At AU, we all play an important role in building and maintaining an inclusive campus climate that creates space for diverse perspectives, while maintaining our shared values of respect and human dignity.
AU’s Campus Climate Action Response Team (CART) is a program designed to be a vehicle for the AU community to come together to actively create and implement educational initiatives to maintain a healthy and inclusive campus climate, and to engage in restoration and healing in our community. CART seeks to build our collective capacity for collaborative problem-solving, proactive engagement and dialogue, and community resilience against all forms of dehumanization and hate.
American University’s Climate Incident Response Team (C.I.R.T.) is a rapid climate response structure designed to convene key partners when urgent campus climate concerns emerge. The team provides rapid triage, care, referral, coordinated communication, educational and restorative response, without replacing the authority of Equity and Title IX, Student Conduct, Human Resources, Faculty Affairs, or emergency-management functions.
A “Climate Concern” is defined as conduct that can be reasonably determined to have a meaningful or significant negative impact on the University campus community and is conduct that is negative and based on protected status, and/or subjectively and objectively offensive, and/or severe or pervasive. A climate concern can be committed by a person or a group (like a Registered Student Organization).
Climate concerns can include a personal experience or a witnessed account that demonstrates bias based on a protected status. These may include actions that impact the AU Community or an AU Community member based on identity, belonging, inclusion, or well-being in the university community. This can include incidents related to race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
Climate concerns that are based on a protected status are evaluated by the University's Equity & Title IX office to determine whether the actions violate the University's policies - Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and Grievance Procedures and Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, and Sexual Misconduct Policy and Grievance Procedures. Climate concerns that rise to the level of harassment, retaliation or discrimination will be adjudicated using the Grievance Procedures under these policies.
The Climate Incident Response Team is a cross-functional coordination and support team that receives or is alerted to reports of campus climate concerns, assesses immediate needs and campus implications, connects impacted people and communities to resources, makes referrals to offices with formal authority, coordinates appropriate communication and operational response, supports educational and restorative interventions, and uses aggregate information to strengthen prevention and institutional practice.
ICAN serves as the University's campus-wide advisory and prevention network.
The network meets quarterly to review campus climate trends, strengthen collaboration, and identify opportunities for proactive education and systems improvement.
American University is committed to the inclusion and belonging of all AU Community members, regardless of identity, and has adopted a campus-wide approach to addressing issues related to climate concerns. The University offers a number of resources for members of the AU Community impacted by climate concerns, including confidential resources. If you are seeking assistance related to a climate concern, consider reaching out to the resources listed at the following sites:
A Climate Concern is defined as conduct that can be reasonably determined to have a meaningful or significant negative impact on the University campus community, and is conduct that is negative and based on protected status, and/or subjectively and objectively offensive, and/or severe or pervasive. A climate concern can be committed by a person or a group (like a Registered Student Organization).
Any member of the AU community—student, faculty, or staff member—is welcome to reach out to CART.
At American University, Protected Status is defined as: a common trait or attribute that is shared among a group of people and is afforded protection under the law and University Policy from discrimination or harassment This includes: race; color; religion; national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; disability; sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex characteristics, sex stereotypes and pregnancy or related conditions; age; marital status; genetic information; veteran status; personal appearance; family responsibilities; familial status; homeless status; political affiliation; matriculation; source of income; status as a victim or family member of a victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense or stalking; status as a victim of an intrafamily offense; and place of residence or business.
Types of behaviors that may raise Climate Concerns when related to Protected Status: Verbal Abuse; Online harassment; Social Media campaign of harassing behavior targeting a person or group based on protected status; Exclusionary behavior; Doxxing, submit a report.
All members of the AU Community are responsible for adhering to University policies related to harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Further, all members of the AU Community should strive to create a strong community by valuing and engaging the unique perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences of our students, faculty, and staff in order to cultivate collaboration, innovation, and leadership on campus and beyond.
The evaluation and investigation of Climate Concerns that may rise to the level of harassment, discrimination or retaliation is the responsibility of the Equity & Title IX office. Reports of Climate Concerns can be submitted here: Report Now.
Even if you are not sure if an incident is sufficiently serious or severe to rise to the level of a climate concern, you should report that incident to the Equity & Title IX office. Reports of Climate Concerns can be submitted here: Report Now.
After you report a climate concern to Equity & Title IX, you will be contacted as soon as possible by a staff member responsible for responding to climate concerns who will provide support, learn more about who was affected and speak with you about desired next steps. You will have the opportunity to speak with Equity & Title IX about whether you would like to continue with or participate in the process with Equity & Title IX moving forward.
You may also speak with available Confidential Resources to receive additional information and determine what next steps you would like to follow. Confidential Resources at AU include:
Confidential Resource Advocates
Chaplain
In addition to partnering with AU community members who reach out to CART for support, the network will meet regularly to note any emerging patterns and to collaborate on broader educational responses. CART will meet regularly with key relevant offices to identify high-level cross-cutting trends. CART may also reach out to a range of AU community members across campus to listen, learn, and gather feedback. Based on this ongoing work, CART will eventually aim to work with AU leadership to develop relevant policy and practice recommendations to help support the maintenance of an inclusive campus climate.
Anonymous reports are accepted by the Equity & Title IX office but typically limit the University’s ability to investigate, respond and provide individual remedies and resources. The Equity & Title IX office will not be able to provide updates or outcomes of actions taken in response to anonymous reports. However, measures intended to protect the community or redress or mitigate harm may be implemented as a result of anonymous reports.
First, the University will evaluate reported Climate Concerns to determine if there is a violation of University policy, including the prohibition against harassment, discrimination and retaliation found in these policies: Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and Grievance Procedures and Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, and Sexual Misconduct Policy and Grievance Procedures. The investigation of Climate Concerns by Equity & Title IX will follow the grievance procedures outlined in these policies.
If it is determined that a Climate Concern does not rise to the level of a violation of these policies, action may still be taken regarding the incident consistent with other University policies, including: Code of Student Conduct; Faculty Manual; Staff Personnel Manual; Registered Student Organization Manual; and others.
Actions the University can take to address Climate Concerns can include: educational programming; mediation; community-based programming; evaluation of University processes and procedures; individual outreach to AU Community members and groups affected by the concern;
Within the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Climate Action Response Team (CART) is another mechanism by which the University can address Climate Concerns. Additional information about CART can be found here: https://www.american.edu/inclusive-excellence/climate-action-response-team.cfm. AU Community members can reach out directly to CART to report concerns at [email protected].
Equity & Title IX may refer matters that do not rise to the level of a policy violation to other University offices and resources, including:
American University is committed to protecting free expression for all members of its community. Each member of this community balances their right to free expression with their responsibility to be open to listening and learning, respect the rights of others, and acknowledge each person’s human dignity. Through this balance, AU creates and maintains an environment that can advance knowledge, foster intellectual curiosity, encourage creative expression, build community, and empower lives of purpose, service, and leadership.
American University will evaluate and respond to reports of Climate Concerns while giving due consideration to AU Community members' rights to free expression.