Dear Students,
As a member of UConn Muslim Ummah (UCMU), the Black Muslim Association, the UConn Muslim Student Association, UConn Salaam, the UConn Hartford Muslim Student Association, or the Ahlul Bayt Student Association, we wanted to share information about a recent incident on campus and the University’s on-going response.
On February 22, 2022, the University received a bias referral regarding an incident that occurred on February 21, 2022. The report indicated that while walking on campus two UConn students, who are members of the Muslim community, had racial slurs directed at them by individuals out of a car window driving by. We take these concerns seriously and promptly enacted our bias protocol when we received the referral. That protocol involves a coordinated response effort on the part of multiple University staff and offices.
When the University receives a report of an act of bias, the incident is shared with the Office of Community Standards, UConn Police, and the Dean of Students Office. Each report is managed on a case-by-case basis and actions are taken as appropriate. The actions include:
- identifying and providing support to impacted parties,
- reviewing the incident to determine possible violations of the law and/or student code of conduct,
- determining action steps to educate the impacted community and work to repair harm.
Today, February 23, 2022, the students identified in the report were contacted and offered support by the Associate Dean of Students and the UConn Police. The UConn Police are investigating the incident. Staff from the Dean of Students Office and the Office for Diversity and Inclusion will work together to provide support for students impacted by this incident. As the referral impacted a faith community, the University Faith liaison has notified the advisor for the respective community. Working together, UConn is committed to supporting our students directly impacted by this incident and continues to seek opportunities to broadly engage our community.
Our goal is always to engage in efforts which seek to remedy and resolve the impact of hateful speech. As a community, we must continue to work together to stand up for one another and support faith expression at UConn.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you or your organization need additional support while the investigation process continues.
Maureen Armstrong
Associate Dean of Students/Director, Dean of Students Office
Dean of Students Office
University of Connecticut
233 Glenbrook Rd, U-4062
Storrs, CT 06269-4062
860-486-3426 (phone)
860-486-1972 (fax)
Joseph P. Briody, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs & Executive Director of Student Activities
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
860.486.8151