Your day starts normally. You’re scrolling through social media or talking with a friend, and something happens that’s just plain wrong. A biased or discriminatory remark gets posted or comes out of someone’s mouth. You freeze. Do you know what to do in a situation like this?
On Monday, March 7, Elizabethtown College sent an email to students and faculty making them aware of a bias-related incident that occurred. The Bias-Incident Response Taskforce was alerted that a student posted offensive racial stereotypes on their personal social media channel. This student was then met with by the Bias-Incident Response Taskforce and recommended to go through the Student Conduct process. An investigation is still occurring into the incident.
According to Executive Director for Diversity, Equity and Belonging Nichole Gonzalez, “Most bias related incidents, in my experience, come down to people doing and saying things that they don’t necessarily realize are hurtful. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t hurtful or that people shouldn’t realize that they’re hurtful.” A student can have no intention of malice, but that doesn’t make statements any less discriminatory or hurtful. So, what can Etown students do to decrease bias incidents? Gonzalez says that education is key.
There are several different programs on campus that provide students with information and education. The office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging is one, as well as the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking. Although the main role of clubs is not necessarily to educate students on their identities, many multicultural clubs offer informational programs. Clubs like the Gender Sexuality Alliance, Noir, Latinx Association and the Asian Student Culture Club have all offered programs in recent weeks.
“One of the things that we’ve identified as a trend is language. We know that we need to do more, and we’re looking at ways that we can get more educational information out into the community,” Gonzalez said.
No education system will ever be perfect, and no matter how much we would like to stop bias incidents, some will occur. So, what happens if you hear or see a biased statement? Do you know how to report it?
There are several different ways that a student could go about reporting an incident. These rules are outlined on the Diversity, Equity and Belonging website as well as in the student code of conduct. Students could call the EC tip line, which goes directly to campus safety and is anonymous. Another anonymous way is the public reporting form that goes to the student life office. Students could also talk to their Resident Assistant or faculty about an incident.
Once a report is received and determined to be a bias incident, the Bias-Incident Response Taskforce reviews the incident and refers it. They can also recommend students to go through the conduct process.
Support for affected students comes in a variety of different ways, like counseling services or mediation. Sometimes, people want to gather and share in an experience, need a restorative conversation or just need to vent about their experiences.
“This is the first year we have a bias incident response team that is putting information out and that we have this process,” Gonzalez said. “We are working on building trust because we know there is a gap in that trust, and that’s going to come with time. We welcome the feedback. If anyone does have feedback, please contact me directly. I’d be happy to talk to anybody.”
