The University of Colorado-Boulder has launched an online system where students can report people who make “hurtful statements.”
This “Bias Incident Reporting” system is intended to “address the impact of demeaning and hurtful statements as well as acts of intolerance directed towards protected classes,” according to the school’s website.
Bias reports are evaluated by the school’s “Bias Incident Response Team” which includes representatives from the office of the dean of students, the Office of Victim Assistance, and even the campus police, said the National Review.
The reporting form asks for the meanie-head’s name, gender, e-mail, address, date of birth, phone number and student ID number or a Social Security and/or driver’s license number. It includes a link for “pre-authorized users” to obtain this information if they don’t have it, and the school promises to “track” and “document” all of the reports.
According to the National Review, "UC – Boulder defines a “bias incident” as “any conduct or expression in which an individual or group is intentionally targeted and that demeans, degrades or harasses an individual or group based on the actual or perceived basis of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation, or political philosophy of another individual or group of individuals.”
Students, faculty and staff members who “perceive that they may have” witnessed a “bias-motivated incident” are “urged to report the incident immediately.”
The system was launched by the student government late last April and advertised through a series of posters around campus.
