Any member of the university community can make a report about a possible bias related incident or hate crime through the Bias Reporting System or by calling the Department of Public Safety at 687.4343.

Please submit a Bias Related Incident Reporting Form online. You can also print the form (Get AdobeReader), complete it, and deliver it to the Office of Student Affairs on the 5th Floor of the Leavey Center. If getting to the Leavey Center is not practical, you may fax the form to 687.6255. In either case, please mark the form Attn: Bias Reporting Team. You will receive a follow-up call or e-mail from a member of the reporting team soon after submitting your form.

The Bias Reporting Team is composed of trained professionals in Student Affairs, Affirmative Action Programs, and the Department of Public Safety.

While bias incidents sometimes target specific individuals, they often violate an entire group or community. The graffiti on the wall, defaced fliers, and anonymous emails convey a clear message of intolerance. When a bias incident does target specific individuals because of their race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristic, even those persons not directly targeted may feel at risk. Bias incidents create schisms within the community, and may create hostilities and tensions between groups.

Often, no one knows who committed the bias-related act; the act is anonymous. However, it is important that anyone who sees evidence of a bias incident report it. Collecting accurate data about hate and bias incidents on campus aids the University in understanding the climate of our community, designing services and programs for the campus, and responding with quick and effective interventions to these incidents.

Reporting the incident may lead to an investigation, and if either a witness or the investigation identifies the person responsible, the University can hold that person accountable for their acts. When appropriate, a judicial response communicates a clear message about the standards and behaviors that are acceptable at the University.

E-Mail and Online Incidents

Incidents of hate and bias involving e-mail, online harassment, or other forms of Internet abuse should be reported to University Information Services (UIS). To do this, contact abuse@georgetown.edu or call 687.4949.

Please be sure to include as much information as possible, such as an original copy of the message, any additional relevant information such as e-mail message headers and transaction log files. Please also retain original electronic copies of this information, in the event it is needed later. UIS will investigate the incident, contact the Bias Reporting Team, and may contact you if additional information is needed. If the person responsible for the online abuse is a member of the University community, the matter will be handled in accordance with University policies and procedures, and will be referred to the appropriate department for resolution (e.g. Student Affairs for an incident involving two students).

In the event that someone not affiliated with Georgetown is involved in the incident (such as a customer of a third-party Internet Service Provider or e-mail Service Provider), UIS will report the incident to them. In these cases, the third party’s policies and procedures may affect information disclosure and resolution of the incident. While many Internet Service Providers consider e-mail harassment to be a serious violation of their policies and user agreements, and consider such activity a cause for termination of services, they are often unable to disclose users’ identities without legal action.

For more information, see: http://security.georgetown.edu and http://uis.georgetown.edu