Dear Campus Community,

We write this evening to acknowledge that during the President’s Town Hall this afternoon, an incident took place in front of more than 200 members of our Logger community where many in the audience heard monkey sounds that appeared to be directed at the president. Students and President Crawford immediately responded, and President Crawford directly stated to the audience, “This kind of behavior is in direct violation of the values that we hold on this campus.”  Any racial slur is a direct violation of the campus policy prohibiting discrimination and harassment, the student integrity code, and the university’s code of conduct.  It is simply unacceptable in civil society.

The impact is clear. The sound publicly expressed by the individual caused deep harm to Black members of our community and to the community as a whole. We are deeply sorry for the harm this inflicted. It is critical that when a situation like this takes place we all feel a sense of responsibility to respond appropriately. We thank the student(s) who immediately responded in the moment and those campus community members who identified the individual, as well as those who have already filed formal harassment and discrimination complaints.

This university community continues to work diligently to make the campus more inclusive. Behaviors such as the one expressed at the Town Hall meeting are against our values and goals. We will not tolerate racist conduct.

Following the Town Hall, the Title IX Coordinator/Equal Opportunity Officer received numerous reports of the incident and an individual came forward to the Dean of Students Office and stated they were the one who made the offensive sounds. As a result, an investigation is already underway. If you have any information to share, we encourage you to contact Sandra Braedt, Title IX Coordinator and Equal Opportunity Officer, at 253-879-3973 or titleix-eoo@pugetsound.edu. Please know that your name and contact information will be kept confidential.

For those deeply affected, please know that Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services and the Chaplain are available to you as is the Employee Assistance Program.  You may contact CHWS at chws@pugetsound.edu, Chaplain Dave Wright at dwright@pugetsound.edu​, and the EAP at 888-628-4824.

We are deeply sorry that this action caused harm to so many people.  We will continue to take steps to demonstrate the deeply held values of our institution and provide a welcoming environment to every member of our community.

 

Lorna Hernandez Jarvis, PhD (She/her/hers)
Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity

Sarah Rush Comstock (She/her/hers)
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students