Dear Campus Community Members,

I promised that I would share with you information regarding bias incidents on campus and unfortunately have some disturbing news. This past week a university staff member found antisemitic and white supremacist vandalism on the electrical transformer box near the entrance to Lower Baker Field. It is unknown how long the message has been there. Facilities Services was dispatched to clean/erase it and Security Services has completed an incident report. A report was also filed with the Tacoma Police Department.

With the Texas hostage situation at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, and the increased reports of antisemitism across the country, having such vandalism on our campus is disconcerting to say the least. January 27 was Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day for all of us to reflect on the devastating impact of antisemitism, prejudice and hatred. The information about this vandalism appearing on our campus is deeply upsetting. The university continues to do what it can in these situations to identify perpetrators and address these acts of violence against members of our campus community.

I want to share with all of you that our Title IX/EOO coordinator, in collaboration with Security Services, is conducting an investigation of the history of this type of incident in the last several years. The goal is to identify patterns, including geographical areas where these messages might appear, so we can eventually identify strategies to address this continuing problem.

The Chaplaincy and Jewish Student Union (JSU) in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity are developing an educational session on antisemitism and the Holocaust for Yom HaShoah this semester. I hope many of you can join us for this event in April. More details are forthcoming.

If you have information about the vandalism described above or encounter other messages of prejudice and hatred, please report it to Security Services at ext. 3311 as soon as possible so they can investigate. Please stay vigilant, and equally important, let’s each of us do our part to address our own biases and to do what is in our power to continue to create a safe and inclusive community.

For those members of the community who are impacted by the white supremacy and antisemitic messages, know that you can contact CHWS and the Chaplain for support.

Sincerely,

Lorna
Lorna Hernandez Jarvis, Ph.D. (She, Her, Hers)
Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity