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UNC Charlotte statement against bias during the COVID-19 pandemic

Thursday, November 5, 2020

As news of the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, we encourage all of Niner Nation to stand together against broad generalizations and stereotypes of vulnerable communities during this time. COVID-19 impacts all of us across racial and ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic status, gender, age, sexual identity, ability, religious/spiritual backgrounds, etc.

We also acknowledge this pandemic has affected some communities more than others. In the wake of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety, many Asian and Pacific Islander communities across the United States have experienced racism, xenophobic actions, harassment, and offensive offhanded jokes or passing comments. Our community has not been immune to these actions. UNC Charlotte has received bias related incidents indicating this behavior and such rhetoric has been experienced directly on and off campus by our students, faculty, and staff.

Additionally, as we continue to create meaningful collaborations with the UNC Charlotte community, local businesses, and community leaders to address issues and opportunities of the region, we must also acknowledge that the vulnerable amongst us are particularly hard hit. The poor and working poor, communities of color, undocumented people, members of LGBTQ communities, homeless and home insecure, incarcerated, immuno-compromised, and others are facing the brunt of the pandemic. This is largely because of discrimination and generational inequality that result in inequities in housing, employment, health care, education, and other systems that impact daily life. We also recognize that many vulnerable people are “essential workers” and encourage you to consider ways to reduce the spread of the virus to the most susceptible.

As Chancellor Dubois said March 23: “As 49ers, demonstrating our values — social and cultural diversity, free expression, collegiality, integrity, and mutual respect — has never been more important. This public health crisis will not be solved with fear and discrimination; it will be solved by our diverse global community rising together in solidarity, support, and compassion.”

All university policies and procedures are still in place during this time. If you witness or experience an act of bias, hatred, or any other act against our student code of responsibility, we encourage you to submit an incident report at incidentreport.uncc.edu and a bias related incident report. There are resources, listed below, including the Bias Assessment and Resource Team that are available and will reach out to you once a bias related report is submitted. The Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement is also available for support. When one of us is harmed, we are all impacted. Let’s do our part to ensure that our community is stronger together. We need to hold ourselves accountable to the standards we have created. Stand with us as we commit to reducing bias towards our colleagues, students, neighbors, essential workers, and Charlotte community members. Please consider the linked resources to help you stay informed and we encourage you to seek support as needed.

We will get through this together, while we remain physically apart.

COVID-19 Resources

UNC Charlotte Resources

  • Bias-Related Incident Report: Any student, faculty, or staff member that has experienced, witnessed, or knows about a bias-related incident involving our Niner Community, is highly encouraged to submit a bias-related incident report. This will provide us information to track the prevalence of incidents and will allow us to get folks connected to additional resources.
  • Student Conduct Report: Any student, faculty, or staff member that would like to report a behavior or incident that violates our Code of Student Responsibility, involving one of our UNC Charlotte students, should submit a Maxient report. If the incident is also biased in nature, we highly recommend also submitting a bias-related incident report.
  • Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS): This office is committed to the mental well- being of our students on campus. If a student is looking for support as it relates to their mental health, they should reach out to CAPS to discuss service options. . CAPS also has resources about navigating oppression and has provided the campus community with some coping strategies during this time. When possible, CAPS has also facilitated Healing & Empowerment Groups, to support students impacted by oppression-based trauma as well as to provide community.
  • Student Assistance and Support Services (SASS): This office is housed within the Dean of Students Office in Student Affairs. They are able to provide support to students as it relates to navigating crisis and extenuating circumstances. They are also able to provide assistance if situations are impeding a student's academic performance.
  • Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement (IEE): Also housed under the Dean of Students Office, the IEE works to support students with minoritized identities. If a student is looking for 
  • someone to talk to for support as it relates to their identities or as it relates to navigating bias, the IEE staff is available via phone, email, and virtual video and chat for support and guidance. The IEE also offers support to any member of the UNC Charlotte community that needs assistance in filing a bias-related incident report.
  • Student Health Center (SHC): The SHC provides primary medical care, disease prevention, health education, wellness promotion, and various specialty services to all registered UNC Charlotte students, regardless of the type of health insurance they carry.
  • ADVANCE FADO Office: The UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Faculty Affairs and Diversity Office builds faculty diversity and promotes faculty success through research and programming on recruitment, re-appointment, promotion and tenure practices; policy reform; mentoring; leadership and career development.

External Resources

Additional Resources