On Jan. 27, a group of several people standing outside of a black truck yelled disrespectful language and made inappropriate gestures based on an Elizabethtown College student’s perceived identity as a member of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
That information was shared as a campus-wide email, which offered resources for students who wanted to speak with someone about the incident, and sought any information regarding the incident. It’s part of a string of recent bias-related incidents made aware to the public, the most ever to begin a semester according to Dean of Students and member of the Bias Incident Response Team Nichole Gonzalez.
“More incidents have come through emails lately because we had incidents at the end of last semester, and then we’ve had a couple this semester,” Gonzalez said. “There’s definitely more reporting, we know that, but there’s no way to get information to know whether actual incidents have increased or reporting has.”
Increased reporting may be due to the efforts made by the response team to hang posters, including a direct QR code to the bias incident reporting form, in every residence hall and academic building. The team has also increased educational programming, although Gonzalez noted that the programs are not attended by those who could benefit the most.
While educational programming for the College community has increased, the Jan. 27 incident was believed to be perpetrated by non-Etown students. That doesn’t necessarily mean that consequences can’t be pursued.
“Our primary focus is making sure our community is safe, and part of that is investigating and trying to determine who it was,” Gonzalez said. “If it was someone who isn’t here and a part of the community, we take steps to make sure they’re not coming back.”
While stopping perpetrators from returning is an important step towards safety, stopping incidents before they occur is also important. The incident with non-Etown students happened in the middle of the day, in a public parking lot.
“Even with increased campus safety measures, I don’t think that anything could have stopped the incident,” Gonzalez said. “I think this incident happened in the way anything else could have happened with a student. I’m happy it wasn’t a student, but I don’t think it would have made a difference for this specific situation.”
Campus Safety declined request for comment.
While incidents stir up increased conversations about the Bias Incident Response Team, they’re not necessarily the driving force behind everything they do.
“Not everything we do is necessarily a response because we do have the strategic plan and operational plan, as well as the campus inclusion committee,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not like, ‘Well, something happened, we should do more—’ We are always trying to do more.”
“It’s part of our planning efforts, trying to change the culture at the institution,” she added. “I don’t think there will ever be a time when there’s no bias incidents in the world, but every day we can work to decrease bias incidents on campus and reduce harm.”
When reports come in, they generally get routed to Gonzalez if they are bias related. She then calls the Bias Incident Response team together, who either meet in person or through email and phone calls. They meet regularly at least once a month, but often more frequently.
Sometimes, incidents don’t come through the report form, but through word of mouth. When that happens, the team still meets and comes up with a plan to address the situation, often, but not always, including a campus-wide email.
Although the email regarding the Jan. 27 incident was sent four days afterwards, it was part of an effort to get more information and make the community aware of what happened.
Looking ahead, Gonzalez and the team seem committed to their goal of making the campus community safer and more inclusive.
“We are trying to change the culture and community, and being transparent is just one way to do that,” she said.
