University of Utah investigates racist incident reports
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The University of Utah says its racist-incident team is investigating separate reports of men dressed like the KKK in dorms and excrement smeared on a door of a Black student’s room.
The reports came in the fall but drew attention Sunday night after a student questioned on Instagram why they had not been addressed, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
A university spokesperson says initial investigations were inconclusive but housing officials and campus police are now reviewing the incidents again.
The first happened Sept. 1, when a Black student reported returning to their dorm room to find it covered in a brown substance believed to be feces. It was cleaned up with the help of staff and the student was moved to new housing. Camera footage didn’t detect a perpetrator, though the devices may not have covered that area, the school spokesperson said.
In the second case, a resident adviser reported overhearing students in the same dorm building talking about seeing men dressed in white robes, similar to the KKK, trying to recruit students to a white supremist group.
The school had already investigated at least two other incidents involving racist language or graffiti since January 2020.