“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

Many students in our school community have been besieged during the last several years with numerous acts of harassment, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, ridicule for their religious beliefs and practices, bullying, anti-gay, and other forms of hatred. 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights initiated an investigation after receiving numerous complaints. The report noted at least 180 incidents occurred over a two-year period predominantly at three schools. The Park City School District recently signed a legal agreement with that Office, which requires the district to take a series of steps to address these problems.

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Unfortunately, this type of behavior by students continues as recently reported in The Park Record and a letter to the editor in the Saturday, April 13, edition of The Park Record. These incidents are not just a problem for the school system to solve, but are a problem facing our whole community that needs to be addressed.

Now is the time for our elected local leadership of Park City and Summit County, as well as leadership of many of our non-profit and religious organizations, to take a public stand and voice their opposition to this type of behavior whether it be spoken, written or on social media no matter from whom it comes —students, parents, teachers, individual citizens or even elected officials. 

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This goes against the values of this community. We strongly suggest that zero tolerance-worded public statements (and published if possible) against this behavior be made by the Park City mayor and City Council, chair of and the Summit County Council, individual religious leaders and their organizations, Interfaith Council, the city’s three Rotary groups, Park City Board of Realtors, Park City Chamber of Commerce, Park City Community Foundation, United Jewish Federation of Utah, the Church of Jesuit Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Christian Center of Park City, to name a few. 

Policies and positions may exist on paper, but more visibility and action are needed. Also, we recommend that the editor of the Park Record needs to write an opinion piece which takes a strong stand against all forms of hatred and intolerance.

We pose the following questions to begin a sorely needed conversation of how we as a community begin to come together to fight this unacceptable intolerance: What should we/they be doing? What else needs to be done to address these ill-founded attitudes and behaviors? How do we begin a community-wide conversation and action to end these biases and hatreds? What else is needed to end these incidents in our schools and the community?  

Fritz Edelstein
Snyderville 

Bill Becker
Pinebrook

Moe Hickey
Park Meadows

Tom Leavitt
Summit Park

Steve Pettise
Solamere

Beano Solomon
Park Meadows

Kim Lodder Wade and William D Wade
Sun Peak