Bias Related Conduct Policy

A hate crime* is any crime of violence, property damage or threat that in whole, or in part, is motivated by the offender’s bias toward the victim’s race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, or disability.

Hate crimes are defined at both the federal and state level. In order to determine if a hate crime has occurred, reported incidents must be investigated by the police to first determine if a crime has occurred. The investigation must also determine if the crime was motivated by hate, as outlined in the federal guidelines. Federal hate crimes are investigated by the FBI. For more information on federal hate crimes, please see the FBI’s website. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also has hate crime statutes. Hate crimes are also violations of College policy.

A federal law, the Clery Act, provides that timely notice of certain crimes reported to campus security or local police must be provided to the Campus Community.

The College’s adjudication of charges may proceed regardless of the status of the criminal justice process.

*Definition taken from “Hate Crimes: The Problem and Efforts to Confront It” prepared by the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence at the University of Southern Maine under contract with Community Research Associates, Inc.

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Gettysburg College’s Student Harassment Policy:

Gettysburg College is committed to treating all members of the College community in an equitable manner,
providing an environment that permits students to attain their educational goals without interference stemming from harassment. Gettysburg College explicitly prohibits any form of illegal discriminatory harassment by any College community member, organization or group.

Harassment includes physical, verbal, graphic, or written conduct (including harassment via e-mail, instant
messenger, text messaging or other electronic means), that is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent so as to unreasonably interfere with or limit the ability of an individual to participate in or benefit from the programs,
services, activities or privileges provided by the College.

Harassment is discriminatory if the conduct is based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, accent, sexual
orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, or disability. It is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct to engage in harassment or to retaliate against anyone bringing a complaint of harassment, formal or
informal, anyone involved in the Complaint process, anyone who pursues legal action, or anyone participating in an investigation into allegations of harassment (including witnesses).

Stalking is also a form of harassment and a violation of the harassment policy. Stalking is defined by Gettysburg
College as the act of pursuing, following or observing an individual in a persistent fashion (including but not limited to, cyber-stalking or an stalking via electronic means) that unreasonably interferes with or limits the ability of that individual to participate in or benefit from the programs, services, activities or privileges provided by the College. Harassment is a violation of College policy and the College will investigate such incidents to determine if someone has violated our policy. Students found responsible are subject to College sanctions. As stated above, harassment has two parts: actions based on actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, or disability AND the actions must substantially interfere with a student’s educational or employment opportunities.

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For the purposes of this Policy, a bias incident involves behavior (whether physical or verbal) that is motivated by bias based on actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, or disability, but that does not rise to the level of a hate crime or a violation of College policy.

It should be noted that while the expression of an idea or point of view may be offensive or inflammatory to some, it is not necessarily a violation of law or College policy. Gettysburg College values and embraces the ideals of freedom of inquiry, freedom of thought, and freedom of expression, all of which must be vitally sustained in a community of scholars. The College recognizes that these freedoms protect controversial ideas, differing views and sometimes even offensive and hurtful words that are not consistent with the College’s mission. However, freedom of inquiry, thought, and expression do not protect personal threats or acts of misconduct that violate criminal law or College policy.

As outlined in the beginning of this document, any reports of a bias incident will be investigated. The College will offer appropriate support, outreach and education to any College community member impacted by a hate crime, harassment or a bias incident.

The Gettysburg College Diversity Commission will receive a regular summary of bias incidents occurring on
campus from the Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students. In addition, these incidents may be shared with the broader community as appropriate.

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Gettysburg College encourages prompt reporting of any Bias Related Conduct so that it can investigate the alleged facts for possible violation(s) of College policy, including the Student Code of Conduct, and refer complaints to law enforcement authorities in order to determine whether an independent investigation for violation(s) of criminal law is warranted.

Gettysburg College community members reporting Bias Related Conduct can expect the following:

• Meet with a college official promptly
• Treat your concern with respect
• Take every case seriously
• Discuss all of your options
• Gather and preserve evidence and information
• Connect you with a faculty member, administrator or staff member to provide support
• Work with the Gettysburg Police to investigate whether or not a crime has occurred
• Initiate the College’s student conduct process if it appears that a policy violation may have occurred.

The College’s response to Bias Related Conduct (bias incidents, harassment and hate crimes) will be coordinated by the Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students. The Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students may convene a Bias Incident Response Team that will include the following members of the College community:

• Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students
• Vice Provost
• Director of Counseling
• Dean of Intercultural Advancement
• Director of Residence Life
• Director of Public Safety
• Other members of the community, including students, may be invited as appropriate.

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Students should immediately report any Bias Related Conduct (bias incidents, harassment or hate crimes) to Public Safety at (717) 337-6911, or the Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students office at (717) 337-6921.

If you become the victim of a Bias Related Conduct (hate crime, harassment, or bias incident) - racial or otherwise - or witness any Bias Related Conduct, please do the following to document the incident the best you can:

• If you see a written slur or discover graffiti, do not erase the words or images. The Department of Public Safety and the Gettysburg Police will need to see it in order to document and photograph.
• If the incident was verbal, be sure to immediately document what was said, where it was said and when it was said.
• Get names and contact information of any witnesses.

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Health and Counseling Services  (717) 337-6960
VP for College Life and Dean of Students (717) 337-6921
Residence Life (717) 337-6901
Student Rights and Responsibilities (717) 337-6900
Intercultural Resource Center (717) 337-6311
Women’s Center (717) 337-6099
Africana Studies Department (717) 337-6796

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www.stophate.org
www.tolerance.org

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