About Us

Reporting bias incidents can help create a safer campus environment by allowing the institution to address behaviors that do not align with the College’s Mission, Vision, and Values.  

SPC's Mission, Vision, & Values

Yes. To increase the likelihood that students, staff, and faculty will submit reports, we created an online report form that can be submitted anonymously. You may also choose to provide non-identifying contact information, such as a personal email account if you would like an update regarding the status of your report. We want to obtain as complete a picture as possible of the experiences of our students, staff, and faculty; this tool is a mechanism for accomplishing that goal. We cannot respond to anonymous reporters to provide feedback or information, but we welcome the contribution to our collective knowledge.

Online Reporting Form

We want individuals to have information to assist them in making the decision whether to submit a Bias Incident Report, including what options may exist through other available reporting opportunities. If you would like to talk with someone who can provide more information, please contact any member of the Bias Response Team.

Bias Response Team Members

All team members will receive a copy of the report, which will be discussed at weekly team meetings to determine the next steps. The team will decide on appropriate follow-up activities, such as asking facilities services to remove graffiti, reaching out to an affected community to provide support, or providing feedback to a department or individual.

The information received will primarily be maintained in our database, providing us with an overall picture of the kinds of things our students, staff, and faculty are experiencing. If the reporting individual wants to discuss the matter further and provides contact information, we will contact that individual.

Depending on the nature of the reported incident, the Bias Response Team may:

• Offer support and information regarding available resources.
• Offer options on how to report an incident for investigation and resolution in accordance with applicable College policy and principles of free expression.
• Inform and consult colleagues regarding a possible institutional response.
• Coordinate support for community healing and educational outreach.
• Assess avenues for minimizing or eliminating future incidents of bias.
• Catalog incidents.

Individuals who submit a report and identify themselves may be contacted for more details. Anonymous reports may also be submitted. The team will compile and analyze data from submitted reports to inform future educational and prevention efforts.

Institutional responses may include:

• Removal of graffiti or flyers.
• Individual outreach to an affected party.
• Connecting affected parties to relevant resources.
• Educational workshops or seminars.
• Notice to the community about the incident.
• Offer support and assistance to affected individuals/communities (typically through counseling).

It is important to note that the Bias Response Team is neither an investigative nor an oversight body. In most cases, it will be entirely up to the person making the report to decide whether to initiate a formal investigation. If you submit a report and provide contact information, a team member can provide you with your options for having the matter investigated and offer information about relevant resources.

In rare instances, we may be compelled by law to report a matter to an appropriate investigative body (Student Conduct, Human Resources, and/or Public Safety). This would most likely occur if the safety of a minor appears to be at risk or there has been a direct threat of violence.

BIAS – A disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea of thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, or a belief (Psychology Today).

IMPLICIT BIAS – Also known as unconscious or hidden bias, implicit biases are negative associations that people unknowingly hold. They are expressed automatically without conscious awareness.

BIAS INCIDENT – an act of bigotry, harassment, or intimidation that is motivated in whole or in part by bias based on an individual’s or group’s actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Bias often stems from fear, misunderstanding, hatred and stereotypes and may be intentional or unintentional.

DISCRIMINATION – Behavior that treats people unequally because of their group memberships. Discriminatory behavior, ranging from slights to hate crimes, often begins with negative stereotypes and prejudices. Discrimination refers to “action(s) based on prejudice toward social others. How we think about groups of people determines how we act toward them; discrimination occurs when we act on our prejudices. Our prejudice toward others guides our thoughts, organizes our values, and influences our actions. These prejudgments, when left unexamined, necessarily shape our behaviors. Once we act on our prejudices, we are discriminating. Acts of discrimination can include ignoring, avoiding, excluding, ridicule, jokes, slander, threats, and violence” (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2012, p. 32).

HARASSMENT – Unwelcome conduct or communication that is based on actual or perceived membership in a protected class, including stereotypes of protected classes, that has a negative effect or is likely to have a negative effect on the complainant or the workplace or educational environment. Harassment may occur in various relationships, including faculty and student, supervisor and employee, student and student, staff and student, employee and employee, and other relationships with persons having business at or visiting the educational or working environment.

Minnesota State Terms of Equity and Inclusion