SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 26, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — University of Utah President Ruth V. Watkins wants everyone to know that racism will not be tolerated on or near the U of U campus, after a banner “from an organization that espouses white supremacy” was posted on the University’s George S. Eccles Legacy Bridge.
According to a statement from Watkins on the University’s website, the posting of the banner happened Saturday afternoon. And it wasn’t the only incident that sent ripples of concern through the University’s administration.
Earlier in the week,”several stickers from a different hate group were also found on campus.”
Both of the groups referred to are described by the Anti-Defamation League as white supremacist organizations, Watkins said in her statement, titled “Condemning Racism.”
Addressing her comments to Students and Colleagues, Watkins said:
“Let me be clear, while our campus is an open forum where individuals may express their views, the rhetoric used by these groups does not align with or reflect the University of Utah’s values. These cowardly, faceless and non-university sanctioned tactics are designed to disrupt and frighten individuals and communities, and to garner attention for an insidious ideology that has no place on our campus or in our community.”
Watkins has directed U of U personnel, law enforcement and others to remove any such postings immediately when they are discovered, and she has “asked the Office of the Dean of Students and the Office of Equity and Diversity to help the campus respond to and monitor these types of actions.”
“I encourage all of us to engage in respectful dialogue that will enable us to work together to learn, grow, innovate, challenge and build a better future,” she said.
The entire statement can be read here.
