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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Letter to the Editor: Incident at WRRC

As you may know, on Monday, Jan. 30, interns of the Women’s Resources and Research Center (WRRC) found their life-size critique representation of Barbie with its neck wrapped with a noose and tied to a water pipe above in the basement of North Hall. The Life-Size Barbie Project was constructed by engineering students to show the unrealistic, life-size proportions of Barbies. The incident was reported to the Ethic Point Campus Hate and Bias Incident Reporting System and the WRRC filed a police report.

At this time, it appears that no other items were taken or damaged. It is also not clear how the perpetrator(s) accessed the basement at this time. A full police report and investigation is pending. While at this time we do not know precisely what the perpetrator intended to convey, the imagery is disturbing and any observer might well interpret it as an expression of hostility directed at women. For many who saw this, the impact was very hurtful. This imagery serves as a reminder of the perpetual acts of violence committed against women every day in our society and on our college campuses. Our campus is no exception.

It is an important reminder of our need to stay vigilant of our surroundings and to report acts of hate and bias immediately to the campus police and the University Hate and Bias Incident Reporting System. The campus administration remains committed to finding the perpetrators of acts of hate and bias who would assault our community and prosecuting them to the fullest extent possible. We ask for your support in both resolving this current incident and helping us to create a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our campus community. Anyone who has information about the incident is encouraged to call the UC Davis Police at 752-1727.

The WRRC provides valuable resources to the campus community and we ask that you join them in their call to oppose all manifestations of sexism, hatred, violence against women and gendered violence. We encourage everyone affected by this disturbing incident to stop by the WRRC to talk, process or engage in dialogue reflective of our Principles of Community. The strength of our campus community lies in the recognition that each of us has an obligation to the community of which we have chosen to be a part. We will strive to build a true community of spirit and purpose based on mutual respect and caring.

Respectfully,
Griselda Castro           
Associate Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs   
Rahim Reed
Associate Executive Vice Chancellor, Campus Community Relations

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