Pratt is dedicated to fostering a welcoming, nurturing, safe, and inclusive campus community by minimizing and preventing bias-related behaviors, incidents, and crimes. This commitment is reflected in the implementation of various preventative and responsive strategies, including programs and training focused on empathy, awareness, understanding, and acceptance. Additionally, Pratt is committed to promptly, fairly, and effectively addressing incidents that violate our Community Standards.
Definitions
Acts of Bias and Hate
Bias refers to attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors that unfairly favor one person or group over another based on protected categories or perceived social identities. Biases can manifest as consciously or unconsciously and may lead to discriminatory actions.
- A bias incident is any action, speech, or expression that targets a person or group based on protected categories or perceived social identities. Bias incidents range from subtle to overt forms of discrimination and harassment and can have a profound emotional and psychological impact on individuals or groups.
- Prejudice is a form of bias, often rooted in stereotypes or unfounded beliefs. It occurs when negative attitudes are formed about a person or group without sufficient knowledge, understanding, or experience, which can result in unfair treatment or discrimination against the targeted person or group.
Protected categories include:
- Race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, caregiver status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, military status, including past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Acts of Hate
A hate crime is a criminal act involving violence, intimidation, and destruction of property based upon bias and prejudice. As defined by article 485 of the New York Penal Law, a hate crime is when a person commits a specified 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.
- 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.
Acts of Discrimination and Harassment
Pratt prohibits discrimination and harassment by and against members of the Pratt Community, this includes faculty, staff, students, third-party vendors and visitors on the basis on protected categories or characteristic protected by applicable law.
Statistics
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act or Clery Act, a college student who was tragically murdered in her dormitory in 1986, is a federal law requiring all United States colleges and universities (including foreign campuses of U.S. institutions), receiving federal student aid funding, such as Pratt Institute, to maintain and disclose information about crime on and around their campuses. Enacted in 1990, the Clery Act promotes transparency by ensuring students, parents, and the campus community have access to important information about campus safety to make informed decisions about personal and community safety. More information about the Clery Act and Pratt Institute’s crime data, including hate crimes, is available here.
Prevention
To build a campus community culture of mutual respect and care, Pratt offers many proactive workshops and training opportunities that promote mutual respect and community culture.
Pratt Institute aspires to be a campus that welcomes and encourages individuals of all backgrounds to contribute to our culture as their authentic selves. The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Center for Equity and Inclusion work with partners across the Institute to create an equitable and inclusive environment at Pratt.
Bias awareness training is conducted for all new students during their orientation and is required for all employees on a regular basis. Student leaders, such as Resident Assistants, are provided with additional training intending to help them recognize bias crime and respond to it in an appropriate manner. A cross section of employees has been trained in bias awareness and prevention strategies. Public Safety Officers are trained to identify such behavior and respond in an appropriate manner.
Pratt’s Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy specifically prohibits such behavior and provides appropriate penalties. This Policy applies to all Pratt community members and visitors.
Reporting Bias, Hate, Discrimination or Harassment
For Title IX, Sex-Based Harassment, or other Sexual Misconduct Concerns
For Other Forms of Bias, Hate,Discrimination, or non Sex-Based Harassment
**These forms permit anonymous reporting
Reports can also be made by contacting the Title IX Coordinator, Mike Arno at titleix@pratt.edu or 718-687-5171.
Pratt’s Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy explicitly forbids such behaviors and outlines adequate consequences for violations. This policy applies to all Pratt campus community members and visitors. Complaints of Bias, Hate, Discrimination & Harassment will be reviewed and investigated in accordance with Pratt’s Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy. Incidents of sex-based harassment or sexual violence will be reviewed in accordance with the Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policy.