When experiencing hate and bias on college campuses, strategies can provide solutions. Speaking up and speaking out requires planning and knowing available resources.
Bullying happens quick. The victim loses focus in school, not knowing where to turn. Recognizing hate and bias poses the need to speak up, but does the person being bullied truly know who can help him and where he can go?
Taking a stance can lead to dropping out or worse, suicide, also referred to as “Bullycide.” Bullycide, according to bullying statistics.org, is “suicide caused from the results of bullying.” The pyramid of hate, a helpful model found through Google search, indicates hate and bias are the first sign of bullying.
“Students who are bullied are 2.2 times more likely to have suicide ideation,” author Deborah Serani of Psychology Today states. “And 2.6 times more likely to attempt suicide than students not bullied.”
Recognizing hate and bias, taking precautions and truthfully appraising the situation helps campuses prevent suicide by bullying only if the person reporting is brave enough to speak up. Hate and bias equate to the first stages of bullying. But what can we as students do to speak up and speak out against those who bully on college campuses?
The first step is confronting the attacker and in many cases bullying goes unanswered as a result. Filing a hate/bias complaint requires the college to take immediate action internally to address allegations. The University of Wisconsin System’s website provides a helpful guide for all students concerned about digital hostility, group speak, micro aggressions and favoritism, which are methods of bias and bullying perpetrated by attackers.
“Hate and bias incidents that occur on campus are experiences that should never be part of the Wisconsin Experience,” The university’s website states. “UW–Madison is committed to creating safe and supportive living and learning environments that are free from violence, harassment, and intimidation.”
Complaints are referred to by the authority of the Wisconsin State Legislature under the jurisdiction of the University of Wisconsin System Chapter 17. When a formal complaint is filed, the university must act, which includes community colleges representing transfer programs. The Madison College website only references racism when searching for “hate/bias” in the search bar.
The two types of reporting are formal and informal. The website provides a helpful tool for profiling what the profile of hate and bias looks like and what can be done. Despite the myth that hate, and bias are secular to Madison College’s stance on racism, the subject is open to all protected classes and those being bullied. The University of Wisconsin governs all through Title IX who seek coming forward.
• Complaints are confidential.
• Require assignment of an investigator and taken seriously.
• Can result in punitive damages awarded to the victim.
A hate/bias complaint requires immediate action but can disrupt the flow of the learner’s college experience. A complaint immediately halts the communication exchange between both parties until an investigator is assigned. Understanding the seriousness of college campus bullying begins with implementing resources and knowledge to those seeking how and where to file a complaint.
A simple journaling of what happened after the event can help recall whether a formal complaint warrants attention. If a formal complaint is justified, the University of Wisconsin-Madison website shares helpful information about recognizing hate/bias prior to reporting. Reporting misconduct is referenced between “academic” and “nonacademic.”
“When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior, they send the message that it is not acceptable, Bullying.gov states. “Research shows this can stop bullying behavior over time.”
Searching for help first may prevent the need for filing a formal complaint. Regardless, a formal complaint may be the necessary next steps for ending bullying on campus.
Madison College provides counseling services. If you suspect you have been bullied, please connect with the counseling office right away. Bullying ends when we speak up and speak out. On Wisconsin college campuses, that starts with filing complaints.