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survival
guide
Dealing with discrimination
on campus
By Dwight Flenniken
III
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
Janice Reyes is
the director of equity and diversity at Cal State Long Beach,
governing a population greater than 30,000, or the equivalent
of a small city.
As stated in CSULB's
discrimination policy, all persons on campus have the right
to live, work and learn in a discrimination-free environment,
and maintaining this policy is the goal of the Reyes.
"We handle
everyone from teachers to students to administration in this
office," Reyes said.
Between the spring
semesters 1999-2000, the Equity and Diversity office saw 36
formal and informal complaints, 14 of which were for sexual
harassment.
The consequences
of these actions range from letters of apology to ongoing
monitoring, and ultimately some may even include termination
or expulsion from the university.
Two different types
of complaints can be filed. The first is a formal complaint,
which would entail a full investigation.
"If they want
their complaint to be considered formal then they have to
submit it in writing and it has to be signed, it cannot remain
anonymous," Reyes said.
Of the 36 complaints
filed last year, 17 were formal in nature.
This year, the policy will change on informal complaints,
the second type handled by the office. Being added to the
office of Equality and Diversity is a new position titled
the ombudsman, the director said.
The ombuds will
be located in the same office and handle all informal grievances.
Having this new position available in the office will free
the rest of the staff to conduct more in depth investigations
of formal complaints.
In the CSULB policy
statement on discrimination it is noted that complaints are
most effective when rendered at the earliest possible time.
Grievances in any case can be filed no later than 180 days
after the offense. In formal complaints the investigation
will be no more than 30 days in length.
The office of Equity
and Diversity is located on the third floor of the University
Student Union in Room 301. They are open between the hours
of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number
is (562) 985-8256.
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