In response to recent hate speech at Georgetown, a panel met Wednesday evening to discuss possible ways to reduce hate crimes on campus, as well as an improved system for reporting the crimes.
Sponsored by Leaders in Education About Diversity, the panel spoke on the topic “Hate Crimes on College Campuses: Causes and Prevention.”
The panel responded to steps taken by the university following two large rallies against racism and gender assault in February and arch that culminated in the presentation of a petition calling on Georgetown to act more proactively against racism. The rallies were triggered by a racist e-mail sent to the Black Student Alliance and the Georgetown chapter of the NAACP. Originally thought to have come from a Georgetown student, the e-mail has since been traced to a Florida man who is already on an FBI watch list for bigoted acts.
The panel, moderated by Arthur Chan (SFS ’07) and Tanisha Douglas (SFS ’07), featured Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson, Director of Student Conduct Judy Johnson, Vice President for University Safety David Morrell, LGBTQ Resources Coordinator Chuck Van Sant and Cheryl Kravitz, the executive director of the National Conference on Community Justice.
The panelists discussed their thoughts on the causes of hate crimes and possible preventions before the floor was opened up to questions from the audience.
The one issue that kept coming up during the discussion was the weakness of the current system in place for reporting hate crimes.
“We have a system that doesn’t work well,” Olson said, adding that the university was “really working to change that.” Olson spoke of a group that he is currently working with to develop a more effective system for reporting these crimes, and that the new system should be in place for the beginning of the fall semester.
“The most difficult piece is getting people to know where to go,” Johnson said in describing the biggest flaw of the current system. Johnson said that the structure for dealing with people who violate the Student Code of Conduct with a bias-related crime has been in place for years and can be very effective if the crimes are reported. But crimes often go unreported.
Olson said that, until the new system is in place, the focus on campus will be on publicizing current outlets for reporting crimes, such as filing DPS reports. Morrell stressed that, despite perceptions, DPS does investigate all reports fully and takes all complaints seriously.
Overall, the panel agreed that while a structural change is a necessary and productive step toward handling hate crimes, true change will not come until the climate on campus changes and students no longer tolerate hate acts.
“It’s a shared responsibility,” Van Sant said. “Change is a shared burden.”