On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 18th, the campus was alerted to yet another hate-bias incident directed towards Towson University students. In what was an eerily similar event to situations that transpired in the fall of 2016, 2017, and 2018, our students were attacked by fellow students. The Towson University Crime Log reports the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) as having “responded to a simple assault” on 9/14/2019 at 10:04PM. In the synopsis of the incident, BCPD “determined the incident to have an ethnicity bias motivation.” Although the University-wide email made reference to the assault’s ties to the LGBTQ+ community, this was not substantiated by the Towson University Crime Log.

These repeated events has left the campus community feeling vulnerable and unprotected. What is worse is the lack of commitment on behalf of Towson University to reduce the repeated occurrences of these hate-bias incidents. Towson University recently celebrated being recognized as “one of the country’s most diverse campus communities” after ranking 104th in the nation for ethnic diversity. However, next to nothing is being doing to protect the diverse campus that is being so openly paraded. Towson University’s interest in purporting diversity far exceeds its interests in protecting marginalized students.

In response to the recent off-campus hate-bias incident on Saturday, September 14, 2019, Towson University has a responsibility to its community to enact these changes as soon as possible:

·      Relevant support staff and student leaders should be notified by email of incidents pertaining to their represented groups before university-wide emails are sent out. This will help to quell the immediate anxiety that the hate bias emails elicit and will also allow for a gathering of resources in response.

·      Towson’s policy on University Response to Reports of Hate Crimes & Bias Incidents should be updated from “respond to incidents involving accused students within 5 business days of a report being acknowledged” to a period of 2 business days. The longer the window of time between actual hate-bias incidents and Towson University’s acknowledgement of said incidents expresses a disregard for students’ awareness and safety. The change from 5 to 2 business days should be made in the following areas: TU Police Department, Office of Student Conduct and Civility Education, and Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity. By making this change to a shorter reporting period, Towson University would express its interest in promoting transparency. 

·      A follow-up email should be sent to all students with any additional information on the outcome of hate-bias incidents. As it currently stands, the lack of updates leaves students wondering if the attackers are still on campus. Towson University Police
Department is granted the authority to “provide periodic updates regarding a report” (University Response to Reports of Hate Crimes & Bias Incidents). While all students are provided confidentiality, an update without naming the suspect(s) would provide reassurance that appropriate action is being taken to ensure the safety of the Towson University community.

·      All current students should complete a mandatory hate-bias training within the 2019-2020 academic year. This training should be continued for all incoming Towson University students. The seemingly annual rate in which hate bias incidents occur highlights an area where Towson University is failing, not only to protect its students, but also in willfully neglecting the importance of cultural competency in its own community. The hate-bias training should be implemented by the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity and include both diversity education and harm reduction to create a broader understanding of what is encompassed in hate-bias training. This training will more appropriately capture the essence of Towson’s University push for the #NotAtTU movement.