The Building Community Committee at the University of Colorado at Boulder will host an open campus discussion on "Building Community: Working Towards a Hate-Free Campus" on Tuesday, Jan. 26, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Recreation Center conference rooms.
The committee wants input from the campus on proposed university policy and protocol for responding to acts of hate.
The Building Community committee is comprised of students, faculty and staff who began meeting early last fall to discuss a campaign to promote a community of learning, trust and common good at CU-Boulder. The campaign is a response to several incidents that occurred last year, including three hate letters that were sent to the Black Student Alliance.
According to Ron Stump, dean of students, the campaign is the next logical step evolving from the report by the Chancellor's Task Force on Civility and Building Community.
"Our group is working on the means to put into practice the report's ideas and recommendations," Stump said. "We expect this effort to be on-going and to involve all campus members."
Goals for the campaign include establishing a community of respect and trust characterized by strong campus relationships, satisfaction with the university and success in scholarly, academic and personal endeavors. Strategies for accomplishing this include a climate assessment of the messages conveyed by university literature, educational as well as social activities and a policy for
responding to hate acts. The committee hopes that the results of the campaign will include a decrease in the number and type of hate acts and enhanced recruitment and retention of CU students, staff and faculty.
Most important to the campaign's success are cross campus conversations to encourage a responsible, caring and welcoming university community. The Jan. 26 meeting is intended to be a step in that direction.
"The recent hate acts on this campus over the past year are disturbing and insulting to the entire campus," said Tara Friedman, a junior majoring in political science. "We need to begin a serious discussion on behavior and expectations to heal and build the CU and Boulder communities."
DRAFT
PROPOSED POLICY FOR
RESPONDING TO ACTS OF HATRED
Following is a draft of the proposed policy and protocol on responding to Acts of Hate that will be discussed at the Jan. 26 meeting:
Homophobic graffiti, abusive language, hate mail, racist jokes, anti-Semitic incidents and sexual assaults are acts that are detrimental to developing community. It is disheartening to know that 15 hate acts were reported for the calendar year as of Nov. 1, 1998. When applicable, civil and judicial action against perpetrators should be pursued to the limit. However, not all acts of hatred are currently recorded or addressed. In addition, the offer of support and counseling is not always received by the affected persons. A standard protocol needs to be developed to encourage the reporting of such acts and systematic and appropriate responses to them. The protocol would include a means to track the acts so that trends and type can be determined, and change can be measured over time.
To effectively follow this protocol, faculty, student leaders and staff need to be aware of how to respond to hate acts. Cross-campus training of faculty, students and staff, as well as informational messages, are needed regarding the protocol. Ways for the University to support affected parties also need to be developed. A campus policy on hate acts including reporting (anonymously as well as formally) needs to be established and adhered to by Facilities Management, Housing, the UMC and other large departments. Such a policy should also include: descriptions of hate acts based on type; responses to such acts; a decision-making process on whether a public statement is warranted; and a commitment to clean off, remove or paint over graffiti.
Types of hate acts include:
o Injury to person(s)
o Damage to property
o Verbal or written acts that are personal and threatening to health or safety
o Verbal or written acts that are racist, sexist or homophobic but not
personal and/or threatening
o Graffiti
The University response in all cases should include full civil and judicial action within the law against the perpetrator and the offer of assistance and counseling to the affected party(ies). A public statement by the University is warranted in cases of injury, property damage or personal threat. In other cases, an immediate discussion should be held with the affected party(ies) by representatives of the Chancellor's Office, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and the Office of Equity and Access regarding the appropriateness and content of a public statement by the University.
The creation of a group to monitor and respond to reported hate acts is also proposed. Patterned after similar groups at universities like Indiana University and the University of Vermont, this group would be composed of faculty, staff and students who would be readily available to respond to complaints and provide appropriate support and assistance. The group would also review the reported acts for patterns or problems, and provide recommendations for training, policies or procedures.