Policy revision underway

By Allison Sundaram

Following an incident of racial harassment late last quarter, student leaders and university officials are preparing to revise the current process of reporting discrimination on campus by making it more clear whom the victims should report to.

The committee was announced at a university forum on racial harassment in March, and was spurred by what some Multicultural Center leaders see as an increase in racially charged occurrences on campus, particularly an incident where racial slurs were graffitied in a bathroom in Benson Memorial Center.

The group plans to make the current process more streamlined and accessible to students by implementing new information on reporting by the middle of spring quarter, which will be ready for use next academic year.

Multicultural Center Director Terrence Boyd Jr. had been approached by several students over the course of the year, who he says were complaining of harassment. Boyd says he was left frustrated by the confusion of the current incident reporting procedure.

"I felt like these students didn't know where to go -- who they could rely on to make sure that what they relate to them is going to be dealt with appropriately, handled appropriately," he said.

The university's current reporting protocol is a thick packet that is not readily available to students. Within the online Student Handbook, the section on harassment and discrimination is a condemnation of harassment and a referral to the Affirmative Action Office. Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life, admits the current process can be confusing.

"We have a process, and sort of a flowchart, on how to report, but it's not something that's known to students or readily accessible," she said.

Following the incident in Benson, Boyd was frustrated that there was no clear way to define the incident as racially motivated, so he approached the Office of Student Life.

"I didn't really know what the next step was to do, so I talked to our advisor, and our advisor didn't really know what to do either," he said. "I think because it's unclear, I think it's really ineffective the way that they handle each situation."

According to the official process, any student, staff member or faculty member with a complaint should submit it to a department head or supervisor, a higher-level university officer, or the director of Affirmative Action.

In addition to streamlining the process, administrators hope to continue community education by keeping MCC leaders involved and notifying them if an incident is reported.

In an e-mail, the Office of Student Life referred committee participants to Indiana University's Web page on anti-harassment programs, which they hope will serve as a guide for the development of a policy at Santa Clara.

Three MCC student leaders and staff representatives from the Office of Student Life, Campus Safety, Center for Student Leadership, Affirmative Action and students outside of the MCC have been invited to participate in the committee. Lisa Millora, assistant dean for student life, heads up the committee, and is in the process of extending invitations to students and on-campus organizations.

Anjuna Rose Antony, one of the MCC student representatives on the panel, emphasized the importance of an easy reporting protocol for students who have encountered discrimination.

"It's not just enough to say there's a safe space, we need to actually have it happen," she said. "Next time when somebody goes through something like we did last quarter with the incident in the bathroom, and someone comes across something like that, it's not so much about punishing the offender, it's more about helping the person who had to suffer because they came across that."

Contact Allison Sundaram at (408) 554-4546 or asundaram@scu.edu.