BRYN MAWR COLLEGE

Statement of Principles

1. Bryn Mawr College is firmly committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all members of its faculty, staff, and student body. This policy prohibits discrimination based on irrelevant criteria for employment or participation in the College's programs, including discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, age, national origin, physical ability, sex, or sexual orientation. The admission of only women to the Undergraduate College is in conformity with a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended.

2. The College is also firmly committed to academic and professional excellence and to freedom of inquiry and expression for all members of the College community. In order to preserve an atmosphere in which these goals can be pursued, certain norms of civility, based on mutual respect and appreciation of differences, recognition of the rights of others and sensitivity to their feelings, must govern the interactions of all members of the community. The pursuit of these goals and the preservation of this civil atmosphere depend on the active commitment of all community members to making the College's programs and resources as inclusive as possible. In its policy of prohibiting discrimination and discriminatory harassment, Bryn Mawr intends
   1. to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States and of Pennsylvania,
   2. to protect the exchange of ideas and the individual self-realization that are the basis and goals of the College's educational mission, and
   3. to encourage as much as possible through action, programs, and example that mutual respect and appreciation of differences among all members of the College community.

3. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States declares that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech." For First Amendment purposes, speech includes the spoken and written word and also artistic and symbolic expression, whether anonymous or not. The Constitution allows the government to place reasonable limitations on the time, place, and manner of speech in order, for instance, to minimize safety problems, provided these limitations do not discriminate with respect to content. One of the few exceptional instances in which government may regulate or curtail the content of speech is the case of "fighting words," i.e., words tending to incite immediate violence by the person to whom they are addressed in face-to-face confrontation. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes articulated the value of free speech with particular eloquence in 1919 when he wrote that "the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market."

   The Fourteenth Amendment states, in part, that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This amendment has the effect, among other things, of extending to the state level those principles and freedoms espoused in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution and of explicitly guaranteeing equal protection under the laws to all persons.
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In order to foster and preserve equality of academic and professional opportunity, freedom of inquiry and expression, and equality of access to its resources and programs for all members of the community, the College has established several offices and committees and supports a number of groups dedicated to specific aspects of this goal. In this way the College supports educational efforts, such as workshops, professional training and development and information sessions intended to encourage awareness of and sensitivity to the problem of discrimination and discriminatory conduct and to inform all members of the community of their right to equality of opportunity. The College also makes resource persons available for discussion and advice about possible complaints and the informal and formal procedures for resolving them.

An updated list of current resource and advocacy persons and groups is compiled each year by the President's Office, in consultation with the Affirmative Action Advisory Board, and distributed to all faculty, staff and students. The following list is not exhaustive:

• The Equal Opportunity Officer is available to all members of the community for consultation about any aspect of equal opportunity or discrimination. Faculty, staff and students from all schools should feel free to consult with the Equal Opportunity Officer in confidence at any time about a possible grievance. The Equal Opportunity Officer will suggest options for resolving the complaint. The Equal Opportunity Officer works in close collaboration with the Chief Administrative Officer, Human Resources, Staff Issues Liaison, College Counsel, and the Accessibility Advisory Committee to review the number and types of grievances that have been filed at the College within a given year.

• Department Chairpersons, Administrative Heads, Deans and Directors: All chairpersons of academic departments, heads of administrative offices, deans, assistant and associate deans, and directors of services or divisions are available for discussion of possible complaints or problems.

• The Accessibility Advisory Committee is comprised of administrators, faculty, staff and students. The Committee will meet at least once each semester to address issues relevant to campus accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

• The Honor Board of the Undergraduate College has the responsibility of administering the academic and social honor codes governing undergraduate student life on campus.

• The Office of Public Safety is responsible for maintaining a safe and secure environment for all members of the community by protecting life, safety and property on campus. Any member of the community whose personal safety is jeopardized or who is threatened, verbally or physically, by any act of discrimination or discriminatory conduct should report this to the Director of Public Safety, who can offer advice about personal safety and preventing victimization.

  Anonymous harassment can also be reported to the Director of Public Safety, and the director is consulted by those who receive reports of anonymous harassment about the options for investigation of these complaints by the College. If, in the course of such an investigation, the need should arise to consult law enforcement agencies, this will be facilitated by the Director of Public Safety.
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• Resource Persons: All members of the community are individually and personally responsible for refraining from discrimination and discriminatory conduct, for contributing to the creation and preservation of an atmosphere free of discrimination and discriminatory conduct and for making the life and the programs of the College as inclusive as possible. However, certain persons are institutionally responsible for monitoring and improving the climate for members or officers of specific groups and for responding to complaints related to their areas of responsibility.

• The Office of Intercultural Affairs reports to the Dean of the Undergraduate College. The Director works closely with the Deans, student organizations, Student Life Office, International Students Advisor, religious advisors, other resource groups and administrative offices, to implement educational and cultural programs that improve campus climate and enhance community life at Bryn Mawr. In addition to advising students, the Director of Intercultural Affairs supervises the Multicultural Center.  Although it primarily serves as a meeting place for student organizations, it is also used by other campus community members for other programming, including discussion groups and film series.

• The Diversity Leadership Group (DLG) includes the Asst. Dean of Intercultural Affairs, the Equal Opportunity Officer, the Faculty Diversity Liaison, the Staff Issues Liaison, the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid, and the Dean of the Undergraduate College who report directly to the President. The DLG is available to students, faculty and staff from all segments of the College for information and advice about problems related to discrimination or discriminatory conduct. Specifically, to address concerns related to discrimination, students should contact the Asst. Dean for Intercultural Affairs and the Deans Office, faculty should contact the Faculty Diversity Liaison or the Equal Opportunity Officer, and staff should contact the Equal Opportunity Officer or the Staff Issues Liaison. The DLG also works closely with the Deans, the Provost and the Appointments Committee and with other administrative officers of the College, to ensure consideration of equal opportunity in the workplace.

• President’s Diversity Council: The Diversity Council is comprised of representatives from the Alumnae Association, Human Resources, Access Services, Institutional Research, Admissions, Faculty Committee on Appointments, Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Office of the Provost, Staff Association, Student Government Association, Student Representatives from the Office of Intercultural Affairs, and members at large from each campus constituency group, and the Board of Trustees. The Council provides strategic advice to the DLG and the President on how to encourage a supportive climate for diversity on campus, and to monitor the effectiveness of the College’s diversity initiatives in four areas: recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students from underrepresented groups; attention to diversity in the curriculum; campus climate; and College programs that foster diversity.

• The International Students Advisor handles immigration matters and questions of adjustment or re-entry to the United States, and works with various campus organizations on programming for the entire community to increase awareness of the world's many cultures and address issues of cross-cultural communication and interaction.

• Religious Advisors: Campus ministers and advisers representing various religious denominations are assigned to the College. They conduct religious services and advise study groups and campus organizations such as the Jewish Student Union, Catholic Students, the Muslim Students Association and the Quaker Activities Committee. They are available for consultation about concerns or problems related to discrimination on the basis of religious belief or practice, and for advice and counseling about interfaith communication and interaction.

• Resource Groups:The College community supports a number of special groups, including the Staff Association; The Diversity Council; and various student affinity groups, including Advocates for Disability Awareness, Association of International Students (AIS), Asian Students Association, Bryn Mawr African and Caribbean Student Organization (BACaSO), Eastern European Students Association, Jewish Student Union, Mixed Company (bi/multiracial student group), Mujeres (Latina student group), Muslim Students Association, Rainbow Alliance (queer student group), Sisterhood (African American student group), South Asian Women (SAW), Whiteness Awareness Alliance Group, and ZAMI (LGBT people of color group).

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