By Olivia Borgula
The number of hate-bias incidents logged by Bias Incident Support Services at the University of Maryland has more than doubled in the past four years.
The 2021-2022 academic year marked the highest number of reports — 88 incidents and an 11% increase from the previous year. The BISS office identified this increase using their online dashboard and increased trainings and events aimed at uplifting marginalized identities, according to annual reports.
“While we acknowledge that there are likely many incidents that go unreported, BISS provides the data we receive so that community members can have transparency while simultaneously protecting the privacy of those reporting,” said BISS program manager Brian Medina, who launched the program.
One factor in the increased number of reports could be eased COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, which limited student presence on campus, according to Medina, who uses ze, hir, hirs pronouns.
The dashboard — which reports incidents as a breakdown by identity targeted — is “the only one of its kind across the United States,” because most campuses only release annual reports or keep their data private, according to Medina.
Reports submitted to the Bias Incident Form are added to the dashboard through a separate software and then details about date, targeted identities, location and report type are added manually, Medina said.
There have been 33 reports logged since the start of this academic year. Eight reports related to race, six to ethnicity and four to religion, according to the dashboard.
Medina said the dashboard’s breakdown by type of incident helps BISS staff determine how best to support students.
Last fall, when there was an uptick in hate-bias incidents targeting Jewish identities, BISS hosted a restorative circle event to provide a healing space for Jewish community members. The organization also hosted a panel and training series to educate community members on antisemitism and the complexity of Jewish identities.
Since its founding in 2017, BISS has trained more communities on hate bias incidents, according to BISS’s annual reports. BISS hosted more Stop the Hate trainings — which provide an introduction to resources and bias incidents — each semester.
“The dashboard is more so a community resource to better relay the prevalence of bias reports to the campus,” Medina said.
The University of Maryland police department makes a distinction between hate crimes and hate-bias incidents, according to a flyer provided by UMPD spokesperson Lt. Rosanne Hoaas. Hate crimes are criminal offenses, while hate-bias incidents are acts characterized by an expression of hate against a certain identity, Hoaas said in an interview with Stories Beneath the Shell.
Susannah Heschel, chair of the Jewish Studies program at Dartmouth College, said non-criminal hate-bias incidents are still impactful, especially on college campuses.
“When you’re a college student in a community with other students. It’s much more devastating when you’ve gone out in the world,” Heschel said. “How can I function as an academic, as a student, and explore ideas [with] fellow students who may mock me or deny my integrity?”
Medina said everyone at this university has a responsibility to recognize when they harm others’ identities, whether intentional or unintentional. It’s important the dashboard provides transparency about hate-bias incidents, which were previously released in annual reports, ze said.
Medina said the dashboard has been useful in providing transparency and discovering patterns in hate-bias incidents.
“The more we learn to cultivate a community of care, the more we can honor the dignity of everyone,” Medina said. “As a larger campus community, we must be willing to have uncomfortable conversations and engage our own privileges and biases in order to truly align with our values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.”
Featured Image: Marie Mount Hall on the University of Maryland Campus, where BISS is located. Photo from University of Maryland facilities management.