U Of M Addresses Uptick In Bias Incidents On Campus
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The University of Minnesota is addressing the uptick in bias incidents on campus.
Police, FBI and university officials took questions from students, parents and staff as part of a panel Friday to talk about how the university handles hate speech and discrimination.
Speaking at a panel inside Coffman Union, University of Minnesota officials joined forces with University Police and the FBI to discuss the recent uptick in bias incidents.
Just last month police investigated an incident in Pioneer Hall where someone drew a swastika and wrote "Nazis Rule" on a Jewish student's dorm room whiteboard.
One family member of a student who lives in the dorm asked the panel what the process is for handling bias incidents.
"What kind of in-house dormitory follow-up occurs when an incident like this happens?" he said.
University of Minnesota police say every report of a bias crime is investigated, and then students are offered follow-up support.
"Housing does do -- facilitate a dialogue circle when incidents occur and pull people together, but recognizing that some students may or may not feel like that's a place where they can go," Assistant Vice Provost Dr. Laura Knudson said.
The university has to then determine the nature of the incident and whether it was a violation of school policy or law.
"We've done over six months of discussions with some of these student groups who are very concerned and kind of described all those levels," University of Minnesota Police Chief Matthew Clark said.
"A lot of students deal with this on a daily basis and we're afraid to come out and say something because we may get laughed at or it might be a joke in people's offices," a student said.
The university encourages students to report bias incidents so they can work towards a hate-free environment.
"It is not funny, and we will take it very seriously," Knudson said.
The university has had 95 reports of bias incidents since they started tracking them in Feb. 2016.
Students are able to make reports about them anonymously. Click here for more information.
