The College Fix

‘No cameras’ where he was beat up

A white supremacist, along with other attackers, allegedly assaulted a gay University of Wyoming student, according to a bias report filed by his professor.

However, the student did not respond to the professor’s request for further information, and there is no other evidence the attack occurred.

The College Fix learned about the attack through a public records request for bias reports recently obtained through the university.

The student alleged he was “attacked by [a] white supremacist…behind the bar where there are no cameras” until “an angel came out of nowhere and told the dudes to quit.”

The professor filed the report on November 1, 2024. The student referenced the attack occurring during “festivities,” which presumably means Halloween.

“They threw awful racist insults at me while having fun kicking me in,” the student’s email read.

The student claims the worst injury he suffered was a “pretty banged up knee,” but he was “fine” because this was not the first time he was jumped since he was “gay [redacted by the university].”

The Fix submitted a public records request and inquiry to UW for information about the specific nature, investigation, and resolution of this incident and another report.

“The location of the incident has been redacted to ensure that the student’s privacy remains protected,” the public university in Laramie wrote.

The City of Laramie Police Department told The Fix it has no record or report of this incident.

In response to how the university generally handles complaints like this, the UW Media Relations team said in a phone call all complaints reported to their Equal Opportunity Report and Response are investigated.

In an email, the office said this incident was not investigated because it did not meet criteria for being within the university’s jurisdiction.

“Jurisdiction would apply if an incident takes place on property controlled by the University or at a University-sponsored event, and if the respondent in the complaint is a member of the University community,” the office wrote.

For complaints like this, then, the university will contact the person who submitted a complaint, discuss support, interim measures, rights, and options, and perform an assessment. “If jurisdiction exists… an investigation will begin.”

The EORR team did not respond to multiple requests for information via email, by phone, and through voicemail. The Fix asked for updates on the investigations, how the victim may be contacted, and which bar the assault took place at.

Out of the 27 bars around the UWyoming area, The Fix called eight of the bars most frequented by students, as revealed by Reddit posts, but none of them were able to recollect the incident.

This is one of a handful of bias reports obtained by The Fix.

Another complaint asked the university to punish a student posting comments on social media critical of Islam. The bias complaint alleged a University of Wyoming student “has been reposting tweets from known racists constantly proclaiming that ‘Islam is not allowed in America.’”

The person who submitted the bias report said the student’s behavior “crosses the line of free speech and hate speech.”

“Either she takes down the tweets, takes down her account, is dealt with by the university, or she issues an apology,” the person said.

The UW Media Relations team told The Fix, however, “comments on social media are [generally] protected by the First Amendment.”

“If the comments are made on a University of Wyoming platform, and the comments are not protected by the First Amendment…, then the University may remove the comments,” the spokesperson said. “Either way, support and resources will be provided consistent with policy.”

The report was submitted on January 3, 2025 on the basis of discrimination of religion.

A program officer for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said “hate speech” is still protected by the First Amendment.

According to Aaron Corpora, a program officer at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, this type of “hate speech” is still protected by the First Amendment.

“[F]ree speech doesn’t lose First Amendment protection because it is considered hateful,” Aaron Corpora told The Fix via email.

“However, some language that can be considered hateful can lose First Amendment protection, if it falls into a narrowly defined category of unprotected speech… [like] true threats,” he wrote.

When asked how the University of Wyoming should approach this bias report, Corpora answered “the university, as a government actor, may not regulate speech that is otherwise lawful.”

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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: An empty bar; Quan Nguyen Vinh/Pexels

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