Bias Reporting

SUNY Delhi’s response to bias-related concerns will be guided by the following principles: 

1. Care for impacted people. The first response should include support, listening, safety assessment, and connection to resources. 
2. Prompt review and routing. Reports should be reviewed quickly and routed to the appropriate office or process. 
3. Title VI oversight. Reports involving race, color, national origin, shared ancestry, or ethnic characteristics must be reviewed by the Title VI Coordinator. 
4. Education when appropriate. Some bias-related harms can be addressed through learning, facilitated conversation, restorative practice, and community reflection. 
5. Accountability when necessary. Conduct that may violate law, policy, or safety expectations must be referred to the appropriate office. 
6. Respect for free expression. SUNY Delhi may respond to harmful or biased expression through education, support, and counter-speech while honoring constitutional protections and academic freedom. 
7. Non-retaliation. Retaliation against a person who reports, participates in a process, supports another person, or serves as a witness is prohibited. 
8. Privacy with limits. Information will be shared only with those who need to know in order to respond, support, assess safety, comply with law, or address campus climate. 
9. Documentation and pattern awareness. Individual reports and prior reports may be relevant to assessing whether a hostile environment is developing over time. 

The Bias Response Team is a group of trained faculty, staff, and/or student volunteers who may support educational, restorative, and community-care responses to bias-related concerns. 

The Bias Response Team does not determine whether law or policy was violated. It does not impose discipline. It does not conduct formal investigations. It does not require participation in dialogue or educational conversations. 

When a matter may involve Title VI, the Title VI Coordinator must complete intake and determine appropriate routing before the matter is brought to the Bias Response Team for discussion or support. 

Bias Incident 

A bias incident is conduct, speech, action, image, expression, or behavior that appears to target, stereotype, demean, exclude, threaten, or harm an individual or group based on actual or perceived identity or protected characteristic. 

Bias incidents may involve, but are not limited to, race, color, national origin, shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or related condition, military or veteran status, familial status, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, or other protected or identity-based categories recognized by law or SUNY policy. 

A bias incident may or may not violate law or campus policy. Even when conduct does not rise to the level of a policy violation, SUNY Delhi may still offer support, education, facilitated dialogue, restorative options, community messaging, or other climate-based responses. 

Bias  

Bias is a tendency, assumption, preference, or judgment about a person or group, often shaped by stereotypes, experiences, or social messages. Bias may be conscious or unconscious and does not by itself constitute misconduct. Bias becomes a campus concern when it influences speech, behavior, decisions, treatment, access, or the learning, living, or working environment. 

Hate Incident  

A hate incident is a bias-motivated or identity-targeted act, expression, or behavior that may cause harm, fear, exclusion, or concern but does not necessarily meet the legal elements of a crime. Hate incidents may still warrant support, documentation, education, climate response, or referral under this protocol. 

Hate Crime  

A hate crime is a criminal offense in which a person intentionally selects the victim or property, in whole or substantial part, because of a belief or perception regarding a protected characteristic as defined by applicable law. University Police or other law enforcement determines whether reported conduct may constitute a crime; the Bias Response Team does not make criminal determinations. 

Free Speech / Free Expression  

Free speech and free expression refer to expression protected by the First Amendment and other applicable law. As a public college, SUNY Delhi may not prohibit or punish protected expression merely because it is offensive, upsetting, controversial, biased, or unpopular. Protected expression may still be addressed through support, education, counter-speech, dialogue, and other non-disciplinary responses. 

Hate Speech  

“Hate speech” is commonly used to describe expression that attacks, demeans, or expresses hostility toward a person or group based on identity. Hate speech is not, by itself, a separate category of speech excluded from First Amendment protection. Depending on the circumstances, however, expression may be subject to institutional action when it constitutes or is part of unprotected or otherwise actionable conduct, such as a true threat, unlawful harassment or discrimination, incitement, vandalism, or other conduct prohibited by law or policy. 

Title VI Concern 

A Title VI concern involves possible discrimination, harassment, exclusion, unequal treatment, or hostile environment based on race, color, or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. 

Examples may include concerns involving anti-Black racism, anti-Asian bias, anti-Latiné bias, xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab bias, or bias related to ethnicity, ancestry, language, accent, skin color, cultural appearance, or perceived national origin. 

All reports that may involve race, color, national origin, shared ancestry, or ethnic characteristics must be routed to the Title VI Coordinator for intake, review, and oversight. 

Hostile Environment 

A hostile environment may exist when conduct based on a protected characteristic is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the College’s education program, activity, employment, housing, services, or campus environment. 

Hostile environment assessments must consider the totality of the circumstances, including the nature of the conduct, severity, frequency, location, identities and roles of the parties, impact on educational or workplace access, whether the conduct is part of a pattern, and whether other incidents may contribute to an evolving hostile environment. 

Bias Response 

Bias response refers to the non-disciplinary, support-centered, learning-based, restorative, or community-enhancing actions SUNY Delhi may take after receiving a bias-related report. 

Bias response may include outreach, listening, resource sharing, care, education, facilitated dialogue, restorative conversation, community support, climate assessment, training, or referral. 

Bias response is not a substitute for Title VI, Title IX, Student Conduct, Human Resources, University Police, or other required institutional processes. 

Bias Response Team 

The Bias Response Team is a group of trained faculty, staff, and/or student volunteers who may support educational, restorative, and community-care responses to bias-related concerns. 

The Bias Response Team does not determine whether law or policy was violated. It does not impose discipline. It does not conduct formal investigations. It does not require participation in dialogue or educational conversations. 

When a matter may involve Title VI, the Title VI Coordinator must complete intake and determine appropriate routing before the matter is brought to the Bias Response Team for discussion or support.