Closed
After a period of 90 days with no new information, cases are considered closed. However, if new information becomes available or there are other updates those will be posted here. Individuals 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
On December 9, 2022, two Resident Assistants (RAs) discovered sexual drawings along with biased language targeting women written on several whiteboards in a shared common cluster space in Kahlert Village. The drawings and written words appeared to be intended as a joke, describing a college course about sex entitled “Sex 3050.” Along with the sexual drawings, the specific biased language was the use of the phrase “no fat b****es.” The RAs documented the content and erased the whiteboards.
What is being done
The incident has been reported to the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (OEO/AA the Housing and Residential Education and Office of the Dean of Students Conduct teams, as well as the Racist and Bias Incident Response Team.
If, through the course of some review or investigation (by the OEO/AA or other appropriate investigative body), the individuals involved are confirmed to have engaged in conduct violating university policy, the Office of the Dean of Students and/or Housing and Residential Education or other appropriate leader, will act within university policy designed to hold the individual(s) accountable and, if appropriate, provide education about the harm caused to the community by this type of behavior – even in the absence of a finding of policy violation.
What to do
Be vigilant and speak up. Stopping this type of behavior takes collective action, and bystander intervention efforts are one way of combatting such conduct that causes 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
Regardless of the intention, acts like this demean women and cause harm to students’ and other community members’ sense of belonging. 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, especially in our residence halls, and have the space to explore, express and celebrate their various identities.
We will continue to name the biased acts, investigate, provide education, and when appropriate, hold the perpetrators of these harmful 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.