Hazel Scott, Vice President for Student Services, convened a working group in March 2005 to make recommendations regarding the creation of a comprehensive, cross-functional university-wide committee that would be:
1) convened when acts of intolerance/hatred occur on campus; and
2) responsible for developing a well-coordinated, broad-based university response to such acts, particularly those in which we don't know who was responsible for the incident (e.g. past swastika incidents).
Faculty, staff and student membership included representatives from the Office of the Dean of Students, Office of Opportunity Development & Diversity Education Planning, Legal Affairs, University Senate Cultural Diversity Committee, Jewish Law Students Association and the Georgia State University NAACP student chapter.
The working group met regularly from March through July 2005 and developed a Bias Incident Protocol that:
- articulates a mission, vision and objectives;
- provides a coordinated systematic approach to reporting, recording and responding to bias incidents occurring at Georgia State University; and,
- involves broad participation from the campus community through both a university-wide standing committee
- (University Reporting Team) as well as incident-specific ad hoc committees (University Response Committees).
Working Group Members:
- Jean Barrett, Legal Affairs
- Perry Binder, University Senate Cultural Diversity Committee
- Aprille Blair, NAACP student chapter
- Bryce Farbstein, Jewish Law Students Association
- Linda Nelson, Office of Opportunity Development and Diversity Education Planning (ODDEP)
- Rebecca Stout, Working Group Chairperson, Office of the Dean of Students