Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the members of BERT? 

  • Shannon Gary (Office of the Dean of Students) (Co-Chair)
  • Erin Echols (Cultural Centers) (Co-Chair)
  • Lia Sackett (Office of the Dean of Students)
  • Amy Gilgan (Gleeson Library)
  • Aja Holmes (Office of Community Living)
  • Lester Deanes (Student Leadership & Engagement)
  • Sabrina Kwist (Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
  • Liliana Rojas (Human Resources)
  • Farima Pour-Khorshid (School of Education)
  • Marisa McCarthy (Curriculum Management)
  • Jason Reynolds (School of Education)

Who can submit a bias incident report? 

Students, staff, and faculty can report an act of bias using the BERT incident report form. Any of these parties can submit a report if they were the impacted party and/or a witness to an act of bias from another community member. If the impacted party feels in any way threatened based on an act of bias, they should contact Public Safety at (415) 422-2911 immediately.

What happens when a report is submitted?

Incidents Involving Students ONLY

Incidents involving only students are reviewed by the resource team. Based on the outcome of the investigation, if the alleged is more than likely in violation of a student code of conduct, it is referred to The Office of Student Conduct, Rights and Responsibilities. 

Incidents Involving Staff/Faculty and Students

Incidents involving both staff or faculty, and students are referred to the appropriate department based on the community role of the impacted or alleged parties. If the staff/faculty are the alleged party who may have committed an act of bias, the incident report may be shared with Human Resources. If the alleged party is a student, the report may be forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct, Rights and Responsibilities.

What does it mean to be the impacted party? 

An impacted party is a community member who is directly or indirectly the target of bias which includes but is not limited to words, actions, and/or illustrations.

If I submit a report is my identity revealed to the alleged party?

The identity of the impacted party is kept confidential when possible. Depending on the act of bias, your name may be revealed to assist with addressing the incident appropriately. You will be notified prior to this disclosure.

For any further questions, you may contact the BERT team at bert@usfca.edu.