The University of Wisconsin Bias Response Team released a report Thursday that found an increase in bias-related incidents, especially regarding race and ethnicity, compared with last year.
In Spring 2016, there were 66 reported incidents, but in Spring 2017 there were 92 reports for 74 incidents. Some incidents had multiple reports, such as one incident that occurred in a classroom where several students made reports.
A majority of the incidents occurred on campus, while the second largest platform for bias-related incidents is online, through social media or email.
The biggest identity targeted was race or ethnicity, with 36 percent of incidents. The second largest was national origin at 13 percent. However, one report could be related to multiple targets. 62 percent of reporters indicated the incident targeted multiple identities.
By collecting the identities of those targeted in these incidents, UW officials hope to allocate resources more accurately for victims.
University acknowledges spike in bias incident reports, urges students to show respect
There is limited data on the identities of those reporting incidents because students do not indicate their race or ethnicity in their incident reports. Data on this information is found from other sources where the same student has previously reported their race or ethnicity.
The data generally indicated that a majority of reporters were white, at 44 percent, and the second largest group of reporters were international students from Asia, at 20 percent.
Of the 74 incidents, 41 of those who were reported were unknown, 12 were undergraduates, 10 were faculty or staff, 7 were organizations and four were graduate or professional students, according to an email from UW spokesperson, Meredith McGlone.
Recent efforts from UW include hiring Satya Chima as the new Bias Response and Advocacy Coordinator. Chima organizes workshops that provide students with basic definitions of bias or hate incidents, hate crimes and microaggressions and statistical information on campus and national trends in these areas.
Going forward, the Chima plans to examine the patterns that emerged from this report. The number of workshops held by the Chima also plans to increase.
