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University of Utah spends $400K a year on ‘Dignity Index’ scoring political speech
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The University of Utah has launched a program called “The Dignity Index” that rates how statements sound during political or social disagreement on an eight-point scale.
Formally announced in October, according to The Daily Utah Chronicle, the Index is expected to cost $400,000 every year for equipment as well as personnel for the program.
According to the University of Utah, the Index is an “eight-point scale that measures how people talk to each other when they disagree—ranging from ONE, which shows total contempt for the other side, to EIGHT, which shows dignity to everyone, no matter what.”
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The University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Getty Images)
Tami Pyfer, chief external affairs officer and co-creator of the Dignity Index, said on a university page that the program was started “as a pilot to establish the validity of the Dignity Index itself has grown into an initiative with touch points in 25 states.”
The partnership between the University of Utah and Project UNITE, a nonprofit which created The Dignity Index, initially began in 2022 when the University of Utah used the Index “to use the Dignity Index to score political speech in Utah’s congressional mid-term elections.”
A “youth edition” of The Dignity Index talks about “building skills for dignified disagreement” and also scores speech on an eight-point scale, with a one being, “We have to hurt those people; they deserve it,” a four progressing to, “We’re better than those people; they don’t really belong,” and an eight being, “Each one of us is precious and irreplaceable, so we should treat each other with dignity, no matter what.”
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The University of Utah has launched a program called “The Dignity Index” that rates how statements sound during political or social disagreement on an eight-point scale. (Javi Sanz/Getty Images)
According to Meghan Monroe, senior program associate of K-12 Education at Project UNITE, which created The Dignity Index, the youth edition of the Dignity Index “can be applied to the programs and practices already happening in schools, like those promoting Active Listening and Empathy, which encourage open dialogue where everyone – educators, students, and parents – feels heard, affirming the dignity of each person.”
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“Formally announced” in October, according to The Daily Utah Chronicle, the Index is expected to cost the university $400,000 every year for equipment as well as personnel for the program. (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
She also said it can be used in “Restorative Practices, which help rebuild relationships and address conflicts with dignity, compassion, and understanding; and Inclusive Resources, which recognize the diverse perspectives and cultural backgrounds students bring to school.”
Natalie Gochnour, director of the Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the university “prioritizes dignity. As stated in our core values, ‘We care deeply about our students, patients, society and world, and recognize the inherent dignity of all people.’ In addition to dignity, we simultaneously affirm the bedrock value of freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth as fundamental and non-negotiable rights on campus and in the community.”
Gochnour added, “Together, these three ideals – the inherent worth of all people, the pursuit of truth, and right to express opinions and ideas — create an environment for speech to flourish and society to prosper.”
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“We often pair these ideals together because too often, contempt – the opposite of dignity – suppresses speech and learning. When people experience contempt, they often self-censor, or worse, bite back with even more disdain,” Gochnour said. “When people self-censor or fall into a spiral of contempt, communication falters. People eventually stop talking, listening, and learning. Without communication, problems worsen; civil society suffers. There’s a better way and the University of Utah stands ready to lead out. The Dignity Initiative is a privately funded endeavor at the University of Utah to reduce contempt and inspire free speech. In partnership with UNITE, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the U prepares research on dignity scholarship, shares insights on dignity practices, and pioneers a tool known as the Dignity Index to measure how we treat each other when we disagree.”
Gochnour also said that participation is “entirely voluntary.”
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The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball this season, prompting the front office to explore operating as sellers this summer. Amid a flurry of MLB trade rumors this week about a potential firesale, there is now more buzz regarding the future of Matt Chapman with the team.
MLB insider Robert Murray spoke to executives around the league who said that Chapman is “the most appealing” trade target of the group that also includes Rafael Devers and Willy Adames.
Matt Chapman Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman contract (Spotrac): $25.166 million AAV (2026-2030)
It’s no surprise that Chapman is the most coveted player among the highly-paid trio. He is a Gold Glove Award winner at third base who can still provide well above-average fielding at the hot corner as a 33-year-old. On top of that, he is also outproduced Adames by a wide margin this season and offers far greater positional value than Devers.
However, there is a complicating factor. Chapman has played 10 seasons in the majors and has a full no-trade clause. He also made it clear to reporters this week that he prefers to remain in San Francisco, especially since he is a California native.
Rafael Devers Trade Landing Spots
- Matt Chapman stats (2026): .252/.337/.400, .737 OPS, 7 home runs, 41 RBI in 309 plate appearances
As a result, per Murray, San Francisco is not expected to move him this offseason. That makes it even more likely that the club’s highest-paid players remain with the team for the remainder of the season, with president of baseball operations Buster Posey expected to pursue alternative options.
More than likely, the Giants will instead be trading the likes of Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, and Luis Arraez. All three veterans are on expiring contracts, so San Francisco will attempt to get whatever it can for them on the trade market next month.
Willy Adames Trade Landing Spots
DENVER (KDVR) — An early morning fire on Friday left a home completely ablaze in the Highlands neighborhood, just a week after another house under construction went up in flames in the same area.
The Denver Fire Department shared photos of the incident, as crews were called to 3643 Mariposa, where images show a fully consumed home under construction.
“I think they [firefighters] kicked in the neighbor’s door just to make sure nobody was at home,” neighbors Lucy and Kyle said. “Some of the other houses, their windows got blown out from the heat!”
Just 11 days earlier, on June 8, a home under construction caught fire in the same neighborhood near West 33rd and Navajo. Nobody was hurt in either fire.
And just about two years earlier, in July, another fire in the same area ignited around West 36th and Osage. All of the properties are/were under development by the same group.
“I wasn’t present for any of the fires,” Ryan Yoffe, a member of the developer group, said.
Yoffe does say he thinks he knows how the last two fires had been set, saying it’s the City of Denver that needs to do better with surveillance.
“It’s likely related to the amount of homelessness in the area, looking for properties under construction to live in or burn down,” Yoffe said. “The City and the Police Department need to do a better job patrolling to limit the number of homeless people camping in the neighborhood.”
Denver Fire Department officials say the most recent incidents are under investigation, but that nobody was hurt in either.
Social media is absolutely flooded with the images, video and words showing a vibrant city and region full of the joys of our soccer heritage. The supposedly dying city of Seattle put on an exceptional show for the world’s game and once again is convincing USMNT players to consider the Sounders for their next stop.
None of that happens with a suburban stadium in Renton. None of it.
The championship banners in Lumen? They’d be gone, reducing the symbols of local soccer excellence from the TV feed.
All those packed local bars with their Sounders scarves, posters and kits? Gone.
This isn’t a hypothetical. Plenty of MLS teams are in metro areas hosting the World Cup. The other US MLS teams aren’t getting this kind of love. LA hosted a bigger US win, but that match experience was not an advertisement for the Galaxy or LAFC.
When Santa Clara hosts the Round of 32 match you are not going to hear a word about the 50-year-old San Jose Earthquakes. If the US advances to the semis in Arlington you won’t hear a peep about FC Dallas. If they make the final in East Rutherford the Red Bulls will be a footnote.
But when the world’s game comes to Seattle the Sounders are the conversation, because this team is in the heart of a city and region that loves it.
Ripping the Sounders away from these types of moments for revenue control while eliminating the free marketing to players and fans is laughable. Renton’s Legacy Square is doing a wonderful job for thousands of visitors a week. It is not Seattle. Nor is Southcenter’s shows in Tukwila.
Moments like Friday, the future Women’s World Cup matches and maybe even a US Round of 16 with hundreds of thousands of people experiencing Seattle’s soccer culture are only possible while soccer is a major tenant in a downtown stadium.
It’s why Don Garber praises the Sounders, and hardly ever mentions the flood of owners who built tiny houses in the burbs. “MLS isn’t what it is without the Sounders.”
The Sounders aren’t what they are without Lumen Field in Seattle. Full stop.
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Catching up on Sounder at Heart
Here’s what you missed on the site this week.
World Cup
Next Seattle match: Wednesday, June 24 between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Qatar.
Sounders
Next match: July 16 hosting Portland Timbers during rivalry week.
Reign
Next match: July 4 at North Carolina
Defiance
Next match: June 21 vs Real Monarchs.
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