What happened
Several University Student Groups use Discord, an online audio, text, and video chat software to communicate and stay in touch with members of their community. One of those groups is the University’s Muslim Student Association. On September 7, 2021, an individual reported that on the night of September 2, 2021, three unknown individuals joined the Muslim Student Association Discord channel and began using racist language and sharing racist memes and images in an attempt to “troll” the channel and its members. The language included slurs against the Black Community, Jewish Community and Muslim community. Several individuals who were in the channel at the time attempted to have a dialogue with the harassers, but the dialogue prompted additional offensive speech and harassment until at some point the harassers left the room.
What is being done
The incident was reported to the Racist and Bias Incident Response Team, to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, and the reporters were also encouraged to report to University of Utah Police. If the reporters choose to have the incident investigated further, and the perpetrators are determined to be members of the campus community, they will be held accountable in accordance with applicable University policies.
What to do
Be vigilant and speak up. If you hear about or observe similar events or experience a racist or bias incident, make a report to the Racist and Bias Incident Response Team, or if you experience discrimination you can report it to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
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 the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Park Building, Room 208, or https://diversity.utah.edu/our-team/.
The U is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion
The University of Utah strongly condemns this action and the message. The University of Utah continues to condemn bias, discrimination, racism, bigotry and hate in the strongest possible terms. We support fostering an inclusive campus where everyone feels a sense of belonging. U administrators want to assure students, faculty and staff that they are dedicated to creating a safe, welcoming and equitable campus where we work together to engage, support and advance a living, learning and working environment that fosters values of respect, diversity, inclusivity and academic excellence.
The University of Utah also welcomes and values the members of our community who identify as Muslim, and applauds student groups like this and their attempts at connecting members of our community. More information about other types of critical conversations, including a discussion about intent vs. impact, surviving and thriving, claiming space and more, is available online.