On Sept. 17, racist slurs were found on the doors of three students’ rooms in a residence hall. The university is investigating the incident and has offered support by personally reaching out to the students affected by these hateful messages.
The slurs were despicable. Messages of racial, ethnic or religious discrimination have no place at the University of Michigan. They do not reflect our values.
The safety of our community is our highest and most immediate priority. The U-M Division of Public Safety and Security is investigating the incident and has increased security patrols in the area of the residence hall, West Quad.
Here are the steps we have taken to respond to these reprehensible acts, and we will continue post updates on this site.
Sunday, Sept. 17:
DPSS met with the affected students in University Housing whose door name tags were vandalized. U-M housing officials are working with the students to meet their needs.
The Michigan Community Scholars program hosted a meeting Sunday evening to offer direct support to students, hear students’ concerns and talk through the community response. Staff members from Housing Security, U-M Police and Residence Education/University Housing, in addition to the Michigan Community Scholars Program and the School of Literature, Science, and the Arts were present at the meeting.
President Mark Schlissel shared a statement from the Black Student Union on social, and provided his own tweet, condemning the acts.
LSA and the university chief diversity officer, Rob Sellers, also responded with statements following the president’s tweet.
LSA Dean Andrew Martin has reached out to the affected students, inviting them to individual meetings this week. He also had office hours in West Quad on Monday, Sept. 18, to which all MCSP students were invited.
Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones has connected with students from the black community who reached out to her directly. The Dean of Students Office also has reached out to the Black Student Union and the NAACP, offering the support of the Bias Response Team and providing updates on the campus response. BSU will host a gathering in South Quad on Tuesday night.
Monday, Sept. 18:
LSA Dean Andrew Martin had office hours in West Quad to which all MCSP students were invited.
Diversity and Inclusion and Residence Education in University Housing sent a statement to Residence Education student staff members (diversity peer educators and resident advisers in all residential communities) that outlined what happened, offered university and campus resources, summarized the university’s response, and reiterated the need to report incidents to professional staff members.
University Housing sent a message to all West Quad residents and will continue to work with residents and staff members to determine the community response and events for the coming week.
The Diversity Peer Educator and the Hall Director in West Quad also will offer direct support to the students through the next few days as necessary.
Monday afternoon, the faculty’s Senate Assembly affirmed its commitment to “open and civil discourse, equity, inclusion and mutual respect extending to all members of all ethnic communities.” Last Monday, Sept. 11, the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs approved a resolution affirming its support for Latinx members of the university community.
U-M Division of Public Safety and Security continues to investigate the incident and will continue to increase security patrols in the area of the residence hall, West Quad.
It is important to remember, if you see something, say something. You can report incidents such as this to the university’s Bias Response Team: https://deanofstudents.umich.edu/article/bias-response-team.
Thursday, Sept. 21:
Thursday afternoon, university leaders sent a message to the Ann Arbor campus community regarding racist incidents.
