Monitoring
Although this situation may not be ongoing actively, the Racist & Bias Incident Response Team is working with appropriate departments to monitor and prevent future reoccurrence. Those who believe they have been the target of bias, intolerance or discrimination may report an incident to the public incident report form (bias and intolerance) or the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (sexual misconduct and discrimination).
Please direct any questions or concerns in regard to this bias incident to the RBIRT Manager at RBIresponse@utah.edu.
What happened
At one of the University of Utah’s residence halls (Kahlert Village) there was a bulletin board with the prompt “Let’s Talk Red Flags”… encouraging residents to complete the message with potential red flags in relationships. On November 1, 2023, a Resident Advisor (RA) reported they found the board tampered with and noticed someone ripped the “L” out of the word ‘flags’ to create a homophobic slur.
What is being done
Residential Advisors removed the slur from the bulletin board. Housing and Residential Education (HRE) reported the incident to the Racist and Bias Incident Response Team and the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
If you have any information related to this incident that may help, you can report the information using the Office of the Dean of Students’ website, report to the University of Utah Police by calling 801-585-2677, or fill out the silent witness form.
The U is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion
The University strongly disagrees with and condemns the messaging conveyed on the bulletin board. Acts like these demean the sense of belonging and safety of all of us, but particularly members of the LGBTQ+ community. Creating an equitable, safe, welcoming and inclusive campus is our top priority. We will continue to uplift and celebrate all of our communities and enhance a sense of belonging on campus.
What to do
Be vigilant and speak up. Stopping this kind of behavior takes collective action, and bystander intervention efforts are one way of combatting conduct that can be wrongfully seen as a prank or a joke but can cause real harm.
We will continue to name biased acts, and do what we can to achieve cultural change on campus and continue efforts that uplift and celebrate our communities and enhance a sense of belonging on our campus.
Support and resources
Counseling and support services are available from various entities on campus. Visit Campus Resources | #SAFEU (utah.edu) for more information.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Ana Ascencio, RBIRT Manager, at RBIresponse@utah.edu