said Kurt Nilson, president of the fraternity. He added that his fraternity was unaware that the Utah mascot had been recently switched from a Ute to a hawk.
Nilson said that Pi Kappa Phi plans to ask its members to attend a public forum later this week addressing cultural sensitivity, in light of the issues surrounding its mural.
Glenebah Martinez, of Native American Studies, said that she had attempted to contact UNM President Chris Garcia's office prior to Tuesday to ensure that they had mandated any plans for complaints regarding homecoming events, and received an e-mail back saying that his office had not but to contact it if any situation was to arise.
The other mural in question, created by the Kiva Club, was, according to organization sources, designed to have a comical twist by conveying an image of a Lobo character shooting a fake gun, complete with flag coming from the barrel, that said "UNM," in the general direction of a proud American Indian sitting atop a horse.
Leona Morgan, president of the Kiva Club, said her club did not plan for the image to be offensive, and as a American Indian group, are embarrassed that they did not think about the consequences of their actions and for stereotyping themselves in a negative manner, which is opposite of their mission on campus.
"The Kiva Club realizes the atrocity which transpired was unacceptable, especially because we were one of the offenders. As a student organization on campus, we will strive to educate others on these matters. We take full responsibility for our actions and humbly apologize for our lack of judgment and the hurt which our entry unintentionally caused," Kiva Club members said in an official statement concerning the mural.
In response to yesterday's events, Kiva Club officials said they are preparing a panel discussion for November that will address symbols and the messages they convey, as well as the sensitivity that must be considered when dealing with them.
Keri Shiplet, this year's Homecoming director, said that the mural competition is a new event for UNM, and that everybody worked very hard in the honor of school spirit. She added that it is unfortunate that an event like this has unfolded.
"I don't think that anyone was acting maliciously, and that is evident in the fact that both of these parties came forward upon realizing their mistakes," Kiplet said.
Kiplet said that she was present at the event and had spoken to all the groups preparing to create their murals about doing them in a tasteful manner. She added that she believes that all of them had the best of intentions in their actions and that their murals were honest attempts at creating school spirit for Homecoming.
