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Towards a Bias-Free Campus
You Deserve Respect
At the UW-Madison we value every member of our community. And our community is made up of individuals from all gender identities and expressions, all races and ages, many ethnic groups, nationalities, and religions, representing a wide range of physical and mental abilities, and heterosexual, bisexual, gay male and lesbian sexual orientations. The University of Wisconsin is proud to affirm its commitment to a community in which all students, staff and faculty are accepted and judged as individuals, independent of ancestry, social background, physical characteristics or personal beliefs. The University has no tolerance for discriminatory or harassing behaviors. The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System has clearly stated that discriminatory harassment based on race, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry or age is contradictory to the goals of the institution. If you witness or are subjected to behaviors of this kind, there are offices and services to offer you support, counseling, and advice (Regent Policy 88-12). UW-Madison policies provide for complaint and grievance procedures involving faculty, academic staff, classified staff and students. The Equity and Diversity Resource Center (EDRC) and the Offices of the Dean of Students (DOS) provide information regarding the formal complaint and grievance procedures available to all University employees and students. Your Rights & Responsibilities as a Student
Your rights as a citizen are neither increased not lessened by your status as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a member of this academic community, however, you do have added responsibilities. These added responsibilities include:
Along with your added responsibilities, you have a right to expect that the University will develop and implement appropriate procedures to enforce and support these standards. Refer to the section on student conduct for more information. Students are also encouraged to download the UW Police Department brochure on "Hate Crimes: A Community Concern." Explore & Appreciate Diversity
What if I Witness/Experience a Bias-Related Incident?
The Offices of the Dean of Students is committed to promoting respect among students and the members of the University community, and the bias incident reporting form provides a mechanism for students to deal constructively with actions and speech acts that they consider biased. In no way is it intended to be a vehicle for censorship, or to discourage students from engaging in vibrant and controversial discourse about issues involving race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, politics, and related matters. The University of Wisconsin is dedicated to the “fearless sifting and winnowing of ideas,” which necessarily includes the right to express ideas that many will find upsetting or offensive. While causing offense for its own sake is discouraged in a community dedicated to the civil pursuit of knowledge and truth, offense is often the unavoidable by-product of the interchange of ideas and opinions, especially in the discussion of controversial topics. Students are expected to deal with offensive ideas by engaging in counter-speech. Accordingly, offense caused by the expression of any idea or an opinion is not to be considered a form of bias with which this program is concerned. However, students who are negatively affected by what they deem to be hurtful speech are encouraged to talk with a SAJA Dean for resources and support. A bias incident is an intentional threat or act of harassment or intimidation - verbal, written or physical - that is personally directed against or targets a University of Wisconsin-Madison student because of an actual or perceived characteristic of that student. Expression of an idea or opinion that you find offensive does not, per se, constitute an act of bias. If you have witnessed or experienced a bias-related incident, click here to download a bias incident report form. This form can be submitted to the Student Advocacy and Judicial Affairs unit of the Offices of the Dean of Students for follow-up. You can also go to 75 Bascom Hall and ask to speak with the on-call dean, or call 263-5700 to make an appointment. Staff will:
Please note that only students are subject to the UWS codes governing academic and non-academic misconduct administered by the Offices of the Dean of Students. If you believe that an employee of the University is responsible for discriminatory or harassing behavior, report the incident to the Office for Equity and Diversity, 608/263-2378. Staff will:
Students with Disabilities: Requesting Reasonable Accommodations
UW-Madison supports the right of full and equal educational opportunity for all students. Disability should not be the basis for exclusion from the institution's programs, activities and services. All students are entitled to an accessible, accommodating, supportive and nondiscriminatory institutional environment. It is therefore the policy of UW-Madison to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. Implementing reasonable and effective accommodations is a shared institutional and student responsibility. Students with disabilities who need accommodations should notify the institution of such need as early as possible, preferably before the beginning of a semester. Students who incur or recognize a disability for which an accommodation is needed during the semester should notify the institution immediately. For instructional or academic accommodations, students are encouraged to notify the faculty member directly. Students may also make accommodation requests through the McBurney Disability Resource Center or a duly designated departmental or college Access and Accommodation Resource Coordinator (AARC). Faculty are expected to work with students to identify and to provide reasonable instructional or academic accommodations, although the student is responsible for self-advocacy. In addition, the McBurney Disability Resource Center is available as a resource, and can assist students and faculty with accommodation issues, can recommend appropriate instructional or academic accommodations to faculty and can recommend or provide other needed reasonable accommodations. AARCs can also be consulted regarding general access and accommodation issues. McBurney, the AARCs and the institution's ADA Coordinator can provide information about departmental and institutional appeals of denials of requested accommodations.
McBurney Disability Resource Center
ADA Coordinator
AARCs: UW-Madison Student Discrimination Complaint Process
Under Wisconsin law, a student may not be denied admission to, participation in or the benefits of, or discriminated against in any service, program, course or facility of the University because of the student's race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, marital status or parental status. S.36.12, Wisconsin Statutes, also requires that the University establish policies and procedures to protect students from discrimination and report annually to the Legislature the number of complaints received in violation of this law and the disposition of each complaint. Federal laws also prohibit discrimination against students and require that the University have procedures for complaints of discrimination on the basis of disability (s.504 and ADA) and sex (Title IX). Discrimination also is prohibited on the basis of race, color and national origin under Title VI. A policy and procedures have been developed for processing students' complaints alleging discrimination. All student complaints under Wis. Stats. 36.12, s. 504, ADA or Title IX must be filed with the Equity and Diversity Resource Center (EDRC), 179A Bascom Hall, 263-2378. Complaints must be filed within 300 days of the alleged violation. EDRC must process a complaint within 90 days of receipt of the complaint. University departments also provide procedures for hearing student complaints or grievances about other issues as well. Any student who feels that he or she has been treated unfairly has the right to complain about the treatment and to receive a prompt hearing. The complaint may concern classroom treatment, course evaluation and grade, personality conflicts between a student and instructor, application and interpretation of policies and procedures or any other matter which the student feels has resulted in unfair treatment. The majority of grievances are resolved satisfactorily in an informal "grievance" hearing in which the student talks with the person at whom the grievance is directed. If unsatisfied, the student should then submit the complaint in writing to the departmental chairperson. Each department, school or college should have written student grievance procedures available. The procedure usually provides for at attempt at informal resolution followed by a more formal investigation and hearing before a designated hearing officer or committee. Students wishing to file a grievance should contact their departmental chairperson or college or school dean's office for details. Students also may wish to contact the Dean of Students Office for more information. University of Wisconsin System - Regents Policy on Discrimination
88-12 RACIST AND OTHER DISCRIMINATORY CONDUCT POLICY It is the policy of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, that racist and other discriminatory conduct toward students, employees, officials and guests in the University of Wisconsin System is conduct which will not be tolerated. Discrimination, discriminatory attitudes, and expressions that reflect discrimination are inconsistent with the efforts of the University of Wisconsin System to foster an environment of respect for the dignity and worth of all members of the university community and to eliminate all manifestations of discrimination within the university. Racist and other discriminatory conduct encompasses harassing conduct based upon the race, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry or age of an individual or individuals. Harassment of this kind is a form of discrimination. Campus politics and cultures have changed favorably throughout the University of Wisconsin System over the course of years, but not enough to eliminate all forms of discrimination. Incidents of racial harassment and other types of discriminatory conduct continue to occur. All such episodes are harmful to the individuals directly involved, and diminish the university community as a whole. Incidents of racial harassment, for example, may lead minority students, employees, officials and guests to feel isolated or to choose to isolate themselves from the numerically predominant racial/ethnic group within the university. Divisions of this kind, which result from discriminatory harassment, are at variance with the Board's purpose of fostering racial understanding and cooperation, and undermine the goal articulated in the UW System's Design for Diversity: ". . . to educate all students for an increasingly multicultural society in Wisconsin, our nation and our world." |