The Academic Council has clarified policies and procedures with respect to discrimination and prejudice on campus with a new policy.
According to Brooke Barnett, the senior fellow for diversity and global engagement in the Office of the President, those who have worked on creating the new policy want to stress that Elon now has policies for any form of harassment or discrimination, and the new policy clarifies the process for reporting incidents of harassment and discrimination.
The Academic Council passed the handbook change in February, and in early March the faculty approved it unanimously.
[quote]We have a process that is more fair, not just for the person who had an injustice done to them, but also to the person accused of that injustice. Until something is actually working you can’t tell, so only time will tell. - Cassie Kircher, associate professor of English[/quote]
“I have to admit, you never know how things are going to go in a faculty vote,” said Cassie Kircher, an associate professor of English who presented the policy to faculty. “If they have any concerns, they are not shy about letting you know. I was holding my breath, but I was very pleased that the faculty embraced this.”
One of the main ways Barnett said the new process for reporting is being shared with students, faculty and staff is through a new website.
“The main page of that site is: ‘How do I tell someone?’” Barnett said. “The first thing you can do is go to a confidential person and have a confidential conversation. If you choose to prosecute, there are advocates that will be with you throughout the process.”
The website has all the different ways students can share that something has happened, either online, in person or by phone.
Barnett said the website will be shared with various student groups to see if students can find the information easily or if there is anything that can be improved.
[box]What this means for you: A website is now available to walk students, faculty and staff through the process of reporting instances of discrimination and prejudice on campus. Steps include talking about the incident and potentially prosecuting. [/box] “This is for anyone on campus to use that is faculty, students and staff,” she said. “So we want to make sure they can access it, and that it makes sense.”
But Kircher said no change will occurr until someone has to go through the process on the website, and that will be the true test of the policy.
“We have a process that is more fair, not just for the person who had an injustice done to them, but also to the person accused of that injustice,” she said. “Until something is actually working you can’t tell, so only time will tell.”
In addition to the website Elon will have a team of responders that will be trained at the university, and more education will be available for students. Barnett and the Presidential Diversity Council will also begin collecting information to look for harassment and discrimination patterns on campus.
One area in which Barnett said she has already seen is a problem with homophobic slurs.
“It is used in a very casual way, but it deeply troubles students from that community,” she said. “That could be an example of education needed in a certain area.”
The council will look at with what problems and information people share.
According to Barnett, the outcome she wants to see from this new policy is to have an inclusive campus climate for everyone.
“The goal from all of this is that we are an open university where every single member of our community can work and live and learn,” Barnett said.