Groups take steps to combat bias, hate on campus

In the response to a number of bias incidents and hate crimes on the University campus last school year, the Culture Coordinate Committee (CCC) and the Bias Intervention Team were formed to raise awareness of the subject of bias incidents on campus and reduce the number of incidences.

Since the organization's beginning the CCC has sought to bring groups from different cultures together to discuss issues important to the Tufts community. The CCC's level of activity fluctuates depending on the variety of events on campus, resurging when needed, according to sophomore senator and co-chair of CECA Chike Aguh.

"[The CCC] is made to be a source of dialogue," Aguh said. "Its main goal is to bring like-minded people together to discuss problems." The CCC forms groups to deal with recurring subjects and problems such as hate crimes, curriculum issues, and faculty retention.

The CCC is an outreach arm of the Culture, Ethnicity, and Community Affairs Committee (CECA) of the TCU Senate.

In addition to the CCC, the TCU Senate has taken actions to help people respond to incidences of bias. CECA co-chair Kelly Sanborn has created and put forth paper resources containing information telling students what to do if they believe they have been the victims of a hate crime.

Joining the effort of the CCC is the Bias Intervention Team, which is the administration's official response to hate crimes and bias incidents on campus. It is made up of administrators as well as two student representatives from the TCU Senate and is headed by Associate Dean of Students Marisel Perez.

According to freshman TCU Senator and team member Cho Ling, the Bias Intervention Team aims to not only respond to hate crimes that occur on campus, but also to proactively prevent hate crimes by educating the campus community.

Perez cites the idea for the Bias Intervention Team as coming to fruition about a year and a half ago after the Task Force on Race recommended that such a group be set up. The Team had a slow start, but picked up in its actions at the end of last year and has several current projects.

Despite both groups' efforts, hate crimes still occur on campus. This semester, an e-mail to the student community from Dean of Students Bruce Reitman informed students of "several community members have reported being victimized by bias incidents or hate crimes." The e-mail detailed the incidences that had taken place in February and March of this year.

Current and future projects by both organization look to help reduce the number of hate crimes on campus through awareness. Presently the Bias Intervention Team has is drafting a new proposal to improve the reporting of hate crimes and bias incidences.

"These new procedures will make it easier for members of our community to report these incidences and hopefully bring more awareness," Ling said.

Another project is the formation of a Peer Educator Group. This is a group of eight students who have gone through training paid for by the Diversity Fund. They work with the Bias Intervention Team to educate the community about bias and hate. This group has already held discussion groups in South Hall and other places on campus, engaging students in serious discussion about bias incidences.

"It's challenging work," Perez said. "It's difficult to convey the impact bias has on others and the many tolls on the victims."

Additionally, the Bias Intervention Team held a rally yesterday in combination with Rebecca Gilman's play, "Spinning Into Butter," which described the events surrounding bias incidents on a Vermont college campus.

The CCC and the Bias Response Team are not the only groups on campus who are attempting to deal with the problems of bias and hate crimes. Groups like the Pan-African Alliance [PAA], the Association of Latin American Students [ALAS], and the Asian Community at Tufts [ACT] have all held awareness sessions. These sessions educate students as to victims' rights and what to do in case of an incident.

The recently formed group, Students' Initiative Against Intimidation, writing a contract to be signed by all student groups that will pledge to keep these organizations free from bias, intimidation, and hate.

Those involved in these projects have many goals for the future. "We haven't been totally successful yet," Perez said. "But we're moving forward in a good way."

Both Aguh and Ling stressed that creating awareness about hate crimes and bias incidences is the main objective. "More students would care if they knew what was happening," Aguh said.

Ling agreed, saying that by having an active front from the Bias Intervention Team and the Students' Initiative Against Intimidation, Tufts can strive for a hate-free atmosphere.

"I am proud and honored to work with these groups of people to try to strive and reach for that goal," Ling said. "As long as we stand hard against discrimination on our campus, we have taken the most powerful and most important steps against hate."