10/17/2025
Dear Campus Community Members,
We are writing to let you know that several students of color recently have reported being the target of racial slurs yelled at them from cars driving by on the perimeter of campus over the past three weeks. The perpetrators are reported to be members of our campus community. This behavior is a violation of our core values and our Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and Harassment, and has no place in our campus.
We are committed to appropriately addressing this conduct and its impacts. The Director of Civil Rights Compliance and Title IX Coordinator and Director of Security Services are currently investigating the reports. If you have experienced or witnessed similar incidents or have relevant information, please contact the Director of Civil Rights Compliance and Title IX Coordinator, titleix-eoo@pugetsound.edu or Director of Security Services (security@pugetsound.edu). Anyone who has been found to violate our campus policies or relevant laws will be subject to appropriate corrective action.
We are providing support to the affected individuals, and we want to remind the campus community that the Director of Civil Rights Compliance and Title IX Coordinator, CHWS, the Chaplaincy, and OIED can all provide support to those impacted by reported harassment or discrimination. The contact information for these offices is found at the end of this message.
Each of us has chosen to be part of this campus community and as part of that choice we agree to uphold the university’s core values, including respect, inclusion, leadership, courage, and justice so that each person can learn, grow and flourish. We are disappointed that members of our community may have acted in a way that is counter to these values and harms others. We are particularly disappointed that these reported slurs occurred so close in time to Dr. Amy Gauthier’s campus message on October 3 affirming that harassment and discrimination is prohibited on the campus, so we feel compelled to now remind every member of the campus community of their individual responsibilities to help create an environment that demonstrates inclusive excellence and models positive engagement across differences.
Lorna Hernandez Jarvis | VP for Institutional Equity and Diversity
Sarah Comstock | VP for Student Affairs & Dean of Students
Contact for Reporting Incidents
Amy Gauthier, Ed.D.
Director of Civil Rights Compliance & Title IX Coordinator
Wheelock Student Center 218
253.879.3793
Titleix-eoo@pugetsound.edu
Report online: https://www.pugetsound.edu/
Anonymous reports are accepted
Support Opportunities
CHWS
Megan Martinez, Intercultural Engagement Psychologist
Wheelock Student Center 216
chws@pugetsound.edu
Chaplaincy
Dave Wright, Chaplain
Wheelock Student Center 203
chaplaincy@pugetsound.edu
OIED
Mikaila Harris, Director of Intercultural Engagement
Howarth Hall 217
vpdiversity@pugetsound.edu