On Saturday, October 2 I (Andie Lee) was the target of a hate crime on campus on family weekend between me, a transgender student, and a mother of a different student. While sitting outside the school's coffee shop, an iPhone was pointed at me and proceeded to take more and more pictures of me as the mother moved closer to me, and called me names and slurs. The US Department of Justice and the Office of Justice Assistance states that "When a hate crime occurs on a college campus, the ideal of a university as a place for learning and growth is ruptured. Bias-motivated violence or threats targeting students, staff, or faculty not only impair the educational mission of an institution of higher learning but also deprive young men and women of the chance to live and learn in an atmosphere free of fear and intimidation." After contacting two professors to ask what I can do, I contacted my third professor who referred me to Student Affairs. Dr. Landphair encouraged me to file a student bias report two weeks after the incident. Was it not for the third professor, I would not have contacted the right person in the first place. After submitting a student bias report, I receive a call from Dean Rucker, the dean of students here at Mary Washington. The dean told me since I did not know the person, I could not do anything. There are multiple CCTV cameras around the area, and professors not having the knowledge of how to help report hate crimes delayed what could have been justice for me and other transgender students on UMW's campus. I am a visible transgender student on campus. I cannot hide from hate. I am now dealing with recurring PTSD symptoms, and I have dropped a class I needed to graduate college. The Cleary Act should have saved me, but because of inadequate actions by UMW, I cannot say I feel safe on campus. Here are some demands that can be put in place for future hate crimes and other incidents, so there is not another person at UMW like me:

1. Make student bias reporting accessible. Two professors did not know how to send me to a bias report, and therefore I could not report the event right after.
2. College administration should state clear guidelines on what is a hate crime and what administration can do to make a college student feel safe on campus
3. Allow students, when an incident like this occurs again, access to CCTV film from the date and time of the event.
4. Allow students to have emergency therapy appointments with trained therapists who specialize in an area related to their hate crime (for me, a therapist for LGBTQ+ people would be great).