Title IX

You can meet with someone from the Title IX office by scheduling an appointment, calling, or stopping in.

Meetings can be held in person, on the phone, or over Zoom (or other video conferencing). 

Yes. You are encouraged to speak with someone from the Title IX or OCR Compliance office if you have a concern that we may be able to assist with. As long as you are not a Responsible Employee, you have no obligation to share identifiable information about who the person you are concerned about is.

During the meeting, the Title IX team member can share resources with you and attempt to answer the questions you may have. 

A bias-related incident constitutes an expression of hostility or intimidation, in words or actions, against a person or property of another because of the targeted person’s protected group status.  Protected group status is afforded and defined in the Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination Policy.  

A bias-related incident may be a violation of DeSales Student Code of Conduct, Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination Policy, or other policy. 

It is important to note, however, that behavior or expression may be considered inappropriate or disruptive without being a bias-related offense or policy violation. After a bias-related incident is reported, the incident will be referred to the appropriate office for review and evaluation.

There may be times when it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify the person responsible for the reported incident or behavior, or when the individual is someone external to the DeSales community who is not subject to university policies.  There may also be times when the reported incident is ultimately determined not to be a policy violation.  None of these preclude the University from implementing an educational and supportive response. Counter-messaging, condemnations, dialogue, education and support as a response to hateful speech or conduct may be considered. 

While it isn't always easy to recognize, bias can be present in the classroom, workplace, and media, and often stems from fear, misunderstanding, hatred, or stereotypes. Even when offenders are not aware of bias or do not intend to offend, bias may be revealed by an act that is worthy of a response and can serve as an opportunity for education.

A hate crime is a criminal offense in which the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias. 

In the United States, federal laws that inform responses to hate crimes include the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C. § 245(b)(2)), the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (28 U.S.C. § 994), and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (Division E of H.R. 2647).  In addition, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Protocol and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990 (20 U.S.C.§1092(f)) – also known as The Clery Act – defines hate crimes for the purposes of its reporting requirements.  

While bias-related incidents and hate crimes both involve behavior that is motivated by bias, there is an important distinction between the two. Hate crimes are criminal offenses motivated by bias. These crimes would be crimes even if not for the bias element.  A bias-related incident may not involve criminal behavior. It may be a violation of University policy or it may not. Not all biased or hateful behavior rises to the level of a crime or policy violation and not all crimes are hate crimes. 

Hate crimes include such offenses as:

• physical attacks/assault 
• property damage 
• arson 
• homicide 
• terroristic threats 
• vandalism 
• sex offenses 
• robbery 
• burglary 
• theft 

Bias-related incidents include such things as:

• bullying based on perceived national origin 
• telling jokes based on stereotype or making a joke about a targeted person’s protected  class 
• using racial or ethnic slurs 
• making comments on social media about a targeted person’s protected class 

Some bias incidents or hate crimes may involve hateful speech. Hateful speech, like all speech is protected by the First Amendment as long as it does not incite immediate violence. That does not mean, however, that it must be tolerated. Hate speech but can still cause real harm.

Although some people may feel anger, resentment, frustration, or discouragement in response to hateful speech, those feelings alone are not sufficient grounds to limit that speech. Effective responses to hateful speech include counter-messaging, condemnations, direct support to targeted individuals and groups, dialogue, and education.