Highest Semester Total of Bias Incidents in Fall 2019 Report Reflects National Trend
(Photo Allyson Frantz/The Gettysburgian)
On Jan. 27, Director of Student Rights and Responsibilities Ron Wiafe informed the campus community that 18 bias incidents were reported during the fall 2019 semester, the highest number of reports in a semester in the nine years that the college has released bias incident data. The second-highest semester totaled 17 reported incidents in fall 2016, which contributed to a 20 percent increase in year-long incidents from the previous academic year.
Wiafe cites this surge as a reflection of national trends of increased bias and hate incidents on college campuses.
“The news and other higher education sources indicate that bias/hate incidents are occurring more frequently on college campuses across the country,” he said. “The national challenges with bias/hate are challenges for us at Gettysburg College as well.”
The Bias Incidents Update was sent via email and through the digest. It included specific summaries regarding how incidents were reported, the nature of the incidents, and how certain cases were resolved.
The college defines bias conduct as:
“Threatening, degrading, abusive, or hostile acts including conduct, expression, or speech which are motivated, in whole or in part, based on an individual’s or group’s actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, marital/familial status, possession of a General Education Development Certificate (GED) as compared to a high school diploma, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex, age, or genetic information.”
Bias incidents by semester (Table provided courtesy of Fall 2019 Bias Incidents Update)
The total could also reflect Gettysburg’s efforts to encourage students to report bias incidents this past fall through outreach to the student body and campus organizations. Wiafe attended a Student Senate meeting last fall to give a step-by-step guide for reporting bias incidents.
“The College hopes to increase transparency about bias behaviors and thus engage the community in ongoing education and response to reduce bias behavior,” Wiafe said in the Bias Incident Update email.
Improved bias reporting, according to Wiafe, is on the list of actions the college is taking to address bias behaviors on campus, alongside revised policies and increased transparency.
The majority of these bias incidents were reported through the Community Concern Form, though students may also report the incidents to the Department of Public Safety. The majority of the reported fall 2019 incidents were on the basis of race or ethnicity.
Bias Incidents by Type (Table provided courtesy of Fall 2019 Bias Incidents Update)
Bias Incident Updates for the fall and spring semesters have been made available to the campus community since fall 2011 in an effort to increase awareness about bias behaviors. Despite increased awareness of reporting this fall, College Life also recognizes that more incidents may have occurred that were not reported.
Gettysburg College revised its Bias Conduct Policy during the 2018-2019 academic year, in the Anti-Discrimination, Harassment, and Bias Conduct Policy.
The college will host Stop Bias at the Burg Week from March 16-20, which will be headlined by the first installment of the Presidential Speaker Series, featuring Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy discussing “The Infamous N-Word in American Culture.”
