Hate-Crime and Bias-Related Incidents
Bias or hate crimes are crimes motivated by the perpetrator's bias or attitude against an individual victim
or group based on perceived or actual personal characteristics, such as their race, religion, ethnicity, gender,
sexual orientation, or disability. Hate/bias crimes have received renewed attention in recent years, particularly
since the passage of the federal Hate/Bias Crime Reporting Act of 1990 and the New York State Hate Crimes
Act of 2000.
Bias-related incidents are behaviors which constitutes an expression of hostility, against the person or property
of another because of the targeted person's race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, gender,
age, or disability. According to New York Penal Law Section 485, a person commits a hate crime when he or she
commits a specified criminal 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.
Examples of hate crimes may include, but are not limited to: threatening phone calls, hate mail (including electronic
mail), physical assaults, vandalism, destruction of property, and fire bombings. The Graduate Center is required to
report statistical incidence of bias crimes on or around campus annually as part of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of
Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the “Clery Act”). Bias crime statistics can be found at
the end of this report.
Penalties for bias-related crimes are very serious and range from fines to imprisonment for lengthy periods, depending
on the nature of the underlying criminal offense, the use of violence or previous conviction of the offender. Students,
staff or faculty who commit bias crimes are also subject to university disciplinary procedures where a range of sanctions
is available both up to and including suspension, expulsion or termination of employment.
In order to effectively handle incidents of bias related crimes and prevent future occurrences of such crimes, victims
or witnesses of a hate crime are encouraged to immediately report incidents to the Office of Security and Public Safety
by calling x7777. Please remember that any evidence such as graffiti, e-mails, written notes or voice mail messages
should be preserved. The Office of Security and Public Safety will investigate and follow the appropriate college
adjudication procedures. Victims of bias crime can also avail themselves of counseling and support services through
the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
