Reporting Protocols for Students

Bias Response Network consists of the offices/departments where students typically seek help with a bias incident/hate crime.  These include: Public Safety, Residential Life, the Dean of Students office, the Counseling Service, and Health Services.  All of these offices have 24-hour on call capacity. 

Bias Incident forms will be available only through these offices so that students will be encouraged to have a face to face meeting with a member of the network who can help them to understand the process, their options, support services, etc.  The completion of this form will be the first step for any students wanting to report a bias incident. 

Students will have the option of submitting a Bias Incident form anonymously (similar to the sexual assault reporting form).

During their meeting with the response team member, the student will be offered the opportunity to review a list of “campus advocates”.  This newly created role will be filled by volunteer trained faculty/staff members who are willing to work with a student on an individual basis and help them navigate the college process.  The selected advocate will reach out to the student to offer support, answer questions related to the process, relay concerns to the appropriate campus representative(s), and direct the student to other support systems.  Their primary role is to make sure that student needs are being met within the system.  Plan to have this program up and running in Fall 2007.

The Bias response team member will forward the intake form to the appropriate offices (Public Safety if investigation is required, Dean of Students, Ombudsperson, Advocate if one is assigned).  Depending on the incident and impact for the community, the Dean of Students may call together a subset of the “Bias Response Team” to meet to debrief the incident, consider next steps, delegate tasks, and discuss individual and community needs.

These reports are kept in a confidential space and are not a part of a student’s file.