ate rimes on ampus crimes on campussamar. james samar, a college student, was in-dicted on three...

HATE CRIMES ON CAMPUSTHE PROBLEM ANDEFFORTS TO CONFRONT IT

H A T E C R I M E S S E R I E S

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance


#3

MonographMonograph

U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531

John AshcroftAttorney General

Deborah J. DanielsAssistant Attorney General

Richard R. NedelkoffDirector, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Office of Justice ProgramsWorld Wide Web Home Page

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Bureau of Justice AssistanceWorld Wide Web Home Page

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

For grant and funding information contactU.S. Department of Justice Response Center

1–800–421–6770

This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 95–DD–BX–K001, awardedby the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department ofJustice, to Community Research Associates, Inc. This document was prepared by theCenter for the Prevention of Hate Violence, University of Southern Maine, under con-tract with Community Research Associates, Inc. The opinions, findings, and conclusionsor recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do notnecessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which alsoincludes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justiceand Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime.


October 2001

NCJ 187249

Prepared by Stephen Wessler, Directorand Margaret Moss, Assistant Director

Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence University of Southern Maine

iiiBUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

Contents

I. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

II. Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents on Campus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Hate Crimes on Campus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Bias Incidents on Campus: The Prevalence and Impact ofPrejudice and Harassment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

III. Response to Campus Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Problem 1: Campus Police Officers Need Adequate Training . . . . 7

Problem 2: Hate Crimes and Serious Bias Incidents Are Not Reported. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Problem 3: Police Do Not Report Hate Crimes to Campus Administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Problem 4: Students, Staff, and Faculty Do Not Report Incidents Up the Administrative Ladder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Problem 5: Administrators Do Not Disseminate Information to the Campus Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

IV. Promising Efforts: Responding to and Preventing Hate Crimes. . . . . 11

Campuswide Response to Hate Crimes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Hate Crimes Awareness and Prevention Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Combating Prejudice and Hate on Campus: A National Student Colloquium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Anti-Defamation League . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Peer Diversity Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Campus Civility Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

V. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

HATE CRIMES ON CAMPUS

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VI. Appendix: Commonly Asked Questions About Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

VII. For More Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

1BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

When a hate crime occurs on acollege campus, the ideal of a uni-versity as a place for learning andgrowth is ruptured. Bias-motivatedviolence or threats targeting stu-dents, staff, or faculty not onlyimpair the educational mission ofan institution of higher learningbut also deprive young men andwomen of the chance to live andlearn in an atmosphere free of fearand intimidation. No college cam-pus is immune to the risk of hateviolence. In the past 5 years alone,the U.S. Department of Justice hasbrought criminal civil rights actionsagainst students attending institu-tions ranging from small liberal artscolleges in Massachusetts andGeorgia to large state universitiesin Florida and California.

This monograph examines fouraspects of the problem of bias, prejudice, and hate crimes on our

college and university campuses.First, the monograph examines theprevalence of hate crimes on cam-puses, who is targeted, what kindsof crime are committed, and the fre-quency and impact of bias incidents.Second, the monograph identifiescommon problems college commu-nities have experienced in respond-ing to hate crimes and providesrecommendations for prompt, effec-tive, and appropriate responses.Third, the monograph describes sev-eral promising efforts to respond tocampus hate crimes and implementprevention programs. Finally, themonograph explains the differencebetween hate crimes and bias inci-dents and discusses the factorspolice consider to determinewhether a hate crime has beencommitted.

I. Introduction

Hate Crimes on CampusFederal and State EnforcementActivity

Hate crimes on campuses involvea range of criminal conduct fromthreats to bombings to violent phys-ical assaults. They occur at virtuallyevery type of college and universityand in every part of the nation. Per-petrators of these incidents includecurrent and former students andnonstudents. Listed below is a sam-pling of recent federal and stateenforcement actions involving bias-motivated violence and threats oncampuses.

United States v. Samar. JamesSamar, a college student, was in-dicted on three counts of usingthreats of force to interfere with thefederally protected rights of threestudents attending a small Massa-chusetts college. Samar used anti-Semitic slurs, threatened two fellowstudents, and threatened to kill onefellow student. In addition, he deliv-ered photographs of holocaust vic-tims to one student and stated,among other things, that the pho-tographs were “a reminder of whathappened to your relatives becausethey too made a mockery of Chris-tianity.” Samar entered a pleaagreement.


II. Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents on Campus

United States v. Machado. A for-mer student was convicted of dis-seminating an e-mail containingracially derogatory comments andthreats to 59 college students,nearly all of whom were of Asiandescent.

State v. Tozier. A student at asmall college in Maine yelled anti-gay slurs and threats at a fellowstudent who was working in a stu-dent lounge and, in three consecu-tive attacks, violently choked thestudent. The defendant signed aconsent decree in a civil rights casebrought by Maine’s attorney general.

United States v. Lombardi. Anonstudent was charged with deto-nating two pipe bombs on the cam-pus of a primarily African-Americanpublic university in Florida. Aftereach of the bombings, violent racisttelephone calls were made to thelocal television station.

State v. Masotta. Three white stu-dents at a university in Maine left ananonymous racist and threateningmessage on an African-Americanstudent’s answering machine. Themessage ended with the following:

I wonder what you’re gonna looklike dead? Dead. I wonder ifwhen you die you’ll lose yourcolor. Like the blood starts to


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leave your body and you’regonna . . . start deterioratingand blood starts to leave yourskin. . . . You get the picture?You’re *** dead.

The defendants signed consentorders in a civil rights case broughtby Maine’s attorney general.

United States v. Little. The defen-dant, Robert Allen Little, was chargedwith igniting a homemade pipe bombin the dorm room of two African-American students on a small cam-pus in Utah. The letters “KKK” werepainted in red fingernail polish onthe bomb’s firing device. The bombcaused extensive damage to thebuilding and destroyed the belong-ings of both students. After thebombing, Little returned to thedorm and left a threatening andracist note on the door of anotherAfrican-American student. Littlewas sentenced to 12 years in prison,fined $12,000, and ordered to payrestitution.

Campus Hate Crime StatisticsThe available data on the preva-

lence of hate crimes and bias inci-dents on college campuses are notcomprehensive, because they arebased on information from relativelyfew reporting campuses. Three pri-mary sources of data are the Fed-eral Bureau of Investigation (FBI)Uniform Crime Reports on hatecrime statistics, the U.S. Depart-ment of Education Campus SecurityStatistics, and the InternationalAssociation of College Law

Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA)annual survey on campus crimestatistics.

U.S. Department of Educationdata are collected pursuant to theClery Act (20 U.S.C. § 1092(f)),which was enacted in 1992. This actrequires colleges and universitiesacross the nation to report campuscrimes and security policies to boththe campus community and the U.S.Department of Education. In addi-tion to policy and reporting require-ments, it specifies that schools mustreport separately those crimes thatappear to have been motivated byprejudice. The U.S. Department ofEducation is currently working withcolleges and universities to ensurethat Clery Act data are completeand current.

Even statistics based on a rela-tively small number of reportingschools indicate that hate crimeson campus are a significant prob-lem. Moreover, there are strong rea-sons to believe that the problem ofhate crimes is more widespreadthan any statistics are likely toreveal. First, many students, faculty,and staff members are unsure ofwhat to report, when to report anincident, and to whom they shouldreport an incident. Second, and per-haps most important, victims ofhate crimes often are reluctant tocome forward because they feel iso-lated and fear the potential reper-cussions of a perpetrator. Gay andlesbian victims who attend schoolsin states that do not have laws pro-tecting individuals from job or

employment discrimination basedon sexual orientation may fear thatreporting a hate crime will placethem at risk of further discrimina-tion. For these and other reasons,reliable statistics regarding on-campushate crimes are elusive.

As noted above, the FBI annualcompilation of hate crime statisticsand IACLEA annual survey ofcrimes on campuses are based ondata from a relatively small numberof reporting institutions. The limitednumber of reporting institutions andthe varied survey instruments alsoaccount for a disparity in the resultsof the two surveys. Both reportsindicate, however, that manyschools experience hate violence.

The Federal Bureau of Investiga-tion Uniform Crime Report on hatecrime statistics. The FBI report on1998 hate crime statistics is basedon reports from 450 colleges anduniversities from 40 states. Of theseuniversities, 222 reported 241 inci-dents of hate crime during the year.The FBI data indicate that 57 per-cent of hate crimes were motivatedby race, 18 percent were motivatedby anti-Semitism, and 16 percentwere motivated by bias based onsexual orientation.

The International Association ofCollege Law Enforcement Adminis-trators survey. The IACLEA reportfor 1998 surveyed 411 campuses.Of these campuses, 88 reportedexperiencing at least one hate crime;in fact, these colleges experiencedan average of 3.8 hate crimes each

in 1998, for a total of 334 incidents.The reporting institutions designatedthe motivation for the alleged hatecrimes under five categories: race,religion, disability, sexual orienta-tion, and ethnicity/national origin.The IACLEA report did not include a separate category for hate crimesmotivated by bias based on gender.IACLEA statistics indicate that morethan 80 percent of reported hatecrimes were motivated by biasbased on either race or sexualorientation.

Bias Incidents on Campus:The Prevalence and Impactof Prejudice and Harassment

Fortunately, hate crimes occurwith relative infrequency on mostcampuses. Bias incidents (acts ofprejudice that are not accompaniedby violence, the threat of violence,property damage, or other illegalconduct) are far more common.Bias incidents may violate somecampus disciplinary or harassmentpolicies (making them reportableunder the Clery Act), but they donot violate civil or criminal hatecrime statutes.

Based on discussions, workshops,and informal surveys with hundredsof students from institutions rangingfrom large state universities to smallliberal arts colleges, students con-sistently report the widespread useof degrading language and slurs byother students directed toward peo-ple of color, women, homosexuals,Jews, and others who belong togroups that have traditionally been

Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents on Campus


the target of bias, prejudice, andviolence. Students report hearingdegrading language about women,gays, and lesbians on a daily basisand racist, anti-Semitic, and otherslurs on a regular but less frequentbasis.

The widespread use of degradinglanguage and slurs directed at tradi-tionally targeted groups has twoserious consequences. First, the useof such language creates an atmos-phere that permits conduct to esca-late from mere words to strongerwords to threats and, ultimately, toviolence. In a significant portion ofcampus hate crime cases, the illegalconduct appears to have escalatedfrom lower levels of harassment,beginning with degrading language.If not challenged or interrupted, thewidespread use of this language sendsthe message—often unintended—that bias and prejudice are accepted

within a campus community. Somestudents interpret this message tomean that more aggressive conductmay also be acceptable.

Second, even in the absence ofescalation, bias incidents can havea traumatic impact on students,staff, and faculty. Members of acampus community often experi-ence fear when they are on thereceiving end of degrading languageor slurs or see graffiti that targetsgroups in which they are members.This fear can interfere with the abili-ty of students to fully focus on theiracademic work. Some students whoare the target of bias-motivatedharassment do not react with fearbut with anger. Campus or munici-pal police may be called to addressphysical confrontations betweenstudents who are experiencing bias-motivated harassment and theirharassers.

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The responses of campus admin-istrators and campus and municipalpolice departments to hate crimesand bias incidents that occur on col-lege campuses have varied greatly.Although there is no one correctway to handle every hate crime, thedirect experiences of police officersand administrators make it possibleto identify common problems theyencounter in responding to campushate crimes and those responsesthat permit effective investigationand appropriate communityresponse.

Some of the most common prob-lems in responding to hate crimesare that police are inadequatelytrained; students, staff, faculty, andadministrators do not report thecrimes; and administrators do notadequately disseminate informationto the campus community. Listedbelow are descriptions of commonproblems, followed by recommend-ed steps for effectively dealingwith these frequently encounteredchallenges.

Problem 1: Campus PoliceOfficers Need AdequateTraining

Campus police officers who havenot been trained to identify and re-spond to hate crimes may not beprepared to properly investigate

III. Response to Campus Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents


incidents and recognize potentialramifications for the safety of stu-dents on campus. In addition, ifpolice officers do not identify an actof campus violence as a possiblehate crime and do not report it to theadministration, the college or univer-sity may be hampered in its effortsto identify trends and begin appropri-ate prevention and intervention work.

RecommendationsImplement a training program for

campus police. It is essential thatall members of campus police de-partments (and municipal policedepartments that have colleges oruniversities within their jurisdictions)receive training in responding toand investigating hate crimes. Allofficers within a department, includ-ing command officers, patrol offi-cers, and detectives, should attendtraining sessions. Police depart-ments have an array of training pro-grams available to them. In 1998,the U.S. Department of Justicelaunched its National Hate CrimeTraining Initiative. This initiativedeveloped curricula for trainingpolice officers in how to respondto and investigate hate crimes andconvened national train-the-trainerconferences around the nation. Theinitiative has taught trainers in everystate to conduct half- or full-daycourses. Additionally, the Bureau of


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Justice Assistance has developed a20-minute training film for officers,titled Responding to Hate Crimes,and the International Association ofChiefs of Police has developed a 12-page guide for officers that coversthe major components of investigat-ing and responding to hate crimes.

Designate a civil rights officer foreach department. Every campusand municipal police departmentwith colleges located within itsjurisdiction should consider appoint-ing at least one officer (preferablytwo) to serve as the designated civilrights officer. A designated civilrights officer is the primary liaisonbetween campus administration,advocacy groups, and other lawenforcement agencies (includingprosecutorial offices). Appointinga designated civil rights officer letsthe entire campus community knowthat responding to and investigatinghate crimes is a priority, and hatecrimes will be handled in a coordi-nated and consistent way. For moreinformation about designating a civilrights officer, see Addressing HateCrimes: Six Initiatives That AreEnhancing the Efforts of CriminalJustice Practitioners (February2000, Bureau of Justice AssistanceHate Crimes Series).

Problem 2: Hate Crimesand Serious Bias IncidentsAre Not Reported

Police believe that students, staff,faculty, and administrators often donot report possible hate crimes andserious bias incidents to the police.

If police are not informed promptlyof a possible hate crime, they can-not conduct an immediate investiga-tion. As a result, physical evidence(such as graffiti or recorded tele-phone messages) may be lost, andwitnesses may not be identified andinterviewed. The nonreporting ofsuch incidents is particularly seriousbecause many perpetrators of hatecrimes repeat and escalate theirbehavior until they are confronted byauthorities. Consequently, police aredeprived of information that mayenable them to halt this pattern ofescalation before a more seriouscrime is committed.

RecommendationCampus officials should develop

a brochure that defines what shouldbe reported, to whom an incidentshould be reported, and when anincident should be reported. Thebrochure should provide clear direc-tives and be distributed broadlyto faculty, staff, and students. It isparticularly important that thesebrochures be distributed to thosepersons on campus who are mostlikely to learn about possible hatecrimes. For example, individualsworking for the campus housingand athletics departments, includingstudent life staff, resident advisors,coaches, and team captains, shouldall receive and review the reportingguidelines. Student leaders through-out the university community,whether or not they are directly in-volved with the housing or athleticsdepartments, should also receiveand review reporting guidelines.

BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE

The Recommendation section underProblem 4 sets forth guidelines.

Problem 3: Police Do NotReport Hate Crimes toCampus Administrators

Some law enforcement agenciesmay not have a procedure for regu-larly informing college administra-tors of hate crimes or serious biasincidents that occur in or around acollege campus, particularly whenincidents occur on campus but notin campus housing. Inadequatereporting of such incidents by policedeprives administrators of theopportunity to support studentsfrom the affected or targeted groups,provide reasonable warnings tomembers of the campus community,and put prevention efforts in place.

RecommendationCampuses should provide both

campus and municipal police depart-ments with clear and specific guide-lines denoting who at the universityor college should be contacted andunder what circumstances. Thereporting guidelines must be con-cise, identifying who should receivean initial report and who shouldreceive followup information. Theguidelines should include informationon how to contact these individualsin the evening and on weekends,during campus holidays, and duringvacations to avoid lapses in reporting.

Problem 4: Students,Staff, and Faculty Do NotReport Incidents Up theAdministrative Ladder

When students, staff, and facultydo not report (or do not report in atimely manner) possible hate crimesor serious bias incidents up theadministrative ladder, senior collegeofficials are denied critical informa-tion. If senior administrators areunaware of possible hate crimes,they will not be prepared to takeaction against perpetrators, initiatepreventive measures, or respondknowledgeably to community andpress inquiries.

RecommendationCampus administrators should

work with campus and municipalpolice to develop and disseminateclear guidelines for reporting hatecrimes. The guidelines shouldaddress the following:

• When and under what circum-stances students, staff, and facul-ty should report hate crimes andbias incidents to campus ormunicipal police.

• When and under what circum-stances students, staff, and facul-ty should report hate crimesand bias incidents to collegeadministrators.

• When campus and municipalpolice should report hate crimesand bias incidents to collegeadministrators.

Response to Campus Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents

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The guidelines should include thenames of individuals to contact dur-ing the week, as well as in the eve-nings, on weekends, and duringcampus holidays and vacations.

Problem 5: AdministratorsDo Not DisseminateInformation to the CampusCommunity

When a hate crime occurs oncampus, information about the inci-dent spreads quickly throughout thecampus community via informalavenues of communication. If col-lege or university administrators donot inform the campus about theincident, several adverse conse-quences can occur. First, students,staff, and faculty may receive inac-curate information about whatoccurred. Second, the institutionwill lose the opportunity to send astrong message that bias and hatewill not be tolerated on campus.Finally, and often most destructive,when college administrators do notpublicly comment on hate crimes,they may inadvertently create theimpression that the institution isinsensitive to the problem of hatecrimes.

RecommendationsDisseminate information about

hate crimes. Senior college and university administrators shouldconsider promptly disseminatinginformation through a campuswideletter or e-mail to provide details onalleged hate crimes and to stronglycondemn bias-motivated violence,threats, and property damage. Often,it will be appropriate to follow thiscommunication with an open cam-pus meeting at which members ofthe campus community can askquestions and express their views.Campus disciplinary proceedingsgenerally are confidential; therefore,any dissemination of informationshould take confidentiality restric-tions into account.

Establish a hate crime responseteam. Administrators may want toestablish a hate crime responseteam that recommends when andhow the college or university shouldrespond to an alleged hate crime.Hate crime response teams shouldinclude representatives from thepresident’s office, the dean of stu-dents office, the multicultural office,the equal opportunity employeroffice, and campus and municipalpolice departments.


IV. Promising Efforts: Responding to and Preventing Hate Crimes

Colleges, universities, and non-profit organizations are developinginnovative ways to respond to andprevent hate crimes. The effortsdescribed below are only a fewexamples of the creative programsbeing implemented around thenation to make our institutions ofhigher learning safe for all students.These programs are replicable andgenerally can be implemented with-out significant expense.

Campuswide Response toHate Crimes

Many colleges and universitieshave responded to hate crimes ontheir campuses with a broad-basedpublic condemnation of bias, preju-dice, and violence. These responseshave included the following:

• An open letter from the collegeor university president or deanto the campus community thatexplains the hate crime or biasincident that occurred on cam-pus, the status of the policeinvestigation of the alleged hatecrime, and a strong condemna-tion of bias and violence.

• Meetings open to the entirecampus community in whichthe president and other senior

administrators explain whathas occurred and restate the university’s position againsthate crimes. Students, staff,and faculty often are invited toask questions and voice theiropinions.

As a result of these and otheractions, college administrators havecalmed tensions and fears; addressedthe need of students, staff, and fac-ulty to receive reliable information;and gained the trust and confidenceof the campus community.

Hate Crimes Awarenessand Prevention Project

Students at the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley have devel-oped a project to examine hatecrimes and the underlying issuesof bias and prejudice. Through edu-cation and training the project hasincreased awareness of the threatof hate crimes and fostered a cam-pus climate that discourages hatecrimes. The project includes a Website that provides options for report-ing hate crimes and lists additionalcampus and community resources.The project sponsored a HateCrimes Awareness Week in spring2000.


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Combating Prejudiceand Hate on Campus: ANational StudentColloquium

In March 2000, the BrudnickCenter on Violence and Conflict atNortheastern University and theCenter for the Prevention of HateViolence at the University of South-ern Maine cosponsored a nationalstudent colloquium to recognizethose students, and their respectivecampus organizations, who areworking to confront bias, hate, andviolence. The event provided thestudents with the opportunity tobuild skills and learn from eachother. More than 300 students andstaff from more than 70 campusesthroughout the country attendedthe colloquium. The colloquium wasfunded and supported by the U.S.Department of Education’s Safe andDrug-Free Schools Program and theBureau of Justice Assistance, U.S.Department of Justice.

Anti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League

(ADL) formed its World of Differ-ence Institute in 1992 to “defineand advance a discipline of diversityeducation.” The institute’s Campusof Difference Program providestraining for students in groups of25–40. Facilitated by two ADL staffmembers, the program’s goal is toincrease awareness of bias incidentsand hate crimes and encourage uni-versity students to make proactive

changes on campus. The Campusof Difference Program also offerstrain-the-trainer sessions of varyingduration that enable a campus todevelop 16–20 diversity trainers.

Peer Diversity EducationSeveral schools have implement-

ed peer diversity education groupsthat promote understanding ofdiversity on campus. At Texas A&MUniversity, University Awareness forCultural Togetherness (U–ACT) is apeer diversity education group thatrequires participating students totake a semester-long course insocial justice issues in higher edu-cation. Members of the group thenconduct workshops and holdovernight retreats in an effort tobring students together and createan environment that is “safe, sup-portive, and educational.”

New Jersey City University’sPeers Educating Peers, or “PEP,”program is based in the school’spsychology department. About 25students actively participate in PEP;they provide outreach on campusand to the community on a varietyof issues. Other schools, includingBowdoin College in Maine and theUniversity of Denver in Colorado,have successfully integrated peerdiversity efforts into freshman orien-tation, using films, small group dis-cussions, and campus speakers toincrease awareness and promotesafety.

Promising Efforts: Responding to and Preventing Hate Crimes


Campus Civility ProjectThe Center for the Prevention of

Hate Violence at the University ofSouthern Maine has initiated theCampus Civility Project to addressthe climate of bias, prejudice, andharassment that exists on ournation’s campuses. Administrators,faculty, staff, and student leaders(such as resident advisors and captains of sports teams) partici-pate in 3-hour workshops that helpthem develop a fuller understandingof the harmful effects of degrading

language and slurs. Most important,the workshops also provide partici-pants with practical skills for inter-vening in low-key ways whenstudents engage in conduct thatdemeans, degrades, or frightensothers. The center conducts a 3-daytraining-of-trainers conference forrepresentatives from each partici-pating campus that will enable thecampuses to conduct their ownworkshops for student leaders, staff,and faculty year after year.


V. Conclusion

The hate crimes and bias incidentsthat occur on this nation’s collegeand university campuses not onlyleave scars on the targeted individu-als but also on entire campuses.College administrators, police offi-cers, students, and faculty membersaround the nation are devotingenergy and creativity to responding

to and preventing bias, prejudice,and hate violence. The cumulativeimpact of this work on campus willhelp ensure that all students—regardless of gender, race/ethnicity,sexual orientation, disability, reli-gion, or age—are physically andemotionally safe.


VI. Appendix: CommonlyAsked Questions About Hate Crimesand Bias Incidents

What Is a Hate Crime?The Federal Government, more

than 40 states, and the District ofColumbia have hate crime statutes.These statutes vary in a number ofways. Generally, a hate crime is acrime of violence, property damage,or threat that is motivated in wholeor in part by an offender’s biasbased on race, religion, ethnicity,national origin, gender, physical ormental disability, or sexual orienta-tion. Most jurisdictions that havehate crime laws cover bias based onrace, religion, ethnicity, and nationalorigin, and a smaller number ofstates cover bias based on gender,disability, and sexual orientation.

In addition to criminal statutes,many states have civil statutesthat authorize the state attorneygeneral to seek restraining ordersagainst persons who engage inbias-motivated violence, threats, orproperty damage. It is important tocheck the exact wording of the hatecrime statutes applicable in yourstate.

What Are Hate or BiasIncidents?

Hate or bias incidents involvebehavior that is motivated by biasbased on race, religion, ethnicity,national origin, gender, disability, orsexual orientation. These incidentsdo not involve criminal conductsuch as assault, threats, or propertydamage. Bias-motivated degradingcomments often are considered tobe bias incidents. They are not con-sidered to be hate crimes, however,because the speaker of those com-ments has not engaged in criminalactivity.

Why Do We Need To Focuson This Issue?

Police officers and prosecutorshave learned that hate crimes canoccur on any campus—urban orrural, large or small, public or pri-vate. Police and prosecutors havefound that the lack of reported hatecrimes only indicates that students,staff, or faculty are not reportingincidents, not that hate crimes areabsent. Moreover, even if a campushas not experienced a reported hate


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crime, it is likely that students and other members of the campuscommunity are hearing and usingdegrading language and slurs direct-ed at those on campus who are ofa different race, religion, gender, orsexual orientation. A campus culturein which the use of slurs becomescommonplace and accepted soonbecomes an environment in whichslurs can escalate to harassment,harassment can escalate to threats,and threats can escalate to physicalviolence. As noted previously in thismonograph, an act of violence is theend result of this pattern. Even ifviolence does not occur, the degrad-ing language alone has a negativeimpact on certain students, causingsome to feel uncomfortable or unac-cepted and others to feel scared.

How Do Police OfficersDetermine Whether a HateCrime Has Occurred?

Police officers are trained to ex-amine whether bias indicators exist.A bias crime indicator is an objec-tive fact, circumstance, or pattern—standing alone or in conjunctionwith other facts or circumstances—that suggests that the offender’sactions were motivated, in wholeor in part, by bias. The presence ofbias indicators does not establishthat a hate crime has occurred.Rather, the presence of bias indica-tors prompts police to investigatethe matter further to determine itsmotivation. The following factorsmay indicate bias motivation. Each

factor is followed by one or moreexamples of bias indicators.

Racial, ethnic, gender, and cultur-al differences exist between theperpetrator and victim.

• The racial identity, religion,ethnic/national origin, disability,or sexual orientation of the vic-tim differs from that of theoffender.

• The victim is a member of agroup that is overwhelminglyoutnumbered by members ofanother group in the area wherethe incident occurred.

• The victim was engaged in activ-ities promoting his or her group.

• The incident coincided with aholiday or date of particular sig-nificance to the victim’s group.

Comments, written statements,and gestures were made. Bias-related comments, written state-ments, or gestures were made bythe offender either during, before, or after the alleged hate crime.

Drawings, markings, symbols,and graffiti were left. Bias-relateddrawings, markings, symbols, orgraffiti were left at the scene of theincident.

Organized hate groups or theirmembers were involved. A hategroup has claimed responsibility forthe crime, or symbols of organized

Appendix: Commonly Asked Questions About Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents


hate groups were left at the crimescene.

The victim previously hadreceived bias-motivated harassingmail or phone calls. Several bias-motivated incidents have occurredin the same area.

The victim’s or witness’s percep-tion of the incident may affect theoutcome. Victims or witnessesbelieve that the incident was moti-vated by bias.

The location of the incident indi-cates bias motivation.

• The victim was in or near a placecommonly associated with or fre-quented by individuals of a par-ticular racial identity, religion,ethnic/national origin, disability,sexual orientation, or gender.

• The incident occurred at or neara place of worship, a religiouscemetery, the home of a familythat is a minority within a partic-ular neighborhood, or a gay bar.

Can a Hate Crime BeCommitted With NothingMore Than Words?

The use of bigoted and prejudicedlanguage does not in itself violatehate crime laws. This type of behav-ior is frequently classified as a biasincident. However, hate crime lawsapply when words threaten violence.Similarly, hate crime laws applywhen bias-motivated graffiti dam-ages or destroys property.

Does Bias Have To Be theOnly Motivation To ChargeSomeone With a HateCrime?

In general, no, although the an-swer may depend on how courtsin a particular jurisdiction or statehave interpreted hate crime laws.It is not uncommon for people tocommit crimes for more than onereason. Many hate crimes are suc-cessfully prosecuted even whenmotivations in addition to bias arepresent.

Is Domestic Violence orSexual Assault Against aWoman Considered aHate Crime?

Domestic violence or sexualassault can be prosecuted as a hatecrime if gender is included in applic-able hate crime laws and if evidencecan be obtained demonstrating thatthe assault was motivated, in wholeor in part, by bias against the victimbecause of her gender.

Do Hate Crime LawsProtect White People?

Yes. Hate crime laws are color-blind. Racially motivated crimes tar-geting white people, although farless common than hate crimes tar-geting people of color, occur andthe perpetrators are prosecuted.Many of the hate crimes motivatedby bias against a victim’s religion,nationality, gender, or sexual orien-tation are directed at white people.


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Do Victims FrequentlyFabricate Hate Crimes?

As with any crime, fabricatedcomplaints about hate crimes dooccur, but very rarely. In fact, policehave found that victims often arereluctant to report hate crimes oreven acknowledge that what appearsto others to be a hate crime is moti-vated by bias. The fear and isolationthat hate crime victims feel lead tounderreporting more often thanto fabrication.

Why Should These LawsProtect Homosexuals?

Hate crime laws prohibit violence,threats, or property damage moti-vated by bias. Hate crime laws have always applied to people whochoose to be in a targeted group,such as those who choose to convertto a different religion. The resolutionof the debate over whether gays andlesbians are genetically predisposedor choose their sexual orientation isnot relevant under the law. No per-son should be subject to violence,threats, or property damage because

of his or her status, whether it berace, ethnicity, nationality, religion,gender, physical or mental disability,or sexual orientation.

Do Hate Crime LawsConfer Special Rights onCertain Groups?

Hate crime laws protect everyperson in this country. Anyonecould be a victim of a hate crimebecause of his or her race, national-ity, ethnicity, physical or mental dis-ability, sexual orientation, gender,or religion. Some people have beenvictimized by hate crimes due to aperpetrator’s mistaken belief thatthe victim is of a particular race,nationality, ethnicity, or sexual ori-entation. Hate crimes do not conferspecial rights on anyone. Rather,they protect the rights of individualsto conduct their everyday activi-ties—to live in their homes, dotheir jobs, receive an education—without being subjected to violencebecause of who they are or whatthey believe.


VII. For More Information

To learn more about the pro-grams discussed in this monograph,please contact the followingorganization:

Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence

University of Southern Maine96 Falmouth StreetP.O. Box 9300Portland, ME 04104207–780–4756Fax: 207–780–5698Web site: www.cphv.usm.maine.eduE-mail: [email protected]

For additional copies of thismonograph and others in BJA’sHate Crimes Series, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000Rockville, MD 20849–60001–800–688–4252Fax: 301–519–5212Web site: www.ncjrs.org

Clearinghouse staff are availableMonday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.to 7 p.m. eastern time. Ask to beplaced on the BJA mailing list.

For information from other orga-nizations that are addressing hatecrimes, please contact any of theorganizations listed below.

Anti-Defamation League823 United Nations PlazaNew York, NY 10017212–490–2525Web site: www.adl.org

Arab American Institute1600 K Street NW., Suite 601Washington, DC 20006202–429–9210Fax: 202–429–9214Web site: www.aaiusa.org

Bureau of Justice Assistance810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–616–6500Fax: 202–305–1367Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bja

Bureau of Justice Statistics810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–307–0765Fax: 202–307–5846Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs

Community Relations ServiceU.S. Department of Justice600 E Street NW., Suite 6000Washington, DC 20530202–305–2935Fax: 202–305–3009Web site: www.usdoj.gov/crs

Disability Law Center11 Beacon Street, Suite 925Boston, MA 02108617–723–8455Fax: 617–723–9125Web site: www.dlc-ma.org


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Facing History and OurselvesNational Foundation

16 Hurd RoadBrookline, MA 02445617–232–1595Fax: 617–232–0281Web site: www.facinghistory.org

Federal Bureau of InvestigationJ. Edgar Hoover Building935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.Washington, DC 20535202–324–3000Fax: 202–324–5310Web site: www.fbi.gov

Federal Bureau of InvestigationCriminal Justice Information

Services DivisionAttn: Uniform Crime Reports1000 Custer Hollow Road Clarksburg, WV 26306304–625–4995Fax: 304–625–5394Web site: www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

Human Rights Campaign919 18th Street NW., Suite 800Washington, DC 20006202–628–4160Fax: 202–347–5323Web site: www.hrc.org

International Association of Chiefs of Police

515 North Washington StreetAlexandria, VA 22314–2357703–836–6767Fax: 703–836–4543Web site: www.theiacp.org

National Asian Pacific AmericanLegal Consortium

1140 Connecticut Avenue NW.,Suite 1200

Washington, DC 20036202–296–2300Fax: 202–296–2318Web site: www.napalc.org

National Conference forCommunity and Justice

475 Park Avenue South,19th FloorNew York, NY 10016212–545–1300Fax: 212–545–8053Web site: www.nccj.org

National Congress of American Indians


Washington, DC 20036202–466–7767Fax: 202–466–7797Web site: www.ncai.org

National Council of La Raza1111 19th Street NW., Suite 1000Washington, DC 20036202–785–1670Fax: 202–776–1792Web site: www.nclr.org

National Criminal JusticeAssociation

444 North Capitol Street NW., Suite 618

Washington, DC 20001202–624–1440Fax: 202–508–3859Web site: www.ncja.org

For More Information


National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

1700 Kalorama Road NW., Suite 101Washington, DC 20009202–332–6483Fax: 202–332–0207Web site: www.ngltf.org

National Partnership forWomen and Families


Washington, DC 20009202–986–2600Fax: 202–986–2539Web site: www.nationalpartnership.org

National Women’s Law Center11 Dupont Circle NW., Suite 800Washington, DC 20036202–588–5180Fax: 202–588–5185Web site: www.nwlc.org

Network of ViolencePrevention Practitioners

55 Chapel StreetNewton, MA 02458617–969–7100Fax: 617–244–3436Web site: www2.edc.org/nvpp

Office of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention

810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–307–5911Fax: 202–307–2093Web site: www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org

Office for Victims of Crime810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–307–5983Fax: 202–514–6383Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc

Simon Wiesenthal Center1399 South Roxbury DriveLos Angeles, CA 90035310–553–9036Fax: 310–553–8007Web site: www.wiensenthal.com

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights624 Ninth Street NW., Suite 700Washington, DC 20425202–337–7700Fax: 202–376–7558Web site: www.usccr.gov

U.S. Department of EducationSafe and Drug-Free Schools400 Maryland Avenue SW.Washington, DC 20202202–260–3954 Fax: 202–260–7767Web site: www.ed.gov

U.S. Department of Housing andUrban Development

451 Seventh Street SW.Washington, DC 20410202–708–2111Fax: 202–619–8365Web site: www.hud.gov

U.S. Department of JusticeCivil Rights Division, Criminal Section601 D Street NW.Washington, DC 20530202–514–3204Fax: 202–514–8336Web site: www.usdoj.gov


24

Violence Against Women Office810 Seventh Street NW.Washington, DC 20531202–307–6026Fax: 202–305–2589Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo

For additional information aboutBJA programs, visit the BJA Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bja orcontact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000Rockville, MD 20849–60001–800–688–4252Web site: www.ncjrs.org

Clearinghouse staff are availableMonday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.to 7 p.m. eastern time. Ask to beplaced on the BJA mailing list.

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center

1–800–421–6770 or 202–307–1480

Response Center staff are availableMonday through Friday, 9 a.m. to5 p.m. eastern time.

Bureau of Justice AssistanceInformation

General Information

❒ MailP.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849–6000

❒ Visit2277 Research Boulevard Rockville, MD 20850

❒ Telephone 1–800–688–4252 Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time

❒ Fax301–519–5212

❒ Fax on Demand1–800–688–4252

Callers may contact the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center for general informa-tion or specific needs, such as assistance in submitting grant applications and informationabout training. To contact the Response Center, call 1–800–421–6770 or write to 1100Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20005.

Indepth Information

For more indepth information about BJA, its programs, and its funding opportunities,requesters can call the BJA Clearinghouse. The BJA Clearinghouse, a component of theNational Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), shares BJA program informationwith state and local agencies and community groups across the country. Information spe-cialists are available to provide reference and referral services, publication distribution,participation and support for conferences, and other networking and outreach activities.The Clearinghouse can be reached by

❒ BJA Home Pagewww.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

❒ NCJRS Home Page www.ncjrs.org

❒ [email protected]

❒ JUSTINFO NewsletterE-mail to [email protected] the subject line blankIn the body of the message,type:subscribe justinfo[your name]

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