To be added to the Student Handbook, Staff Handbook, and Faculty Handbook
Rationale: Whitman College currently has no policy to address or even acknowledge hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents. Since a reporting form was made available to campus at the beginning of the 2004-2005 academic year, over 40 incidents were reported involving students, staff and faculty.
Adopting the following policy will demonstrate that the Whitman community is aware of hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents on campus and making efforts to eradicate them. The policy shows that the College provides both a procedure and educational resources for dealing with such incidents. It is a natural extension of the statement of nondiscrimination and another demonstration of the campus commitment to creating and maintaining a safe environment for learning.
This new policy was carefully crafted with input from a wide variety of constituencies on campus. It does not impede academic freedom or freedom of speech. Hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents are demeaning to all members of the campus community and subvert the mission of the College. Any hate- or bias-motivated act is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Hate Crime and Bias-Motivated Incident Policy
Whitman College values the right to free speech and the open exchange of ideas. Defining behavior that is not acceptable in a community which values freedom of expression is a complex task. All members of the Whitman community must be free to hold views that others may find distressing or offensive. However, freedom of expression does not include the right to intentionally and maliciously aggravate, intimidate, ridicule, or humiliate another person.
Whitman College is committed to maintaining an environment free of discrimination and all forms of coercion that impede the academic freedom or diminish the dignity of a member of the community as reflected in the statement of nondiscrimination:
Statement of Nondiscrimination: Whitman College has a strong commitment to the principle of nondiscrimination. In its admission and employment practices, administration of educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs, Whitman College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, gender, religion, age, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
Hate Crimes: A Hate Crime is a crime that is motivated, in whole or part, by the offender’s bias toward the victim’s status or perceived status. All hate crimes are prohibited and will not be tolerated.
“Hate crimes are intended to hurt and intimidate individuals because they are perceived to be different with respect to their race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability. The purveyors of hate use physical violence, verbal threats of violence, vandalism, and in some cases weapons, explosives, and arson, to instill fear in their victims, leaving them vulnerable to subsequent attacks and feeling alienated, helpless, suspicious and fearful. These acts of hatred can leave lasting emotional impressions upon their victims as well as entire communities.” (Responding to Hate Crimes and Bias-Motivated Incidents on College/University Campuses, U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service, June 1, 2000 )
In the state of Washington a hate crime is defined as “malicious harassment.”
A person is guilty of malicious harassment if he or she maliciously and intentionally commits one of the following acts because of his or her perception of the victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, or sensory handicap:
(a) Causes physical injury to the victim or another person;
(b) Causes physical damage to or destruction of the property of the victim or another person; or
(c) Threatens a specific person or group of persons and places that person, or members of the specific group of persons, in reasonable fear of harm to person or property . The fear must be a fear that a reasonable person would have under all the circumstances . For purposes of this section, a “reasonable person” is a reasonable person who is a member of the victim’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation, or who has the same mental, physical, or sensory handicap as the victim . Words alone do not constitute malicious harassment unless the context or circumstances surrounding the words indicate the words are a threat . Threatening words do not constitute malicious harassment if it is apparent to the victim that the person does not have the ability to carry out the threat .
(Revised Code of Washington (RCW 9A . 36 . 080))
Bias-Motivated Incidents: A bias-motivated incident is an intentional, malicious act motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias toward the victim’s status or perceived status. Bias-motivated incidents cause physical or emotional harm but do not rise to the level of a crime. These incidents may include intimidation, harassment or verbal slurs and may become precursors to hate crimes. Violations of the following policies may also include bias-motivated incidents: Disorderly Conduct, Disruption of College Activities, Harassment, Hazing, Physical Abuse, Sexual Harassment, Theft and Property Damage . Bias-motivated incidents are prohibited and will not be tolerated.
Reporting, Response, Support, and Education: Students, staff and faculty are strongly encouraged to report bias-motivated incidents and hate crimes immediately . In an emergency, contact the police or campus security; for non-emergency reporting, use the reporting form available online or contact residence life staff . Hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents may be reported anonymously .
After making a report, members of the Whitman community who experience a bias-incident or hate crime have the option of pursuing formal action through the Judicial Coordinator (for student to student violations of policy), the Director of Administrative Services (for violations of policy involving any combination of students, faculty, or staff), and/or the police . Responses to student violations of this policy will be governed by the disciplinary procedure outlined in the Student Handbook, Rights and Responsibilities of Students, Part V. Responses to faculty or staff violations of this policy will be governed by the procedure outlined in the sexual harassment policy section of the staff or faculty handbook.
Incidents which do not constitute a hate crime or bias-motivated incident include but are not limited to:
For more information about how to report either a bias incident or a hate crime, please see: www.whitman.edu/content/aah/report
Free and confidential counseling is available to all Whitman students through the Counseling Center . Whitman College also has a group of student, staff and faculty peer responders trained to support people who are the victims of bias-motivated incidents and hate crimes. Peer responders may be contacted through the online reporting form.
As an educational institution, the College offers a wide variety of discussions, workshops, and programs throughout the academic year for students, staff and faculty on the broad topics of diversity and multiculturalism. These programs are offered through a variety of offices and many are coordinated through the Intercultural Center . The College has an ongoing commitment to creating a respectful climate for personal growth and academic learning for all members of the Whitman community.
Please send feedback on this draft to Elana Stone (stoneer@whitman.edu) – your thoughts are important to us!
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