BISS Annual Report 2023-24

Now in its sixth year, Bias Incident Support Services (BISS) continues to deepen and expand our positive impact across campus. Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, this impact was evident as more campus partners sought assistance through consultations and requests for support spaces. BISS also received over twice as many bias reports compared to the previous year and facilitated more training opportunities than ever before. In light of global and national events, there is an increased need for trauma-informed, culturally responsive, trusted resources like BISS within the campus environment. As BISS looks ahead to the coming year, we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting those affected by identity-based harm, while educating the broader community to enhance inclusion and belonging efforts across all aspects of the University of Maryland.

Starting in early August 2023, Baili Park (she/her) joined the BISS team as a graduate assistant. Baili assisted with training workshops and tabling. She also co-advised the Hate Bias Student Advisory Group alongside Brian Medina (ze/hir). In late August 2023, Brian was promoted to director of BISS, taking leadership of the unit after nearly four years as program manager.

BISS hired a new program manager, Jennifer Valdez (she/her), who started at the end of January 2024. She immediately assisted with training workshops, the Hate Bias Response Team, and collaborations across campus. June of 2024 BISS welcomed Graham Hardin (he/him) as an undergraduate intern through the Do Good Institute’s Impact Intern program. BISS also led a successful search in Spring 2024 with a new team member, a second program manager, set to start in early August 2024. In the fall of 2024, BISS will welcome a new graduate assistant, Maha Shoaib (she/her), who is a doctoral student in the College of Education. BISS will also welcome a new undergraduate intern, Daniel Brodsky (he/him), who is with the TerpsEXCEED program.

Over the 2023-24 academic year, there has been a notable increase in reports as BISS expands visibility across campus as a resource for students, faculty and staff experiencing identity-based harm. BISS has continued working on becoming an increasingly visible resource on campus and many reporting individuals indicated that they reached out after a friend, advisor, colleague or classmate shared their own positive experience with BISS, bringing greater confidence with reporting.

The increase in reports coincides with national and global conflicts, as well as campus-wide events that highlight tensions between beliefs and identities. For the fifth year in a row, race/color continues to be the most frequently reported motivation. Given these many challenging and complex dynamics, BISS has increased our presence and doubled the number of support spaces held for community members from the previous year.

As BISS continues to grow the team, we recognize the importance of strong partnerships to support and maintain the substantial emotional effort involved. This also helps to extend the educational efforts and preventative measures of the office while forging meaningful relationships with new areas of campus that deserve radical care.

BISS remains a core member of the Free Expression workgroup. This group coordinates a rapid response team who serve as monitors and de-escalation specialists when a protest, rally or event becomes contentious. This year, much of the work of this group centered around holding space for community members during and after protests. For BISS staff, this meant being actively present at these protests to ensure a supportive presence and prioritizing the well-being of campus community members amidst the challenging discussions of global events.

The Hate Bias Response Team (HBRT) and Hate Bias Student Advisory Group (HBSAG) continue to be foundational advisory and support spaces for BISS. Over 10 new members have been added to the HBSAG for the 2024-25 academic year, and a new faculty representative has been added to the HBRT in order to deepen support measures for faculty harmed by bias.

During summer 2024, BISS has partnered with the Student Organization Resource Center (SORC) to provide training on intergroup conflict for student organizations. This training is the first of many that BISS and SORC aim to facilitate for student organizations as they navigate bias and harm within student spaces.

BISS continues to offer Stop the Hate anti-bias training, an introductory workshop to engage community members around bias incident scenarios and share university resources. Each semester, BISS facilitates six Stop the Hate trainings; two each for faculty, staff and students.

Throughout the academic year 2023-24, BISS provided almost double the number of tailored training workshops to various campus departments and student groups looking to address particular needs. Some topics have included: restorative practices, addressing bias in student group recruitment, intergroup bias and conflict, modified Stop the Hate sessions, and using art and music therapy as a means to heal after trauma. BISS continues to broaden our selection of training and development opportunities available to the UMD community. Additionally, BISS provided training external to the UMD campus community by facilitating a workshop for the Montgomery Inspector General’s office centered on mitigating and responding to bias incidents within local governance.

New this year has been a broader Office of Diversity & Inclusion collaboration to centralize and streamline the training request form and process for Bias Incident Support Services, Diversity Training & Education, the ADA coordinator, and the LGBTQ+ Equity Center. This has ensured greater accountability for training offerings and communication between units to deepen expertise and understanding of overlaps or gaps in service.

Finally, BISS continues our monthly restorative space, The Circle, which is rooted in Indigenous methods of care and provides participants an opportunity to share their experiences while being supported by community members with similar identities, values or experiences. Our most attended Circle this year, in partnership with the Nyumburu Cultural Center, honored the lived experiences of Black UMD community members and focused on how the UMD community can uplift and amplify Black voices and co-create a beautiful Black future.

BISS has begun a review process to assess our impact across the University of Maryland over the first five years of our existence. We are also working on a strategic planning process that will provide a roadmap for the next five years. Now with greater capacity, BISS will offer more training and programming initiatives, including a new Bias Awareness Week in the fall of 2024 and Restorative Practices Symposium in the spring of 2025. BISS will also deepen and expand our partnerships throughout the University of Maryland to prevent and mitigate identity-based harm. Despite the many challenges and barriers inherent within this work, BISS maintains healthy optimism for a future where hope, healing, and liberation are possible.