Content warning: This message contains examples of racism, bigotry, sexism, ableism and anti-Semitism. These examples are used to help us describe the process of reporting a breach of protected identity.
Dear university students, graduates and professionals,
We’re writing today with important information about Stanford’s Protected Identity Injury (PIH) reporting protocol, a critical tool in addressing bias incidents. We want to provide you with the information you need to help yourself and the student community if someone experiences bias-related harm.
The purpose of the PIH process is twofold: to help students affected by these incidents obtain a meaningful response and possible resolution, and to serve as a mechanism for gathering data to develop a deeper understanding of the climate of our campus.
You may already be aware of this process following an anti-Semitic incident earlier this year involving a vandalized mezuzah at a graduate residence. We hope that the process, in that situation and others, will create an environment where students who report harm will feel heard and supported, with the university taking action as permitted.
What is the PIH reporting process?
The PIH reporting process is the university’s process for addressing incidents where a community member experiences harm because of their identity. The process addresses conduct or an incident that unfairly and unfairly targets an individual or group based on one or more actual or perceived characteristics: race, color, national origin, gender or sex, age, disability, religion, orientation sexual, gender identity. or expression, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Examples of PIH incidents could include targeting a student with racist comments on social media, making sexist jokes at a party, defaming flyers about LGBTQI+ rights, or calling someone a skilled slur. These incidents can range from microaggressions to macroaggressions and can occur on campus, off campus or online and can be committed by a known or unknown person.
When an incident is a hate crime
Incidents of harm to a protected identity may rise to the level of a hate crime, unlawful discrimination or harassment, depending on the nature and severity of the incident and whether certain legal requirements are met. For example, defacing the side of a building by painting a swastika is a hate crime. Conduct that rises to the level of a hate crime, unlawful discrimination, or harassment may be referred to Stanford University’s Department of Public Safety, Diversity and Inclusion, the SHARE Title IX Office, the Office of Community Standards, or other university entities. A student or community affected by a hate crime will still receive the same support as other incidents of bias.
It is important to note that the PIH reporting process is not a judicial or investigative process. Our goal is to provide harm reduction and a path to resolution for affected individuals or communities. For more information about PIH Reporting, please see these details about the process and this FAQ on the website.
Answering students’ questions
We would like to answer some important questions:
- Why isn’t there a punitive process for all PIH incidents? While the university may denounce these incidents as antithetical to our values and standards, most speech is protected unless it rises to the level of a hate crime, unlawful harassment, or discrimination. Even when harmful speech is defended, we’re still here to help; students may still access the PIH reporting process to address the harm.
- Why can zero tolerance policies exist in high schools but not in colleges? Basically, the US Supreme Court allows K-12 schools to restrict speech to a greater degree than colleges. In the state of California, private universities are also liable to the Leonard Act, which prevents a private university from subjecting a student to disciplinary action for speech that would otherwise be protected by the First Amendment or the free speech clause of the California Constitution .
- How are threats assessed on campus? There is a Threat Assessment Team that helps ascertain perceived threats to campus, communities and individuals by working with university partners to look for warning signs and prevention techniques.
- Will students be notified of individual reports? Because the PIH reporting process is not judicial or disciplinary, if we contact a responsible party, they have a choice to participate (if at all). Individuals involved in a report, whether targeted or offending parties, are rarely made public. In matters that constitute hate crimes, harassment or unlawful discrimination, we follow privacy laws and university policies when determining what information can be shared.
The changes we have made
We also want to highlight the following changes that were made last year:
- Graduate and undergraduate student housing leaders received training on bias and PIH reporting so they could help counsel their residents.
- This video created by and for Stanford students explains why it’s helpful to report damage.
- A Stanford Against Hate website was created as a counterpart to the PIH process to help students learn about prejudice and why it happens. The site takes a proactive approach to bias (whereas the PIH reporting process is reactive) and promotes the idea that self-care includes community care and respect.
- Panel: Last spring, we launched a website that summarizes important PIH incidents that could potentially impact the university community at large. The dashboard does not include all reports, but contains those that may rise to certain levels of concern or affect the entire community. The site was developed with and for students to provide greater transparency. This provides an easily accessible online resource that describes what happened and how the university is responding.
Future plans
- We plan to release a report based on data from previous years so we can work together to better address campus climate.
- We are providing training to student groups, residential communities and units to help the campus community better understand the nuances of the process. To learn more, fill out this form.
- We are open to feedback about the process. The website includes a feedback form.
We encourage you to view the website to learn more about the identity protection breach reporting process or how to report an incident. Please email any questions or concerns to [email protected].
Thank you,
Samuel Santos Jr.
Associate Vice Provost for Inclusion, Community and Inclusive Learning
Mona Hicks
Vice-Provost and Dean of Students
