Response to Bias Acts and Hate Crimes

Policy statement

SUNY Oneonta responds to bias acts, including hate crimes, according to procedures that have been ratified by President and are reviewed on a regular basis. The response includes investigation and adjudication, as appropriate, by the University Police Department and/or Office of Student Judicial Affairs. The Bias Acts Response Team oversees the response to individuals and/or communities who have been affected by bias acts.

Rationale

Bias acts encompass a broad range of negative behaviors that target individuals or groups because of actual or perceived characteristics and/or membership in groups. For the health and well being of the campus community, it is critical that individuals or groups who feel targeted and/or affected by bias acts can easily report the incident and receive services, as needed.

Applicability of the policy

The policy applies to students and employees at SUNY Oneonta and may be used to address conduct occurring on or off campus.

Policy elaboration

The materials that accompany the policy (Procedures for Reporting Bias Acts, Procedures for the Bias Act Response Team) are critical for understanding the range of responses that can be made by SUNY Oneonta. They can be found here.

The purposes of the bias team:

1. Assist those who feel that they have been targeted in bias incidents to identify all of the remedies that are available to them.
2. Provide educational (not disciplinary or judicial) remedies in response to complaints of bias incidents (e.g., facilitated conversations for those who were involved, passive or active educational programming for groups, etc.)
3. Maintain a record of bias incidents and generate reports for use by the campus community.

Definitions

One of the documents that accompany the policy includes definitions of bias acts and hate crimes.

Procedures

The Procedures for Reporting a Bias Act or Hate Crime and the Procedures for the Bias Act Response Team accompany this policy and can be found here.

Forms

Procedures for Reporting a Bias Act or Hate Crime, Procedures for the Bias Act Response Team, Definitions of Bias Acts and Hate Crimes, and Resources are the initial forms that are linked to this policy. It is anticipated that additional materials will be generated as part of the efforts to inform the campus community about the policy and procedures.

Related documents/policies

Workplace violence

Silent Witness

Discrimination policy