On Saturday, Sept. 6, I had the opportunity to attend a couple of workshops on campus-related issues. After skimming over the list of our options, some friends and I decided to attend the “Stop the Hate” presentation.
Discussion was mediated by Stop the Hate Trainers. Over the summer, 32 U students, faculty members, staff and administrators attended a three-day training session to learn how to prevent and take action against hate related incidents. The volunteers came from different factions of U life-the Associated Students of the University of Utah, the Residence Hall Association, the Greek Council, The Daily Utah Chronicle, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, the Counseling Center, the Student Affairs department and the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Center.
For about 50 minutes, students at the U were taught about hate crimes. Specifically, we were taught about the difference between a bias incident and an actual hate crime, which is a bias incident that has escalated to the level of a crime. For example, writing “n*****” across a political poster would be a bias incident. Breaking into a classroom and spray-painting swastikas on chalkboards is a hate crime.
The really sad thing is that both of these incidents have occurred on our campus.
When I heard that, I almost couldn’t believe it. I mean, you know stuff like that still goes on when you hear about it happening in Wyoming or Connecticut or Alabama. You don’t expect it in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In a press release this summer, U Student Affairs Vice President Barbara Snyder said, “It is difficult to accept that bias exists on our campus, but we wanted to confront this important issue in a direct and effective manner.”
Hate crimes are incredibly hard to quantify because they so often go unreported. The discussion mediators had a lot to say about how one should go about reporting a hate crime on campus. First, and most obvious, call the police. However, it shouldn’t end there. For perpetrators of hate crimes to be fully punished, and their victims to be completely cared for, one should also call the Dean of Students and the Counseling Center.
Then, depending on where you are, you might have to alert even more people. If it happens in the dorms, alert the resident director. If it happens on Greek Row, call the Greek Office. If it happens at the LDS Institute, call the institute director.
The important thing to remember is that the more quickly all the right people know about what has happened, the more quickly the incident can be taken care of. The U has two or three bias-related offenses each semester, and it is suspected that many more go unreported and unchallenged.
The U chapter of the Stop the Hate organization will become official as soon as it gets ASUU recognition. However, there is something more that U students can do.
Hate crimes are something every student at the U needs to be concerned about. As Stop the Hate trainers pointed out, hate crimes can be committed against anyone-even if they’re white, straight and male. Furthermore, when a crime of this nature is committed against anyone, we all feel the effects. Annie Nebeker of U Student Affairs has said, “The problem is, when a hate crime is committed, it victimizes a whole segment of the population, and the offense has so many ripple effects.”
For years now, the Utah State Legislature has been hesitant about passing a hate crimes bill. When the House of Representatives finally passed a proposed bill last February, it was an opportunity for many to celebrate.
However, for various reasons, the bill did not become law. Its proponents are now rewriting a more acceptable version to be brought up at the next legislative session.
Students at the U have always been accused of apathy, and when we do manage to get involved in something at the Legislature, it usually involves our tuition. However, when the new hate crimes legislation comes before the Legislature, U students need to speak out in favor of it. More than half the states in the union have specific hate crime legislation. Let’s add Utah to that number.