The University Of Utah: Revisions To Student Code Of Rights And Responsibilities

Salt Lake City UT

14 April, 2022

1:53 PM

Description

Press release from The University of Utah: April 12, 2022 Dear Campus Community, "With increasing volatility in society and our own communities, it is important for the University to be transparent and address bias and prejudice-motivated behaviors. Until now, our Student Code (Policy 6-400) did not name these behaviors. Without specifically naming them, we inherently silence victims by not acknowledging the behaviors of bias, prejudice and racism. This leads to members of our marginalized and underrepresented communities not feeling heard or seen within their very own university. Effective April 12, 2022, the following changes are applied to the University of Utah's Student Code of Conduct: These necessary changes are being made to ensure that students' free speech rights afforded by the First Amendment are not violated while holding our community members accountable if they take harmful action that was motivated by bias or prejudice. The changes outlined above stemmed from many individual conversations with faculty, staff and students, as well as feedback solicited from: Academic Senate, Academic Senate Executive Committee, Institutional Policy Committee, University Institutional Policy Committee, Council of Academic Deans, Dean of Students Student Advisory Board, Associated Students of the University of Utah, Black Student Union, Center for Equity and Student Belonging, Black Cultural Center, Racist and Bias Response Team, Anti-Racism Committee, Student Affairs Leadership Team, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Housing & Residential Education, Student Athlete Advisory Committee, SAFE, and the President's Cabinet. Ultimately, this is one step the U is taking to address the systems that are in place that continue to uphold inequities within our community. We recognize that there is much work still to be done, and we anticipate undertaking a detailed review of the Student Code in the 2022-23 academic year and possibly proposing additional changes. Finally, please know that Human Resources and the Office of Faculty are currently performing similar reviews of the Staff and Faculty Codes of Conduct". Thank you, Jason Ramirez, Dean of Students Ken Stonebrook, Associate Dean of Students This press release was produced by The University of Utah. The views expressed here are the author's own.