After seven days, blistering community critique and a Daily Lobo editorial condemning a “No Contact Directive” issued from the University of New Mexico to one of its editors, the University has reversed course and rescinded the order.
On Oct. 28, Daily Lobo data editor Joe Rull was issued a No Contact Directive by the office of Dean of Students Nasha Torrez, an order that prohibited Rull from communicating online or in person with Student Fee Review Board (SFRB) undergraduate member Sall Ahmadian.
The No Contact Directive followed a number of comments made by Rull on Twitter after an SFRB deliberation in which Ahmadian challenged the budget and productivity of the Daily Lobo and its journalists.
The Daily Lobo printed an editorial on Nov. 2, with the editorial board’s most pressing concern being the apparent violation of constitutional rights the directive implied — as a reporter, Rull not being able to communicate with or regarding Ahmadian was viewed by the paper as an infringement on journalistic freedom and his ability to report on student governmental affairs.
Later on Nov. 2, the Daily Lobo contacted Torrez and requested more information regarding the No Contact Directive between Rull and Ahmadian — in particular, whether the directive was initiated by Ahmadian or implemented by the University without request from either party. Torrez pointed the Daily Lobo toward UNM’s “Frequently Asked Questions” page for the directive, declining to provide specifics regarding the situation.
“Because of the federal law (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) protecting student confidentiality, I can’t discuss any specifics with a situation that may involve students,” Torrez said.
Torrez further noted that, in her view, there was misinformation in the Daily Lobo’s aforementioned editorial and said that no contact directives are not meant to restrict journalistic freedom.
“The issuance of an NCD does not prohibit any individual from expressing their opinions, publishing news articles or otherwise debating matters of public concern,” Torrez said. “It does serve as notice, however, that the affected party wishes to be left alone to pursue their education.”
In line with the aforementioned FAQ page, Torrez further noted that no contact directives are rarely put into place by the University without request from either involved party.
“Procedurally, the only instance where an NCD would be issued without one of the parties requesting it would be in rare Title IX cases, where the Title Coordinator requested it on the parties’ behalf to reduce safety concerns,” Torrez said.
The University’s reticence to provide information on how and why the No Contact Directive was issued makes it unclear whether it was instigated by Ahmadian or the dean of students’ office, but the email informing Rull that the directive had been rescinded insinuated that the former may have been the case.
“On Oct. 27, 2020 I received a request from a student party to have the No Contact Directive between Sall Ahmadian and Joseph Rull Mioduszewski put in place,” the email read.
Ahmadian submitted an opinion piece to the Daily Lobo that was published on Nov. 2 denying that he requested the No Contact Directive.
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“I welcome and support the criticism by fellow students and members of the Daily Lobo staff and did not initiate any action with the University to restrict the posts or public comments of my work, including a no-contact order toward a member of the Daily Lobo staff,” Ahmadian wrote.
The Daily Lobo reached out to Ahmadian, but he was unable to provide comment in time for publication.
At 1 p.m. on Nov. 3, Rull received a message from dean of students conduct officer Kelly Davis informing him that the No Contact Directive had been lifted.
“I have reached out to both parties, and it appears as though neither party would like the No Contact Directive in place anymore,” Davis said. “Therefore, the Dean of Students Office has rescinded the No Contact Directive, and it is no longer in place.”
Former ASUNM Senator Selina Montoya, who was also served a No Contact Directive with Ahmadian as reported in the Daily Lobo’s editorial, received identical notice of her directive being rescinded at 1 p.m. on the same day.
In response to news of the directive against Rull being rescinded, Daily Lobo editor-in-chief Alex McCausland said he felt UNM could have done more to prevent such action from being taken to begin with.
“The University violated the First Amendment when it issued a No Contact Directive against Joe Rull, a journalist at the Daily Lobo. The fact that an educational institution would so flippantly utilize a tool meant to protect survivors of sexual assault for the purpose of censorship is disgusting and should be rebuked at every level,” McCausland said. “Additionally, for Torrez to say that our editorial contains misinformation is a perversion of the term, as the No Contact Directive has no exemptions that state that it does not restrict the speech of journalists.”
McCausland also said he doubted that the University would have changed course had it not been for public pressure they received.
“The University is only rescinding the order now because they have been backed into a corner after being publicly humiliated,” McCausland said.
Echoing critiques of UNM and the Dean of Students Office, Rull gave his opinion on his No Contact Directive being lifted.
“None of this should have happened in the first place,” Rull said. “I think it’s ridiculous, and I hope that UNM and their student representatives understand how immoral it is to intimidate and silence student reporters.”
Liberty Stalnaker is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo
