What happened

As part of Pride week at the University of Utah, the Union Programming Council advertised various events in its publication, “The Toilet Paper” which is posted in restrooms throughout the Union building. On Wednesday, March 29, a staff member reported finding two of these event advertising posters damaged in a restroom in the Union Building. The posters were advertising the Pride Week Clothing Drive, and had a QR code that a reader could scan for more information. The title of the event, as well as the QR code had the plastic sign holders covering them scratched to the point that you could not read the information below. 

What is being done

The staff member reported the incident to the Associate Vice President for Student Development and Inclusion, who reported it to the Union building administration. Union building staff replaced the damaged sign holder immediately, and did a check of the other posters to replace any other damaged signs. The Associate VP for Student Development and Inclusion also reported the incident to the Racist and Bias Incident Response Team. RBIRT encouraged the reporter to also report the incident to the University of Utah Police Department.

If you have any information related to this incident (or others) that may help, please report by filling out the form at the Office of the Dean of Students website. Or you can report to University of Utah Police by calling 801-585-2677 or filling out the Silent Witness form.

If, through the course of some review or investigation (by University Police, or other appropriate investigative body), the individual(s) responsible is identified, the Office of the Dean of Students (if confirmed to be a student), Human Resources (if confirmed to be an employee), or other appropriate leader, will act within university policy designed to hold the individual(s) accountable and, if appropriate, provide additional education about the harm caused to the community by this type of behavior.

What to do

Be vigilant and speak up. If you see someone behaving suspiciously, engaging in vandalism, damaging or taking down posters, etc., note the location and notify a campus official. Stopping this type of behavior takes collective action, and bystander intervention efforts are one way of combatting conduct that can wrongfully be seen as a prank or joke but can cause real harm. To learn more about how to incorporate bystander intervention into your toolkit, check out the information here: https://wellness.utah.edu/workshops-training/#bystander.

If you are interested in learning more about the variety of resources the U offers to support diversity and inclusion, please visit the Office of the Dean of Students in the Union Building, Room 270, deanofstudents@utah.edu, 801-581-7066, or Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Park Building, Room 208, or https://diversity.utah.edu/our-team/. To make a report of a racist or bias incident, visit the public reporting form. 

The U is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion

Acts like this, done in a way to diminish or detract from a week of celebration and community building, such as Pride Week at the U, cause harm to students’ and other community members’ sense of belonging in a time when we are attempting to create a place of in-person connectedness and the LGBTQ+ community is feeling especially vulnerable. We are still striving to ensure that all our staff, students, trainees, faculty and other community members are able to find a place of safety and belonging as a part of our campus community, and have the space to explore, express and celebrate their various identities. 

While we will not tolerate such behavior, when done covertly, we cannot stop the act in the moment. We will continue to name the biased acts, investigate and hold the perpetrators of these hateful acts accountable when they are identified. Additionally, we will continue efforts that uplift and celebrate our communities and enhance a sense of belonging on our campus.