Reported incidents are reviewed by the Administrative Contact Team to determine whether they reflect bias according to definitions of bias from Massachusetts' anti?discrimination law and, from there, an appropriate response is decided, which may include investigation, judicial action or mediation.
Incidents taking place throughout an academic year that are considered bias incidents with completed investigation are published in WebCenter's Reported Bias Incidents at the end of the year. Here are some examples from last academic year, as reported in the list on WebCenter: Date of Incident: Oct. 15, 2011 Date Reported: Oct. 15, 2011 Incident/Type: Sexual Orientation Location: Boston Avenue Incident Description: After a house party had been broken up by police, a student heard a Medford policeman make an unwelcome remark about a LGBT rainbow flag that was hanging from the apartment window. The officer asked if the flag was for gays and lesbians and, when told that it was, said "That's what's wrong with this country." Date of Incident: 2009?2010 Date Reported: April 16, 2012 Incident/Type: Race, National or Ethnic Origin Location: Africana Center Incident Description: A student claimed to have been targeted by the Africana Center to participate in activities based on the color of the student's skin. The student reported that the Center claimed that their activities were open to the entire community, but that the student's white friends were not invited. Date of Incident: Jan. 28, 2012 Date Reported: Jan. 28, 2012 Incident/Type: Race Location: South Hall Incident Description: A student observed the vandalism of a wall opposite the side door entrance to the residence hall that displayed slurs targeting black people. Date of Incident: April 1, 2012 Date Reported: April 1, 2012 Incident/Type: Religion/Ethnic Origin Location: Bush Hall and around campus Incident Description: A Residential Assistant reported noticing several posters displayed in Bush Hall advertising a free trip to Europe that read, "Geburtsrecht," which the student identified as a term used by Hitler and the Nazi regime to refer to old Germany. The student stated that this poster was not advertising a real trip, but rather was an attempt to satire the Birthright Israel trip. Date of Incident: Oct. 26, 2011 Date Reported: Oct. 26, 2011 Incident/Type: Gender Location: Men's bathroom near Hotung Incident Description: A student witnessed disturbing graffiti discussing and bragging about rape.
