Dear DSA,

An incident Friday night near the UNT campus, comes at a time when so many are already struggling with pain and anger following acts of racial violence across our country.

From Alabama to New York and Minneapolis, these cruel and inhumane acts are demonstrating the systemic problems that plague the nation. This cannot be tolerated in our communities and especially in the UNT family.

Even one instance of racial violence is too many, and I stand with our students, faculty and staff of color so deeply hurt by these events. A deeper discussion on race and tolerance is needed in our country, state and institution.

To begin that conversation, our Diversity Council and Counseling Department are joining forces to host a session next week to guide us on taking care of one another and ourselves in times like this. More details will follow soon.

The days and weeks ahead will bring more important work for all of us, and it is work we are committed to doing.

Virtual counseling is available to our students through our Counseling Department. Staff can utilize the Employee Assistance Program and our Counseling Department.

If you experience or witness racism committed by a student, I encourage you to report it at http://report.unt.edu. Suspected violations committed by faculty or staff members should be reported to Equal Opportunity at https://edo.unt.edu/file-complaint. For more information on how to be a better ally please visit https://edo.unt.edu/virtual-diversity-and-inclusion-training.

Please join me in supporting one another by listening attentively, being an ally and having the hard conversations that need to take place for healing and progress to start.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth With, Ed.D.