Policies
Hate Crime
A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias. Bias is a preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their race, gender, gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity or national origin.
An institution must report, by category of prejudice, any crime listed above and any other crime involving bodily injury reported to local police agencies or to a Student Safety authority that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the victim's actual or perceived race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, disability, gender identity, or national origin.
- Race: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons who possess common physical characteristics (e.g., color of skin, eyes, and/or hair, facial features, etc.) genetically transmitted by descent and heredity, which distinguishes them as a distinct division of humankind (e.g., Asians, blacks, whites).
- Gender: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons because those persons are male or female.
- Gender identity: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender identity, e.g., bias against transgender or gender non-conforming individuals
- Religion: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons who share the same religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence of a supreme being (e.g., Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists).
- Sexual orientation: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their sexual attraction toward, and responsiveness to, members of their own sex or members of the opposite sex (e.g., gays, lesbians, heterosexuals).
- Ethnicity: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, common culture (often including a shared religion) and/or ideology that stresses common ancestry. The concept of ethnicity differs from the closely related term race in that “race” refers to grouping based mostly upon biological criteria, while “ethnicity” also encompasses additional cultural factors.
- National origin: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons of the same race or national origin who share common or similar traits, languages, customs and traditions (e.g., Arabs, Hispanics).
- Disability: A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their physical or mental impairments/challenges, whether such disability is temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age or illness.
Central College’s Welcome Statement and Notice of Nondiscrimination prohibits bias in any form based on all of the hate crime categories listed here, as well as other aspects of an individual’s identity. Complaints about harassment or discrimination may be directed to the Title IX coordinator and equity officer and/or the Office for Civil Rights within the United States Department of Education.
The Central College Equal Opportunity, Harassment and Nondiscrimination Policy can be found at https://webapps.central.edu/policies/policy/747.
