{
  "id": "2024-04-29-unm-sub-pro-palestine-occupation",
  "slug": "unm-sub-pro-palestine-occupation-2024-04-29",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of New Mexico",
    "shortName": "UNM",
    "state": "NM",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "LoboAlerts",
    "enrollment": 22000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-04-29",
    "type": "civil-unrest",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "resolution": "arrests-made",
    "headline": "Protesters occupied the student union; state police cleared the building, 16 arrested",
    "headlinePublic": "Protesters occupied the student union; state police cleared the building, 16 arrested",
    "summary": "At approximately 8:30 PM MDT on Monday, April 29, 2024, the [University of New Mexico's LoboAlert system](https://news.unm.edu/categories/advisories/lobo-alert-4-29-2024) issued a direct advisory: \"The UNM Student Union Building (SUB) is closed. Protesters are occupying the SUB.\" The advisory followed an [evening protest march that turned into a multi-day occupation](https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_ceedcfcc-069b-11ef-abdb-b7458f5c67b7.html) of the SUB's second floor, where pro-Palestine demonstrators set up tents, food, and supplies while writing chalk and marker messages on the walls. New Mexico State Police forcibly cleared the building at approximately 3:30 AM MDT on April 30, and [16 protesters (including 5 UNM students) were arrested](https://www.dailylobo.com/article/2024/05/16-arrested-after-pro-palestine-protesters-occupy-the-sub).",
    "outcome": "16 protesters arrested, including 5 UNM students; protesters were calling for UNM to disclose and divest from investments in Israel. Charges ranged from criminal trespass to wrongful use of public property. UNM Police and New Mexico State Police jointly cleared the building. The SUB sustained minor property damage from chalk and marker on walls. No injuries reported. UNM students arrested later faced student-conduct sanctions, and criminal cases proceeded through the courts.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2024-04-29T20:30:00-06:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "The UNM Student Union Building (SUB) is closed. Protesters are occupying the SUB. Please avoid the area until further notice. If you have any information regarding this incident or notice any suspicious behavior, please contact UNM PD at 277-2241.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://news.unm.edu/categories/advisories/lobo-alert-4-29-2024",
      "sourceDescription": "Verbatim LoboAlert text from the UNM UCAM Newsroom advisories page (Lobo Alert - 4.29.2024)",
      "annotations": [
        "Calling the action 'protesters are occupying' rather than 'building closed due to demonstration' is a comparatively direct framing for a US university alert",
        "The inclusion of the UNM PD non-emergency phone number (277-2241) is common in LoboAlert messages for non-imminent-threat situations",
        "Sent approximately as the protesters were declaring their intent to remain until UNM divested, preceded the State Police mobilization that arrived around 1 AM April 30"
      ],
      "characterCount": 247
    }
  ],
  "context": "On the evening of Monday, April 29, 2024, [a group of pro-Palestine demonstrators marched across the UNM campus](https://www.kunm.org/local-news/2024-04-30/state-police-arrest-pro-palestinian-protestors-at-unm) before entering the Student Union Building and [declaring their intent to occupy the building until UNM disclosed and divested from investments in Israel](https://www.dailylobo.com/article/2024/05/16-arrested-after-pro-palestine-protesters-occupy-the-sub). The protesters filled the SUB's second floor with tents, food, and supplies, writing pro-Palestine messages on the walls with chalk and marker. UNM's LoboAlert system pushed an [advisory at approximately 8:30 PM MDT](https://news.unm.edu/categories/advisories/lobo-alert-4-29-2024): \"The UNM Student Union Building (SUB) is closed. Protesters are occupying the SUB. Please avoid the area until further notice.\" The wording was comparatively direct; many alerts during the spring 2024 encampment wave used softer phrases like \"demonstration in progress\" or \"limited access.\" At approximately 3:30 AM MDT on April 30, [New Mexico State Police forcibly removed the protesters](https://abqraw.com/post/unm-and-new-mexico-state-police-arrest-multiple-pro-palestine-protestors-after-sub-take-over/), arresting 16, including 5 UNM students. This was UNM's most prominent contribution to the [nationwide spring 2024 encampment wave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-Palestinian_protests_on_university_campuses_in_the_United_States_in_2024) that swept Columbia, UCLA, UT Austin, Princeton, and dozens of other campuses. UNM is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (52% Hispanic enrollment), the only R1 HSI in the state.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "UNM's choice to publish a Lobo Alert for a non-violent protest signals that the building closure itself (not the political content) was treated as the notification trigger",
    "The phrase 'protesters are occupying' is more direct than the language several peer institutions used during the same week, when some campuses described events as 'building activity' or a 'demonstration on campus'",
    "The roughly 7-hour gap between the 8:30 PM MDT alert and the 3:30 AM MDT State Police clearance contrasts with UT Austin and Emory, which cleared encampments within hours"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Lobo Alert - 4.29.2024 (UNM Newsroom official advisory)",
      "url": "https://news.unm.edu/categories/advisories/lobo-alert-4-29-2024",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "UNM alert indicates protesters occupying student union (Albuquerque Journal)",
      "url": "https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_ceedcfcc-069b-11ef-abdb-b7458f5c67b7.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "State Police arrest pro-Palestinian protestors at UNM (KUNM)",
      "url": "https://www.kunm.org/local-news/2024-04-30/state-police-arrest-pro-palestinian-protestors-at-unm",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "16 arrested after pro-Palestine protesters occupy the SUB (The Daily Lobo)",
      "url": "https://www.dailylobo.com/article/2024/05/16-arrested-after-pro-palestine-protesters-occupy-the-sub",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Message from UNM Leadership Regarding 4.29.2024 Incident at SUB (UNM Newsroom)",
      "url": "https://news.unm.edu/news/message-from-unm-leadership-regarding-4-29-2024-incident-at-sub",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "civil-unrest",
    "pro-palestine-protest",
    "hispanic-serving-institution",
    "hsi",
    "new-mexico",
    "albuquerque",
    "student-union",
    "occupation",
    "spring-2024-encampment-wave",
    "lobo-alert"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-05-14",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}