Race, Color or National Origin Discrimination

As outlined in the University’s nondiscrimination statement, no University student or employee shall, on the basis of their race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any University program or activity. University programs and activities include, but are not limited to, admissions, recruitment, financial aid, academic programs, student treatment and services, counseling and guidance, discipline, classroom assignment, grading, recreation, physical education, athletics and employment.

Hostile Environment (Race, Color and/or National Origin)
Racially based conduct that has such an effect and that consists of different treatment of students or employees on the basis of race violates University policy. In addition, the University will not tolerate the existence of a racially hostile environment that is created, encouraged, accepted, or left uncorrected. A racially hostile environment is defined as an environment on campus that, through harassing conduct (e.g., physical, verbal, graphic, or written), becomes sufficiently severe, pervasive or persistent so as to interfere with or limit the ability of an individual to participate in or benefit from the services, activities or privileges provided by the University. If a racially hostile environment exists on campus, the appropriate University official(s) should be given notice of the specific concerns, and the opportunity to respond adequately to redress the alleged racially hostile environment. Whether conduct constitutes a hostile environment must be determined from the totality of the circumstances.

Severe, Pervasive or Persistent Standard
To determine whether a racially hostile environment exists, it must be determined if the racial harassment is severe, pervasive or persistent. In doing this, the University will examine the context, nature, scope, frequency, duration, and location of racial incidents, as well as the identity, number, and relationships of the persons involved. The University has a duty to provide a nondiscriminatory environment that is conducive to learning and working. In addition to the curriculum, students learn about many different aspects of human life and interaction from a University setting. The type of environment that is tolerated or encouraged by the University can send a particularly strong signal to, and serve as an influential lesson for, its students and employees. To determine severity of an alleged racial incident, the nature of the incidents must be considered. The specific details of an incident may reflect whether the conduct was verbal or physical and the extent of the hostility. In some cases, a racially hostile environment requiring appropriate responsive action may result from a single incident that is sufficiently severe. Such incidents may include, for example, injury to persons or property or conduct threatening injury to persons or property. In addition, the effect of a racial incident in the private and personal environment may differ from the effect of the same incident in a public setting. Finally, racial acts need not be targeted at a specific person in order to create a racially hostile environment. The acts may be directed at anyone. The harassment need not be based on the victim or complainant's race, so long as it is racially motivated (e.g., it might be based on the race of a friend or associate of the victim).

Notice
Though the University may not be directly responsible for harassing conduct, it does have a responsibility to provide a nondiscriminatory educational and working environment. If discriminatory conduct causes a racially hostile environment to develop that affects the enjoyment of educational programs for students or employees being harassed, and if the University has actual or constructive notice of the hostile environment, the University will take appropriate responsive action. This is the case regardless of the identity of the person(s) committing the harassment: such as an instructor, a student, the grounds crew, a cafeteria worker, or others. Once the University has notice of a racially hostile environment, the University has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to eliminate it. The appropriate response to a racially hostile environment must be tailored to redress fully the specific problems experienced at the University as a result of the harassment. In addition, the responsive action must be reasonably calculated to prevent recurrence and ensure that participants are not restricted in their participation or benefits as a result of a racially hostile environment created by students or non-employees. Examples of discrimination based on race, color and/or national origin include, but are not limited to:

• denying raises, benefits, promotions, or performance evaluations on the basis of the person's race, color and/or national origin.
• preventing any person from using University facilities or services because of a person's race, color and/or national origin.
• denying a person access to any educational program based on a person's race, color and/or national origin.
• harassing or retaliating against an employee for filing a complaint or helping another person file a complaint of discrimination based on race, color and/or national origin.
• fostering an environment that is unwelcoming or hostile based on a person's race, color and/or national origin.