The University of New Mexico bayoneting incident was a violent altercation between students protesting on the campus of the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the New Mexico Army National Guard that took place on May 8, 1970, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Students protested on campus for several days leading up to the incident as a response to the Kent State shooting that had happened four days prior. The protest was also part of a larger series of anti-war demonstrations that occurred on college campuses across the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s to voice opposition to US involvement in the Vietnam War. In the days leading up to the incident, students occupied the Student Union and Air Force ROTC buildings on campus, which led to UNM President Ferrel Heady and the Board of Regents' decision to court order the temporary closure of the Student Union Building. Heady encouraged students to leave, and many did before police arrested the remaining 131 protesters. As the building was being cleared out, the National Guard arrived and bayoneted a crowd that had gathered around the Student Union Building. During the incident, 10 or 11 people including students, teachers, and media members received bayonet wounds, though no deaths occurred.
Background
The Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many college students across the United States participated in anti-war demonstrations and protests. Although protesters urged the US to withdraw troops and end the war, the anti-Vietnam War movement was a more broad movement for greater peace and less war. When Richard Nixon became president, anti-war activists expanded their efforts. This would result in the increase of the anti-war movement in college campuses. Throughout his presidency, Richard Nixon often publicly portrayed both a desire to prolong and win the war as well as a desire to be a peacemaker. Nixon's efforts to win the election and re-election focused on the promise of ending the war without true desire to actually cease military operations in Vietnam.
The Invasion of Cambodia, College protests, and Kent State
On April 30, 1970, Nixon launched US troops into Cambodia. For those who hoped that Nixon was tapering off war efforts, this appeared to be a strong escalation of military action that was moving the US further from peace. Nixon spoke about the invasion as a necessary evil to preserve democracy, freedom, and US power, which further reinforced the belief that he had no plans of ending the war any time soon. College students on many campuses reacted by going on strike. Within 10 days over 500 universities had gone on strike and more than 100,000 protesters had marched in Washington DC. On May 4, 1970, students at Kent State University gathered to protest the invasion of Cambodia and the Vietnam War. The National Guard was ordered to campus and began firing on students. Four students including two that were not part of the protest were killed and nine were injured. This only increased student activism as students began protesting about the Vietnam War, the invasion of Cambodia, and the Kent State shooting, leading to the largest college student strike in the history of the United States.
The University of New Mexico
The Kent State incident sparked many protests on college campuses throughout the entire United States, including at the University of New Mexico. As students at UNM learned about the Kent State shooting they joined in those protests and strikes.
Timeline
May 4, 1970
On May 4, 1970, actress and anti-Vietnam War activist Jane Fonda visited students at the University of New Mexico. Fonda encouraged students to engage in "non-violent and vigorous protest of Nixon's Cambodia policies." During Fonda's speech, students began planning a strike that was set to begin early on May 6, and created a list of demands for University President Ferrel Heady. After the speech, Fonda and about 150 students proceeded to march to Heady's home where they delivered their demands and protested late into the night. Following the protest, student body president Eric Nelson and The Daily Lobo editor Michael Blake formally encouraged students to participate in a strike with the purpose of protesting Nixon's invasion in Cambodia and the violent Kent State shooting that had happened earlier that day. The students adopted the theme "They Shoot Students, Don't They?" for the strike, a play on words reference to Fonda's star role in the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?