A Message from the President and Chief Diversity Officer

Dear Members of the UNC Community:

Recently one of our residence halls was subject to a hateful and ignorant act of vandalism. A swastika was found carved into the plastic molding in one of the stalls in a common bathroom. A report was submitted, UNCPD was notified, and the Housing & Residential Education staff took the necessary actions to remove the symbol immediately. In addition, a notification was placed in the area where the hate symbol was found acknowledging the impact on the community, and listing resources, including the Counseling Center and Student Outreach and Support.

We share this information so that individuals are aware that these incidents take place on our campus and impact our community, and as a reminder of UNC’s values of inclusion and respect. Incivility and intolerance create a hostile environment that is the antithesis of the community we aspire to be. To be clear, hate and vandalism are incongruent with our values as a university.

While the institution will always investigate hate-related incidents and vandalism, the community must also continue to work together to prevent them. We are a community of Bears who take care of one other and hold each other accountable. If you witness incidents of hate, vandalism, discrimination or violence, or know someone who has been impacted, we encourage you to report through our “Report a Concern” portal. 

The Office of Equity & Inclusion and the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance will be hosting three opportunities for dialogue in the coming weeks regarding how UNC can better respond to incidents of intolerance, offensive speech and behavior, and discrimination or harassment while honoring and respecting First Amendment free speech protections.

We hope that you can attend one of the scheduled gatherings. Dates, times, and locations are noted below:

• Tuesday, March 10, 2:00pm to 3:00pm, University Center Aspen A & B
• Wednesday, March 11, 2:00pm to 3:00pm, University Center Aspen A & B
• Thursday, March 26, 1:30pm to 2:30pm, University Center Aspen A & B

We look forward to a conversation to focus on the larger goal of creating welcoming, equitable learning environments for all students, faculty, and staff.