University of Utah investigating reports of KKK group and possible hate crime

SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah officials are looking into a report of a Ku Klux Klan group walking into a dorm along with an incident where a brown substance was found smeared on a door to a student’s room.

School officials say both incidents are reported to have happened in the same dorm building in September and October.

In the first incident, a university spokesperson said a student reported that a towel with a brown substance was found on a door to a student’s room. It appeared to be feces. Staff cleaned it up that night and the student was immediately moved to new housing.

A month later, an RA reported overhearing two students talking about a couple of people dressed like KKK, or wearing white clothing, trying to recruit students in the dorm. The RA immediately reported the conversation to the front desk. Housing staff reviewed three days of video, but could not find anything.

Darlene McDonald with Utah Black Roundtable said even though these are just reports, these can still traumatize black students.

“We have been in their shoes for generations. This is generational trauma that is being inflicted on our students, again,” she said. “We cannot just say this does not exist. We cannot sweep this under the rug any longer. It is time for us to come together as a community and figure out some solution.”

McDonald is asking the U. to be transparent with its findings.

Both incidents are being investigated through the school’s Racist and Biased Incident Response Team.