Bias-Related Incidents
NYS Hate Crimes Act of 2000
Skidmore College informs incoming students about bias-related crime and
prevention measures through programs that include workshops, seminars,
discussion groups, and orientation sessions. The purpose of these
programs is to disseminate information about bias-related crime, promote
discussion, encourage reporting of incidents of such crime, and
facilitate prevention. The information the College presents
includes:
Applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations on bias-related
crime, including the provisions and coverage of the Hate Crimes Act of
2000 codified in article 485 of the New York State penal law
A person commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified offense
and either:
intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is
committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part
because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national
origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability
or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or
perception is correct, or
intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in
whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding
the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious
practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless
of whether the belief or perception is correct.
Penalties for commission of bias-related crimes
When a person is convicted of a hate crime, the crime shall be deemed to
be a higher category than the specified offense the defendant committed.
Specific penalties and terms of imprisonment can be viewed at
www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=82&a=18.
Procedures in effect at the College for dealing with
bias-related crime
Students should notify the Skidmore Office of Campus Safety (x5567)
immediately of all incidents of bias-related crime so that
protection—including police protection—can be provided if needed. When the
accused is a Skidmore College student, the victim should file a report
with Skidmore Campus Safety or with any of the on-campus designated
personnel. These individuals can provide students an
opportunity to explore, in a private, one-on-one discussion, the full
range of legal, medical, and counseling options available to them, both
on campus and in the Saratoga Springs community.
Students may file formal charges with the police. If desired, Skidmore's
Office of Campus Safety will provide students with information to help
them with that decision. Campus safety officers or representatives of
the College are available to accompany the victim to the police station
to file formal charges. The College has no control over criminal
investigations and criminal processes. Students may pursue a College
judicial hearing by filing formal charges with the College, whether or
not they pursue the case via formal charges through the New York State
criminal system.
Enrolled students who believe they have been victims of bias-related
crime may file formal charges with the
Skidmore judicial system
if the alleged perpetrator is an enrolled student. Although there is no time
limit on the filing of formal charges with the College, a prompt formal
charge is likely to result in a more satisfactory investigation.
Availability of counseling and other support services for the
victims of bias-related crime
If you believe that you have been the victim of a bias-related crime,
remember that the Counseling Center and Health Services are available to
all students free of charge. All consultations are fully confidential,
and counseling is available whether or not you decide to report an
incident of bias-related crime.
Nature of and common circumstances concerning bias-related crime
on college campuses
Such crimes can involve racial epithets, disparate treatment based on
racially or gender-related assumptions, sexually discriminatory
behaviors in terms of "hostile environment" (sexual harassment), and
intolerance toward openly gay students (in language and action). The
categories include:
faculty/staff-to-student incidents;
faculty-to-faculty, staff-to-staff incidents; and
student-to-student cases that come to the director of institutional diversity as appeals.
Methods the College employs to advise and update students
about security procedures
Safety orientations are conducted each year for first-year students
during New Student Orientation and for all students at meetings held in
the fall semester in each residence hall. In addition, numerous
educational and awareness programs are sponsored throughout the year by
student affairs staff members, student clubs and organizations, and the
Center for Safer Sexual Relations. The Office of Campus Safety issues
safety alerts when appropriate with information provided in a timely
fashion to all members of the College community. These alerts may be
transmitted via the College network, phone message system, and posted
flyers.
