What happened

Several University of Utah students who were taking an American Sign Language (ASL) class together, created a GroupMe community online to facilitate group study sessions. On November 21, 2022, a group of students was using the GroupMe chat, when another unknown individual, joined the chat group. The unknown individual, who needed a University of Utah email address to join, started “spamming” random messages in the chat, including some targeting the LGBTQ+ community by saying “imagine being LGBTQ” and when someone suggested the moderator “block” him, the unknown user made fun of the concept of preferred pronouns by saying “what makes you think I’m a he, what if I identify as a microwave?”

Several individuals who were in the channel at the time identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community and one had a rainbow emoji in their username.

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 if, through the course of some review or investigation (by the OEO/AA or other appropriate investigative body), the individuals involved are confirmed to be a student and 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 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

Regardless of the intention or classification as a “joke”, acts like this are demeaning and cause harm to students’ and other community members’ sense of belonging. We continue to strive 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.  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.