If you have witnessed or experienced a bias incident that has occurred within the MU community, please use the form below to report the incident anonymously or with your name. A bias incident is an act of intolerance which is committed against any person, group or property and which discriminates, stereotypes, harasses or excludes anyone based on:
Any act of intolerance, such as graffiti, name-calling, threats, hate crimes or extreme examples of bias incidents—regardless of severity—can be reported using this form. Note: the MU Equity Office must inform the MU Police Department of any crimes reported via the bias report.
If you are currently in a situation where immediate medical, police or other emergency services are needed, call 911 or the MU Police
(for on campus issues) at 573-882-7201 or the Columbia Police (for off campus issues) at 573-874-7652.
A note about academic freedom, intellectual pluralism and bias
If you have a concern about your academic freedom, bias in class content, or one-sided class discussions and you believe this relates to a violation of the University's commitment to intellectual pluralism, please report the incident to the Provost's Office of Students Rights and Responsibilities. Because those concerns are clearly academic in nature, the Provost’s Office has primary responsibility to address them. If appropriate, the associate vice provost will refer the matter to the MU Equity Office for follow-up.
Anyone with knowledge of a bias incident on campus may report the incident using the bias incident reporting form. That includes faculty, staff, students, as well as parents, alumni and visitors to campus. It doesn't matter if you don't know who did it. We want you to report it!
You can always report a bias incident in person or contact the director of MU Equity directly to receive information, assistance or referrals.
Bias incident reports are completely anonymous unless you want the Equity Office to contact you to follow up on the incident. If you supply your name and contact information, this initiates the informal investigation process. If you want to act responsibly and report an incident but you don’t want to give your name, we will still investigate the incident when the facts warrant it. But if we subsequently contact you, it will be because you were identified through the investigation, not because you submitted the anonymous bias report. Read more about the informal inquiry and investigation process here.
If we don’t know what’s going on, we can’t address it. You should submit a report:
Some people may be reluctant to file a bias incident report because they fear that someone—a boss, or instructor, or someone else in a position of authority—will retaliate against them for exposing a potential problem in their area. Concerns about retaliation are valid.
However, we must all work together towards creating a welcoming and inclusive environment. As a member of the campus community it is your right and your responsibility to report wrong-doing so that the University can address actions and behaviors that create discriminatory conditions.
If you feel that you are being mistreated because you filed a report, let us know what is happening—either by direct contact or by filing another bias incident report. Although the Equity Office can’t provide total protection against all forms of retaliation, we will do all that we can to ensure that no adverse action will be taken against you in your employment or educational endeavors.
Ultimately, only you can decide if the benefits of reporting a problem outweigh the potential for retaliation. Just be aware that if your fear of retaliation should actually come true, the Equity Office will be there to help.
Published by the MU Equity Office, S303 Memorial Union, Columbia, MO 65211 | PHONE 573-882-9069 | FAX 573-884-4103 | E-MAIL equity@missouri.edu
Copyright © 2013. Curators of the University of Missouri. All rights reserved. DMCA and other copyright information. An equal opportunity/AA institution
Last Updated: June 22, 2012
