New Initiatives Against Bias and Hate
Overview
Every member of the University—student, faculty and staff—makes a commitment to strive for personal and academic integrity; to treat others with dignity and respect; to honor the rights and property of others; to take responsibility for individual and group behavior; and to act as a responsible citizen in a free academic community and in the larger society.
When any member of the University feels that this commitment to civil behavior has been violated on the basis of real or perceived race, ethnic or national origin, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other factors not relevant to the participation in the life of the University, it can be detrimental to our community. The student who believes that he or she has been harassed or discriminated against will not feel respected and valued as a member of the University. The student may stop actively participating in University life and may even leave.
As mentioned in the University’s statement on Civility and Equity, “it is the responsibility of everyone to promote an environment of openness and understanding so that even in the face of conflicting opinions, we are able to embrace differences and help create an environment that is accepting of every member of our community.”
The University has several resources on campus that can help students handle bias incidents, unlawful discrimination and harassment, and hate crimes (click here for definitions). In an effort to coordinate these resources, University administrators have developed two streamlined systems that can better educate our community about hate and enable students to respond to incidents more effectively: a new policy with procedures for handling acts of unlawful discrimination and harassment, and an Incident Response System, which is under development. For a list of current campus resources available to students when bias incidents, unlawful discrimination and harassment, or hate crimes occur, click here.
Policy on Unlawful Discrimination and Harassment
Revised in 2006, the Policy on Unlawful Discrimination and Harassment forms the basis of the University’s commitment to conform to the law in regard to non-discrimination and maintaining a campus environment and work place free from sexual harassment and other unlawful forms of harassment. The policy describes three procedures for students to seek redress for and resolve complaints of unlawful discrimination and harassment:
1) Advising: reporting complaints to an Unlawful Harassment Complaint Advisor,
2) Mediation: reporting complaints to a Complaint Advisor, along with mediation between the complainant, the accused, and a third party,
3) Formal investigation: may be conducted at any time, upon the request of the complainant or the accused.
Please refer to the full policy for details on the complaint resolution process.
Incident Response System
Sometimes, interactions within the University community may be offensive and hurtful but may not rise to the level of a crime or unlawful discrimination and harassment. These are otherwise known as bias incidents. To provide students with a more streamlined resource to seek support for and resolution of bias incidents, the University of Chicago has committed to developing an Incident Response System, which will supplement avenues already existing on campus. Such a system can have several benefits:
- Students know where to seek assistance and support when bias incidents occur,
- Students can seek help more quickly when incidents occur outside of normal business hours and need an immediate response,
- Bias incidents can be documented and reported, which can lead to proactive prevention and educational efforts,
- A strong message is communicated about the University’s values, and about what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behavior in our community,
- A message is communicated that we, as a community, are working towards building a campus environment that is safe and welcoming to all students.
During the 2006–07 school year, the University plans to engage students for feedback and suggestions as the response system is being developed. Students interested in being involved should contact Ana Vazquez, Deputy Dean of Students in the University/Director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, 2-2724. By the end of the 2006–07 school year, the University anticipates that the response system will be fully functioning under a new name, with the following components:
University community education: In addition to programming designed to inform the University community about bias incidents and hate crimes, the response system website will include interactive quizzes as well.
Student documentation of incidents: Improvements will be made to the current Incident Response Form.
Incident Response System Complaint Advisors: The University will identify staff members who will be trained to support and advice students who report bias incidents. This will be a diverse group, so that each student may choose an avenue appropriate to his or her particular situation and choose a staff person with whom he or she feels comfortable sharing the negative experience.
Reporting of bias incidents to the campus community: Currently in development is a comprehensive reporting mechanism that will record bias incidents. This is an important initiative to help our community gain a better understanding of the campus climate for students and to enable the improvement and formation of programs and resources that help improve the campus climate.
As the response system evolves, this website will be updated.
