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This monograph examines four aspects of the problem of bias, prejudice, and hate crimes on American college and university campuses. First, the monograph examines the prevalence of hate crimes on campuses, considering who is targeted, the kinds of crimes that are committed, and the frequency and impact of bias incidents. The monograph then identifies common problems college communities have experienced in responding to hate crimes and provides recommendations for prompt, effective, and appropriate responses. It also describes several promising efforts to respond to campus hate crimes and implement prevention programs. Finally, the monograph explains the difference between hate crimes and bias incidents and discusses the factors police consider to determine whether a hate crime has been committed. For various reasons, reliable statistics on hate crimes on campuses are elusive, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its 1998 report, based on data from 450 colleges and universities, identified 241 incidents of hate crimes at institutions. Of these, 57% were considered motivated by race, 18% by anti-Semitism, and 16% by bias based on sexual orientation. Hate crimes occur at virtually every type of college and university in every part of the United States, and such crimes impair the educational mission of an institution of higher learning and deprive students and faculty of an atmosphere free of fear and intimidation. "Commonly Asked Questions about Hate Crimes and Bias Incidents" and resources for more information are appended. (SLD)

This report assesses the civil rights record of Bill Clinton's presidential administration, examining progress made in federal civil rights law enforcement and policy development. Four sections include: (1) "Introduction: The Clinton Presidency in Perspective" (the civil rights landscape and continuing relevance of the fight for civil rights); (2) "Background: A Decade of Turmoil and Change" (key civil rights laws, judicial decisions, and agency enforcement in the 1990s; growing racial and ethnic tensions during Clinton's administration; socioeconomic disparities in the 1990s; and demographic change in the 1990s and beyond); (3) "An Evaluation of President Clinton's Civil Rights Record, 1993-2001" (significant civil rights issues of the Clinton administration, including diversity in the federal government, environmental justice, fair housing, equal educational opportunity, equal access to health care, the impact of welfare reform on women and minorities, and voting rights); and (4) "Lessons Learned." Overall, the Clinton administration transformed federal civil rights enforcement and policy efforts in many important ways but ultimately failed to develop or execute effective policies in several key areas relating to civil rights enforcement. Three appendixes present a civil rights timeline, 1990-00; executive orders relating to civil rights, 1994-00; and Clinton's recommendations for building one America. (SM)

The number of reported hate crimes has steadily increased. Racial prejudice motivates most of these crimes, which typically are committed by a small, loosely associated group of adolescent offenders. In addition to the physical pain and material loss associated with these crimes, they can be psychologically devastating to the victim. New approaches to responding to hate crimes have been developed, including penalty-enhancement strategies and educational programs for perpetrators. Efficacy of the proposed approaches in modifying the attitudes and behaviors of perpetrators is questionable, and many of these programs do little to address the needs of the victims. Victim-offender mediation is explored as a strategy for intervening between the adolescent offenders who commit racially motivated hate crimes and the victims of these offenses. It is suggested that in comparison to the current responses to hate crimes, this approach will offer greater benefits for victims, offenders, and society. (Contains 14 references.) (Author/JDM)

Undergraduate students (N=1,271) from a consortium of small private colleges in California, a mid-size university in California, a large public university in Texas, and a large commuter university in Illinois were surveyed on their experience with ethnic and racial hatred. Based upon self-report, 54.3% of the sample were European American, 18% were Asian American, 8% were Latino, and 5.4% were African American. Also, 9.4% were multi-ethnic and 4.2% were other. The results indicated that while students from all ethnic groups were victims of hate incidents, they occurred more frequently for African Americans and Latinos. While it is clear that hate incidents and discrimination create a tense and hostile social climate on campus, it has yet to be determined how it affects academic functioning of ethnic minority students. Data indicates therapists should carefully assess a student's perception of hate incidents, racism, and discrimination on campus. Counselors have a responsibility to address hate incidents proactively. Research is needed on the ways to reduce hate crimes and improve inter-ethnic interactions. (Contains 2 tables and 14 references.) (JDM)

This publication focuses on initiatives that are designed to address hate crimes by enhancing efforts of the criminal justice system. After discussing the pivotal role of law enforcement in this effort, the paper describes six Bureau of Justice Assistance-funded initiatives, which include: the International Association of Chiefs of Police Summit: Hate Crime in America; the Department of Justice National Hate Crime Training Initiative; the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Roll Call Video: Responding to Hate Crimes; the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Responding to Hate Crimes: A Police Officer's Guide to Investigation and Prevention; the American Prosecutors Research Institute's Resource Guide, Prosecutors Respond to Hate Crimes Project; and the Maine Department of the Attorney General's Designated Civil Rights Officers Project. Collectively, the six efforts demonstrate the creativity and the deep commitment of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in leading the nation's effort to combat bias-motivated crime. (SM)

The LegiSchool Project of California State University, Sacramento, and the California State Legislature planned two town hall meetings focusing on hate crime for the winter of 1999-2000, one in Los Angeles and one in Sacramento to provide forums in which California's high school students, educators, and legislators can engage in face-to-face dialogue about problems of mutual interest. This guide contains background materials, articles, and critical thinking questions to help participants prepare for the meetings. The resource materials are: (1) "Statement by the President"; (2) "S.622: Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999"; (3) "SB 80: Hate Crimes Prevention and Prosecution"; (4) "California's Civil and Criminal Laws Pertaining to Hate Crimes"; (5) "Erasing Hate: A Guide to Civil Rights in Your School"; (6) "A Policymaker's Guide to Hate Crimes"; (7) "Hate Crime in California 1998"; (8) "What Makes a Crime Front-Page News?"; (9) "Wiping Out Hate in U.S.: Change Must Begin Community by Community"; (10) "Crimes of Hate"; (11) "Wave of Hate Crimes Reflects a War against Immigrants"; (12) "If We Respond to Hate Groups with Hate: Silenced, They May Be More Dangerous"; (13) "Arson Hits 3 Synagogues in Sacramento Area"; (14) "Charges Filed in Slaying of Gay Couple"; (15) "A Skinhead's Story: An Interview with a Former Racist"; (16) "Resisting Arrest: Racist Resistance Records Isn't Slowing Down"; (17) "Activism vs Hacktivism: HateWatch Condemns Hacking Hate Sites"; (18) "Violence, Hate and Youth"; (19) "Freedom of Hate Speech: Good or Bad, the Internet Is an Open Forum"; (20) "Net Spreads Hate, but Also Fights It"; (21) "National Anti-Violence Coalition Urges House To Pass Hate Crimes Protection Act"; (22) "Taking Hate Groups to Court"; (23) "Fighting Hate across the Nation"; (24) "Hate Crime Laws in the United States July 1999"; (25) "Intelligence Project: Active Hate Groups in the U.S. in 1998"; (26) "Hate Behavior Pyramid"; (27) "No Hate Resource Site: Response to Hate Crimes in the Miami University Community"; (28) "Ten Hate Violence Prevention Resources and Publications on the Web"; (29) "Somewhere in America"; (30) "Ten Ways To Fight Hate"; and (31) "Prejudice: 101 Ways You Can Beat It!." (SLD)

This paper discusses three aspects of bias crimes against sexual minorities: (1) perpetration rates among young adults; (2) perpetrators' motivations; and (3) factors that prevent some people from committing hate crimes. In an anonymous survey of 484 students at 6 community colleges: one in 10 respondents admitted physical violence or threats against presumed gay men or lesbians, and another 24% reported anti-gay name-calling. Assailants tended to be young men in groups who assaulted largely in response to environmental pressures. In particular, a rigid gender code seemed to encourage physical punishment of gender deviance. Four distinct motivations were found to underlie anti-gay violence: self defense, ideology, thrill seeking, and peer dynamics. These impetuses may also apply in hate crimes against racial and religious minorities and women. Due to the environmentally driven nature of most anti-gay bias crimes, educational campaigns within primary and secondary schools are an essential avenue for prevention. In the absence of positive images of minorities in school curricula, negative stereotypes proliferate. These, in turn, foster both bias crimes in the wider community and a climate of pervasive harassment and violence against students who are perceived as deviant. (Contains five tables.) (EMH)

The Orange County (California) Human Relations Council exists to improve intergroup relations by enabling a representative group of school community members to work collaboratively toward creating and sustaining a safe, inclusive school climate that is respectful of society's diversity. The Council concentrates on training and encouraging students, parents, and teachers to use positive peer support to promote intergroup understanding. At the elementary school level, the Council's approach focuses on parent and teacher participation in planning and on parent and teacher education. In the middle schools, the Council works with parents, teachers, and school administrators. At the high school level, a student-centered program is presented, focusing on positive peer pressure, and continuing work with parents and teachers. Overall components include leadership team consultations, a task force for needs assessment, student inter-ethnic retreats, staff inservice programs, and schoolwide projects. Supportive projects in the schools include: (1) "Walk in My Shoes," student symposiums; (2) "Stop in Your Tracks," a video series presenting alternatives to violence; (3) the Building Bridges award for efforts at promoting safe schools that are respectful of diversity; (4) a Hate Crime Network for shared information and resources; (5) the Summer Youth Leadership Institute for students; (6) the School Inter-Ethnic Relations Round Table for student and teacher networking; and (7) a Parent Leadership Institute. (SLD)

Examples of hate crimes against Arab Americans in this report are those that were reported to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), but the actual number of hate crimes and incidents of discrimination far exceeds those reported. As the report shows, Arab American civil rights were increasingly threatened in 1996-97 by the Anti-Terrorism Act, which allows the use of secret evidence against individuals accused of supporting terrorist organizations. The airport profiling system of the Federal Aviation Administration and new immigration laws also threaten the civil rights of Arab Americans. Case summaries in this report include 22 hate crime instances, 55 cases of discrimination on the job, 30 cases of harassment at airports, and 22 cases of discrimination by local or federal government agencies. These sample the types of complaints received, but do not reflect the actual number of complaints. The ADC has also received numerous complaints of discriminatory attitudes by teachers, bias in textbooks, and disparate treatment of Arab American and Muslim students. (See especially Section 5: "Education and Textbooks" (p.45-47)). Instances of biased curricula and discriminatory attitudes by teachers can be found at a variety of levels within the educational system. The challenge for educators is to include Arab Americans in their multicultural perspective and to teach about Arab culture and Islam as an integral part of world civilization. (SLD)

Deliberation about school desegregation today is increasingly linked with concern about the patterns of deteriorating race relations, escalating intolerance, school violence, and hate crimes. A survey was conducted of urban school board members and administrators to determine their perceptions and beliefs regarding school desegregation and race relations. Two hundred individuals and 103 school districts responded. Eighty-five percent of all respondents agreed that racial balance in public schools is of critical importance to a diverse society. Seventy-eight percent of responding districts reported that they were still actively pursuing desegregation and racial balance. A majority of respondents felt that racial balance was important for both minority and majority group students. However, 66 percent of respondents said that minority students can receive a quality education in segregated schools if the instruction and resources are of high quality. Nearly one-third of respondents thought that desegregation had become immaterial in their school districts because the enrollment had become so overwhelmingly minority. Survey respondents persevere in their desegregation or racial balancing efforts, and they want more support from the federal government. (SLD)

This report records and expands on presentations made by 30 speakers who addressed an April 27, 1992 fact finding meeting on racial tension on college campuses in Connecticut. Section 1 describes the Tristate Project in New England and offers background information on the state and its colleges. Section 2 summarizes the remarks of opening speakers representing community and government agencies. Section 3 reports on three panels from the University of Connecticut, a student panel, an administrators panel, and a faculty panel. Section 4 reports on three similarly composed panels from Wesleyan University. Section 5 summarizes the participants' comments and their recommendations including a unanimous agreement that forms of bias related problems and tensions adversely affected each of the institutions, and that campuses need to accommodate the increasingly multicultural elements of American society. Section 6 offers findings and recommendations of the Connecticut Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Appendixes contain information on 1992 college enrollment by race, state policy regarding racism and acts of intolerance, a statement of the National Association of Scholars, and a statement by Peter B. Luh of the Asian Faculty and Staff Association. (JB)

This is a summary report of a community forum conducted in Berkeley, California on July 18, 1989 on occurrences of bigotry and violence on college campuses in California. Twenty-five representatives of community groups, universities, federal agencies, and community organizations appeared to present their perspectives. Observations on campus climate included description of incidents, their type and frequency; comments on diversity and changes in the demographics of the student body over the past 20 years; discussion of admissions policies and their impact on campus life; description of programs to combat bigotry; and discussion of faculty diversity and affirmative action, institutional efforts to increase diversity, and controversies and policies attached to those efforts. A summary notes that: (1) some believe that a lack of planning for student diversity was the basis for the campus incidents of the 1980s; (2) negative attitudes about minority students may permeate administrative, staff, and faculty reactions to incidents; (3) the walls of academia have not been able to shelter students from the general attitudes and discriminatory practices of the world at large; (4) enforcement of codes of conduct, policies on racial and sexual harassment, and the creation of campus positions to deal with such issues may be mechanisms to combat the increase; and (5) combating these incidents takes the concerted effort of all segments of the university community. (JB)

Destructive and criminal hate crime takes place more and more often among students in elementary and secondary schools. This sourcebook introduces school district personnel and collaborative agencies to programs and resources that might help curtail hate crime and reduce the bigotry that inspires it. Part 1 of this two-part sourcebook provides information, and Part 2 supplies usable resource materials. First, hate crime is defined to provide a clear set of criteria for determining whether particular behaviors fit this concept. Then, seven characteristics distinguishing hate crime from other crime against persons and property are enumerated, explained, and illustrated with examples. The next section chronicles the urgency and scope of the situation and shows that youth hate crime now outpaces adult hate crime. The following section discusses and debunks common misperceptions about hate crime. Next, sources of bigotry leading to hate crime are identified. This section focuses on the three causes of hate crime that can best be addressed through school-based strategies to reduce bigotry and eliminate hate crime. This includes a discussion of hate crime inspired by the Persian Gulf War. The final section in Part 1 explains why schools have a central role in resolving hate crime, particularly in view of the number of school-age participants. Part 2 describes hate crime policies, programs, and practices for use by schools and central district offices in curtailing hate crime, including a definitional checklist, school survey, curriculum sources, list of resource organizations, and references (63 items). (LLL)

This publication reports on the bigotry and violence on Missouri's college campuses based on the perspectives of 15 persons at a community forum held March 22, 1989. Participants included representatives of federal and state government agencies, human rights organizations, law enforcement agencies, and faculty, staff, students, and administrators from two- and four-year institutions of higher education. The federal official gave information on perpetrators of hate crimes on campus and a process for conflict resolution. Community and media consultants provided views on the collection of data for properly informing and educating the public on hate crimes and anti-semitism. Law enforcement officials told the forum why and how information on hate crimes is or is not reported. Two students described their thoughts and responses on the issue of racism. Faculty, administrators and staff provided different views of bias-motivated incidents, complaints, and harassment on their campus. Some institutions mentioned the importance of immediate top level responses to bias-motivated incidents on campuses if there is to be a positive learning environment for all students. One university representative described how the university handled a campus controversy that provided an invaluable experience in racial relations though costly in time, energy and money. (JB)