Flyer causing controversy on campus

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Even in a sea of flyers and posters littering a kiosk near the University of New Mexico's student sub one particular poster is hard to miss.

"My first reaction was woah! because its kind of explicit," said UNM Freshman Shannon Wright.

The poster is too explicit by TV standards so KRQE News 13 had to blur it for air, it depicts a nude man posing provocatively with another man.

The goal of it is to get the word out about a record release party for a local band whose name also cannot be shown or said on air.

"Obviously it's doing its job it's meant to wow you and go like oh my gosh what is that," said UNM Freshman Ajasha Silver.

However, the flier offended one student to the point of him writing a letter to the editor in the Daily Lobo asking if the university should step in.

KRQE News 13 asked students on campus Wednesday if they felt the poster crossed the line.

"That's a big step going to like its offensive, its a really big step, its really funny actually," Silver said.

Others shared their opinion.

"It crosses the line to me," Wright said adding, "knowing that it's an open campus and anybody can walk through and kids are here everyday."

The University agreed.

In an unusual move UNM's President called for the fliers to come down immediately.

According to a UNM Regents Policy for on campus advertising, the president has the authority to do that.

"This is clearly an advertisement for an off campus entity it has no university connections it's tasteless and it's coming down," said UNM Communications Director Dianne Anderson.

It is a decision that did not sit well with the band who say not only did UNM over react but they feel their free speech has been silenced as well.

"I think they caved to a small vocal minority, I think there's a little bit of homophobia maybe a little bit of shyness about the human form and nudity," Lead Singer Kendoll Killjoy said.

UNM said a university should be a place to promote freedom of speech and expression not silence it but they say in this case it wasn't a piece of art or educational it was simply a tasteless advertisement.

Killjoy, who is a UNM Graduate, says the band did not post the fliers on campus and that it could have been fans or friends.

The university routinely removes fliers from the kiosks on a monthly basis as a matter of maintenance.