Equity refers to concepts of fairness and justice, covering but not limited to issues relating to discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, or other identity characteristics.

We don’t want to define the concept any more than that, because we would rather that people don’t self-limit their options. If you believe you are receiving unfair treatment at MU, please give us a call or stop by; if we can’t help, or there are others who can help more, we will happily point you in the right direction.

We do not take anybody’s side. Granted, it’s a fine line, but there’s a very important distinction: We represent the institution, not any particular faculty member, supervisor, or administrator at the university.

We work to resolve problems in ways that serve the best interests of the institution, not an individual. When discrimination or inequity exists, it is in the best interests of the university to identify and eradicate it, not to ignore it or cover it up.

Conversely, when we cannot establish that behavior is discriminatory or inequitable, we believe it is not in the best interest of the institution simply to make concessions or take conciliatory action. So, yes, sometimes it’s difficult, but to the best of our ability we will call it like it is and do our best to make this university a fair and equitable place.

Your conversations with staff of the MU Equity office are considered private but not confidential. Confidentiality extends to those conversations that the law considers to be privileged communications - conversations between you and persons serving as your lawyer, doctor, or psychologist, for example.

So, in truth, very few people you might confide in at MU can guarantee you total confidentiality. Moreover, depending on the content of the conversation, your disclosure may (infrequently) create a duty for us to act to address the situation you are describing. We do, however, consider our conversations to be private, and we guarantee:

Maybe. It depends on the seriousness of the situation, whether we have had prior contacts with the person(s) you are complaining about, and what your preferences are.

Remember, there’s a whole host of ways to act in a given situation, and to the extent we can we will follow your wishes as to how to proceed. However, there could be times when the institution’s obligation to effectively address discrimination may conflict with your preferred response.

Don’t be so sure that it’s not harassment. You don’t have to be coerced into sex before it’s considered harassment - other forms of offensive sex-based conduct, including jokes, stares, and unwelcome touching, can be sexually harassing as well.

Sometimes it’s really hard to tell where the line is between harassment and just uncivil conduct. But even if the conduct is not so bad that we’d call it sexual harassment, it may nevertheless constitute behavior that is unacceptable at MU. Either way, check out our sexual harassment web pages for more information, and then give us a call or stop by.

The best way to make an anonymous report is through the Bias Incident Report. It can be used for any type of bias incident, including hate crimes. In a case as serious as the one you describe, we would definitely want to follow up on the report and if it does qualify as a crime, we would have to notify the MU Police, as well. There would be no way to identify you as the person making the report, however (presuming you would not choose to give your name and contact info). If someone thereafter contacted you about the incident it would be because your name came up as a result of the incident investigation, not because you filed the report.

No, we cannot help you file a complaint against the university. It would be a conflict of interest to help you because we represent the institution (see 2, above.) However, if you haven’t previously come to this office to seek resolution of the discrimination you perceive, we urge you to contact us before you file a complaint. Once you file the complaint, then we may be put in the position of defending the institution -- but if you consult this office before you file the complaint, then it is still possible that we can help to resolve the issues and you won’t need to go outside the university.

Generally speaking, the lower the level that you can resolve the issues, the easier and more amicable resolution you will have. If we can’t help you, we will readily tell you. You can then access from the Equity web pages the links to the various governmental agencies that deal with discrimination; you will need to be aware of their varying jurisdictions and filing deadlines.