THE PRESIDENT'S Office, along with the offices of the chief officer for diversity and equity and the vice president of student affairs, has made an initial step toward addressing the problem of bias incidents on and around Grounds. The new bias reporting Web site, aptly named "Just Report It," is a first step for the administration toward addressing and preventing future harmful acts. This is a major accomplishment and I hope students will take advantage of this new resource. The system is new, and still needs a great deal of work and attention from everyone who is concerned about achieving a more diverse and welcoming environment for everyone here at the University.
Most people gained some awareness of the prevalence of intolerance at the University after the widespread attention race-based attacks received this fall. More and more students came out to forums on diversity and action than I have ever seen in my four years here. Cultural and political groups like the Minority Rights Coalition and its component organizations La Alianza, the Asian Student Union, the Black Student Alliance, the National Organization for Women at U.Va. and the Queer Student Union, along with the NAACP at U.Va., received unprecedented attention last semester. For the first time since the fourth year class has been here I believe, "mainstream" organizations such as Student Council, First Year Council and the University Judiciary Committee made a major effort to address to acts of bias and intolerance. It is just as important now as ever for students to keep up that energy and amount of concern for the future of their school and the success of their peers.
What I hope everyone has learned by now is that the widely publicized attacks this past fall are not isolated and similar attacks are not novel. Unfortunately, acts of intolerance at the University are by no means infrequent; women, non-white and non-heterosexual students have been aware of this fact since they have entered this University. Just how frequently people commit public acts of bias here remains to be seen. Records and statistics are crucial to policy change at a University. Numbers are difficult to ignore. The "Just Report It" Web site has crime statistics from the University and Charlottesville Police that include reported hate crimes.
However, the majority of cases that will be reported to the police and the office of the dean of students will be "bias incidents" that cannot be classified as "hate crimes." According to the "Just Report It" Web site, the University's definition of a "bias incident" is much broader than that of a "hate crime," which is defined by federal and state laws. There is question as to whether or not those statistics will be furnished to the public. Bias incidents, rather than hate crimes, will directly affect a greater number of students. College students have a legacy of pushing the boundaries of society and demanding better treatment for fellow students and citizens. Access to bias incident statistics -- not the actual reports, but the raw data -- would give students the tools to push for policy change that may create a more welcoming campus. Students are difficult to ignore, especially in a school that champions student self-governance.
What students need to remember is that our concept of time is extremely different from that of the teaching and administrating faculty. Institutional or policy change may take several years. Do not give up if something does not change in a semester, or a year, or before you graduate. If you are really passionate about change, you must not let yourself lose motivation. Instead, use it to further motivate others that will be at the University after you graduate. Do not let others forget. Create a legacy and a memory.
Just Report It can be a way of maintaining institutional memory. However, we cannot "just" report it and let it go at that. We need to monitor the system. We need to demand action and change. We need to make sure all that we have fought for (and what those who graduated before us fought for) is used to keep the University a top-notch institution that embraces diversity in all of its forms. Reporting is a crucial first step. There is still room for improvement. Check it out.
Adrienne Patton is a third year in the College. She is chair of the Minority Rights Coalition.
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