A day after the UT Board of Regents announced their sole finalist for UTEP President, a petition began making its rounds on social media.
As KTSM reported Friday, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson was announced as the finalist, quickly stirring up controversy amongst UTEP students, alumni, and faculty who say they’re not happy about her anti-LGBTQ voting record when she was a New Mexico Congresswoman.
A group of UTEP alumni and students created a group called “UTEP Deserves Better.” They’ve also started a petition for the UT Board of Regents to withdraw Wilson as the candidate for UTEP President.
Cristina Calvillo-Rivera currently serves as the President for the Borderland Rainbow Center in El Paso. Calvillo-Rivera is a UTEP alumnus and began the petition.
“To bring forth a candidate whose actions have spoken louder than her words in that she has a horrible track record against the LGBTQ community indicates she won’t serve in the best interest of all students,” Calvillo-Rivera told KTSM.
The petition currently has over 3,600 signatures online. The group plans to present it to the UT Board of regents. Organizers are also planning a protest against Wilson’s nomination at a time that will be announced later this week.
The UT Board of Regents is expected to confirm Wilson’s nomination at the end of a mandatory 21-day waiting period which will commence at the end of March.
