Bias Incident Response Protocol
Marietta College seeks to be an inclusive community that welcomes and respects all people. Every member of our community is expected to commit to maintaining a safe, respectful, and welcoming community. Acts that are an affront to the core values of our institution are not tolerated. Such actions destroy the sense of community we all share. Additionally, acts of intolerance do untold and unjust harm to the well-being, dignity, and safety of those who are victimized by these acts.
Individuals who have experienced acts of bias or discriminatory harassment or are aware of others who have experienced them are encouraged to report using the Bias Incident Reporting Form. This form does allow for anonymous and third-party reporting.
All bias-related incidents should be reported using the following guidelines:
- Reports can and should be submitted by any member of the College community and can be anonymous
- Prompt reports are crucial, and reports should be submitted as soon as a community member is aware of the incident.
- Reports should provide accurate information
Support, inquiry, and/or advice are available in the following offices:
- Vice President for Student Life, 101 Andrews Hall
- Associate Dean of Students/Director of Campus Involvement, 112 Andrews Hall
- Associate Dean of Students/Director of Community Living, 108 Andrews Hall
- Associate Dean of Students/Director of Diversity & Inclusion, 102 Andrews Hall
- Marietta College Police Department, 127 ½ N. Seventh Street
- Center for Health and Wellness, Harrison Hall
Confidentiality
Marietta College is committed to preserving a student’s privacy. Under certain circumstances, some information may need to be shared with other College departments in order to assist the student, provide for safety, or provide for the safety of the campus community.
How the College will respond
Reports are directed to the Chair of the Bias Incident Response Team. Representatives from the following offices may be called upon to comprise the Response Team:
- Marietta College Police Department
- Marietta City Police Department
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Community Standards, Rights and Responsibilities
- Community Living
- Department where the incident occurred
- Office of the Provost
- Student(s) targeted
- Student organization(s) targeted
Among the steps the Bias Incident Response Team may take:
- Determine the need for temporary or permanent change in housing
- Address possible fear of retaliation
- Provide phone numbers for the reporting student to call in emergency
- Make additional referrals to counseling, medical care, student conduct, police, etc.
- Recommend that police issue a community alert or statement if appropriate
- With police input, determine if the incident rises to the level of a crime
- Discuss privacy and confidentiality issues
- Discuss options for resolving the matter
- Discuss process of adjudication with reporting student
- Determine if disciplinary action is appropriate
- Provide regular status reports to reporting student(s) until case is closed
- Designate an administrator for follow-up
- Implement appropriate restorative justice techniques or methods
The Response Team will take into account:
- Wishes of the reporting student(s)
- Wishes of a targeted organization
- Whether a case is under police investigation
- Confidentiality due to the situation
- Difficulty in identifying the perpetrator