Beloit College implements new anti-hate policy

Beloit College has announced the creation of the Anti-Hate Act/Biased Incident policy, which will be dedicated to the improvement of the college's response in the event of acts meant to demean and oppress members of the Beloit community.

The new policy came about because of a hate crime that was committed on the Beloit campus during the spring of 2015. The incident involved the spray-painting of racist and threatening hate speech on the Whitney Hall brick wall by an individual or group that has yet to be identified.

The college then spent more than a year in discussions and deliberations to decide what to do about the event and possible future incidences that could occur. That is when Beloit created the new policy.

According to the new policy, lead responders -- who will be designated by the college -- will react immediately to any reports of hate crime and handle matters effectively. Each of the lead responders will be trained in restorative justice and conflict resolution.

Beloit has stated that any and all students, faculty and staff will have their concerns heard and receive support when reporting hate crimes, acts or biased incidences.