MU’s bias incident reporting system has not yet shown an increase in reports submitted, despite hopes that a new campaign would raise awareness. The “See it, Hear it, Report it” campaign was launched this school year in an attempt to increase the number of bias incident reports submitted.

“We weren’t getting a lot of reports, or as many as we would expect given the population,” MU Equity Office Director Noel English said. “We wanted to make sure the reason we weren’t getting reports was that people don’t know that they can report.”

A bias incident, as defined by the [MU Equity Office](http://equity.missouri.edu/), is “an act which is committed against any person, group or property and which discriminates, stereotypes, harasses or excludes anyone based on a number of factors including race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.”

Bias incidents are a concern among MU students and student groups such as Four Front. Four Front is an umbrella organization that discusses social justice issues on campus.

“I think that bias incidents are incredibly detrimental to the communities here at MU,” Four Front Chairman Sean Nahlik said. “They show and demonstrate an acceptance of negative behavior that’s directed toward minorities.”

The new campaign is the start of an evaluation process of the bias incident reporting system at MU.

“It may be that we don’t have the results that we like,” English said. “If (the MU community) knows about it and they’re not choosing to use this reporting, then why?”

English would not release the number of reports submitted in the past or since the beginning of the 2011-12 school year. She said she did not think it was helpful to discuss specific numbers.

During a Four Front meeting, it was brought up that there has also been concern among some in the MU community that the reports submitted are not being handled effectively.

Nathan Stephens, senior coordinator of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, said students might not see the results of reporting bias incidents.

“Those who are (offended by bias related incidents) may not report it because they may feel that the outcome of them reporting it is not worth the time and effort to do so,” he said.

Nahlik also expressed concerns that the current process is not effective.

“I think that the system, the way it is, is just missing legitimacy,” he said. “I think that it’s very robotic to fill out this form about what could be a very emotionally charged event.”

English said these concerns are illegitimate.

“I get (the reports) and I follow up in whatever way’s appropriate,” she said.

Because the current bias incident reporting program is held under private record, students may not see the results of their reports.

“I think there needs to be greater levels of transparency for them,” Nahlik said. “I think that MU should create a database for where and when these incidents are occurring.”

When the MU Equity Office receives a bias incident report, it follows up with an informal investigation of the incident. If the complaining party is identified on the report, the office contacts the complaining party and accused parties.

The MU Equity Office determines if mediation is sufficient to deal with the problem, but English made it clear that the MU Equity Office does not deal with discipline.

“(Bias incident reporting) is not a compliance action,” she said. “It’s trying to make people aware of what’s going on and how other people perceive their behavior.”