Campus climate Incidents

 A Campus Climate Incident is conduct or an incident that harms an individual or group within the Seattle University community (i.e., students, faculty, or staff) on the basis of one or more of their actual or perceived identities, such as, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or political ideology.  

Such conduct or incidents may contribute to creating an unsafe, negative, or unwelcoming campus climate. Importantly, a Campus Climate Incident may occur whether or not there is an intent to cause negative impact, and regardless of whether the incident violates law or University policy.  

The diagram below further clarifies the type of incidents that generally fall into the category of Campus Climate Incidents. Mere Insults/Slights/Incivilities and campus policy or legal violations are not covered by the Campus Climate Reporting & Response Policy. The Policy covers incidents such as microaggressions and other bias incidents that are overt but may not qualify as microaggressions.

The Campus Climate Incident Response Team reviews reports of Campus Climate Incidents and coordinates the University’s response. On a case-by-case basis, the Team consults with students, faculty and staff from other University departments, programs, and organizations who can help the team make the most informed response possible to a report of a Campus Climate Incident. 

In addition, the Team analyzes patterns, refines response plans to Campus Climate Incidents, and makes recommendations on educational and professional development opportunities with the ultimate goal of improving climate on campus.  

The Campus Climate Incident Response Team is comprised of representatives from the following offices: 

• Institutional Equity
• Dean of Students
• Human Resources
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Provost’s Office
• Campus Public Safety 

Anyone who knows about a situation that may be a Campus Climate Incident can report it to the Campus Climate Incident Response Team. 

Individuals who have experienced a Campus Climate Incident are not required but are encouraged to report the incident. For faculty, staff, and students who learn about a Campus Climate Incident from an individual who has experienced that incident, it is best practice to report the incident, primarily to provide care, resources and support to that individual. For more information, see below, “Why should someone report a Campus Climate Incident?” 

It’s helpful to report a Campus Climate Incident so impacted individuals and communities can receive support and resources. The reports will also help inform educational, professional development, and prevention efforts across the University. 

The thought of submitting a campus climate incident report can be daunting. The information below is intended to outline the response process and how individuals filing the report are engaged at each step. The complete Campus Climate Incident Reporting & Response Protocol is found here.

When a campus climate incident is reported, a typical response to a campus climate incident may include providing care and support to individuals and communities who are negatively impacted by the incident, asking questions to learn more about the incident itself, engaging in educational interventions if necessary, and making referrals to university offices who work closely with the Campus Climate Response Team to provide care and restoration. Whenever you reach out to the Campus Climate Response Team, you can expect patience, empathy, and respect.

Here is what someone should expect when they file a Campus Climate Incident report:

Step 1: Campus Climate Incident is reported. An automatic response is generated from this submission to give reporters real time information and resources should they be experiencing an immediate crisis and need that upon submission. Emergencies and folx in unsafe situations should always call Public Safety (206-296-5911) or Local Law Enforcement.

** Reporters can also report anonymously or as third-party reporters.

Step 2: Campus Climate Incident report is received, evaluated, and processed.

Reporters receive an acknowledgement email informing them that their report has been received and is being reviewed. Additionally, as already mentioned, the auto response provides resources and help should a reporter need an immediate or emergency response.

Step 3: The Campus Climate Response Team evaluates incident report and may, depending on the nature of the report, designate a liaison.

The Campus Climate Response Team evaluates new incident reports. A Campus Climate Response Team liaison is identified to:

Provide check in with the impacted individual and offer follow-up resources.
Gather additional information about the reported incident.
Discuss potential responses.
Determine capacity for collaboration in response.

Step 4: The Campus Climate Response Team develops a response.

The Campus Climate Response Team develops a response in collaboration with university partners, reporters and offenders, as appropriate.

It is also important to review what the team does and what they do not do. See below, “What can the Campus Climate Response Team do in response to a report? What can’t the team do?”
 

When a report is submitted, the Campus Climate Response Team carefully evaluates the report to identify needs and possible actions. The team seeks to prioritize a reporter’s well-being, health and safety, and connects them to university resources that can offer more specialized support.  

When evaluating a campus climate incident, the team can:  

• Provide care to those negatively impacted by bias.  
• Facilitate restorative processes to mend organizational and intergroup conflict.   
• Facilitate education and dialogue.  
• Coach managers, leaders, faculty, staff and students, where appropriate.
• Refer campus climate incident reports to other university offices for possible investigation and follow-up.
• Utilize campus climate incident response data to inform policy and practice recommendations to mitigate the impact of the incident.
• Allow reporters to inform what next steps they wish to undertake, unless it conflicts with mandatory reporting requirements. 

There are limits to what the Campus Climate Response Team can do when responding to campus climate incident reports.  While the team may recommend policy and practice changes, provide care and facilitate learning, the team cannot:  

• Propose or facilitate formal discipline of managers, leaders, faculty, staff or students.  
  Terminate faculty and staff.
• Expel or formally discipline students.
• Censor or punish people for offensive or repugnant comments that are protected speech.  
• Change curriculum.  
• Investigate or make any findings of fact.
• Replace the necessity of uncomfortable, and sometimes difficult, conversations between faculty, staff and students. 

Seattle University upholds both the value of diversity and our commitment to academic freedom.    

Diversity is an integral aspect of inclusive academic excellence. We promote a safe, affirming, and inclusive community for all to learn, work and live together in alignment with our University’s Jesuit and Catholic mission and values.  

As an institution of higher education, Seattle University is also committed to upholding the rights and responsibilities associated with academic freedom. Promoting the open and respectful exchange of ideas, meaningful interactions, creative and intellectual expression, and engagement with contested points of view are all vital parts of our academic discourse and intellectual growth.   

The Campus Climate Incident Reporting and Response Protocol is intended to protect members of the University community from harmful impacts of a Campus Climate Incident, not to impinge on academic freedom. Consistent with the principles of academic freedom, no provision of the protocol will be interpreted to prohibit conduct that is related to course content, teaching methods, research and scholarship, or individual faculty member expression regarding issues in their field of expertise or the educational, political, artistic or literary expression of students in classrooms and public forums.  

A reported incident may fall into academic freedom protections. However, the Campus Climate Incident Response Team may still follow up and respond to the possible harm created by the conduct, even if it is not prohibited. 

No, reports are not confidential, but university officials who are responsible for reviewing and responding to reports are expected to maintain the information contained in the reports as private. Additionally, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, including reports of Campus Climate Incidents.   

Individuals with questions about privacy may contact the Office of Institutional Equity at (206) 220-8515 before filling out the reporting form. 

Retaliation because a person has filed a good faith report of a Campus Climate Incident or participated in the reporting or response process is prohibited. The University will respond promptly to any claims of retaliation. 

Any person who believes they have been the target of retaliation may contact: 

• Elizabeth Trayner
  Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity | Title IX Coordinator | ADA/504 Coordinator  
  206.220.8515 || etrayner@seattleu.edu 
  
  OR
  
  
• File a report through Ethics Point Confidential Reporting Line  

The Campus Climate Incident Response Team will post an annual de-identified report on this website. 

• Report any incidents of which we are aware.
• Attend training opportunities on campus.
• Confront peers who engage in bullying or biased behavior.
• Deepen our understanding across difference with learning resources such as:
  • Tips for Responding to Everyday Bigotry (Southern Poverty Law Center)
  • Improve Awareness of our Implicit Bias Associations (Harvard University)
  • Educate Ourselves on Hate Symbols (Anti-Defamation League)

If someone has filed a Campus Climate Incident report and has not received a response after 72 hours, please contact the Office of Institutional Equity at oie@seattleu.edu or (206) 220-8515. 

The case will be responded to by the Campus Climate Incident Response Team in a timely manner. Keep in mind if a case does not violate a policy or law, it means that the incident will not result in traditional consequences or sanctions for the responsible individual such as suspension, dismissal, or arrest. However, even if the Campus Climate Incident Response Team cannot address the incident as a policy violation, it can take other actions. The Team’s focus is on providing support, which might come in the form of participating in alternative resolution practices, counseling, and continuing to discuss the event to assess other steps.  

Members of the team participate in an onboarding orientation process and mandatory implicit bias training. They are also guided by and educated on the existing University policies and laws that might apply to a Campus Climate Incident.   

Both mechanisms allow reporting from campus community members, but the workflow of these functional tools is different. EthicsPoint, for example, is sent to the University General Counsel team and then referred to an entity on campus or responded to by that group of individuals as appropriate. A report filed with the Campus Climate Incident Reporting & Response Protocol is sent directly to the team – not University General Counsel – to review and respond to in a way that is intended to be restorative. The Campus Climate Incident Reporting & Response process remains private and allows the team to have conversations with the impacted parties as part of the response. EthicsPoint responds and refers the matter to the appropriate governing body. Additionally, it is possible that EthicsPoint reports that have been referred to a unit might also be referred to the Campus Climate Incident Reporting & Response system by that unit based on the nature of the reported behavior.

Any member of the Campus Climate Response Team with a conflict of interest in a specific Campus Climate Incident will not participate in the response process for the incident.