What Happens After a Report is Received
The Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) is the first response from the Dean of the College division and the College in coordinating responses to reported bias and hate incidents on campus.
BIRT will respond to reported incidents in the following ways:
1. Information from an incident report is received by the BIRT Coordinator (Associate Dean of the College, Student Living, and Wellness). BIRT responds to individual(s) submitting a report to acknowledge receipt and to also offer appropriate support. We will treat you and your concern with respect and sensitivity, facilitate access to campus and community resources and support, and discuss available courses of action, including both informal and formal options within the College.
2. A core team of administrators (BIRT Coordinator, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office, Director of Campus Safety, and the Director of Community Expectations and Conflict Resolution) is convened to review the report and determine whether a bias or hate incident is likely to have occurred. Reported incidents are reviewed as promptly as possible. Four critical questions are asked of the group:
- Is it a protected act?
- Is it potentially a state or federal crime?
- Is it potentially a violation of college policy?
- Is it a bias incident?
3. As necessary, the BIRT Coordinator consults with relevant offices (President, Dean of the College, Office of Communications, Residential Life, Student Growth and Engagement, Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices, etc...) to coordinate responses.
4. All reported incidents, independent of finding will be recorded in BIRT’s Annual Report.
5. When a reported incident has had a campus-wide impact or involves campus risk, a BIRT/Campus Safety email alert may be sent to the campus. Trigger warnings may also apply. In certain situations, the President may also send a message to the campus community.
6. Campus Safety investigates reported incidents of bias or hate crimes, and forwards the results to BIRT for inclusion in report summaries. Adjudications and disciplinary hearings fall within the Office of Student Living and Wellness Office and/or the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. When there is a potential hate crime, local law enforcement handles investigations in cooperation with Campus Safety.
7. The annual reports also constitute an archive of reported incidents reviewed by BIRT.
Vassar College strives to provide an educational, working, and living environment free from discrimination, harassment, intolerance, and hate. Such behavior will not be tolerated. The purpose of the Bias Response and Hate Crime Protocol is to provide information about responding to bias incidents or hate crimes that occur on campus, and to outline the procedures and resources available to members of the Vassar College community. It is not the purpose or the intent of this protocol to determine whether or not an act has violated Vassar College Regulations or State or Federal law.