You must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF documents. Go to the Adobe Web site to download Acrobat Reader.

Introduction
Adelphi University is committed to providing an educational atmosphere in which students can pursue serious learning and can achieve their maximum potential. Maintaining a safe environment for students, faculty, and staff has long been recognized as an essential part of University life.

At Adelphi, safety is of the highest priority and is considered a shared responsibility, requiring the cooperation of everyone concerned - students, faculty, and staff.

The University has established policies and procedures, and offers comprehensive services to ensure the well being of members of the University community. Adelphi advises and updates students about security procedures through a variety of means, including the revisions to this and other brochures, on-campus meetings, posted notices, voicemail, and email as necessary. View the University's annual crime report on the Department of Public Safety's Web site where statistics on hate crimes are listed.

The following protocol was developed for victims of bias-related crimes and for those individuals at Adelphi University who might be called upon to support and advise them.

What is a Bias-Related Crime?

• A swastika spray-painted on the University's Interfaith Center door.
• A student physically assaulted by a group yelling racial slurs.
• Harassing letters containing homophobic epithets mailed to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered students.

These are just a few examples of how bias-related crimes can touch a college campus. Also called hate crimes, bias crimes are criminal acts such as aggravated harassment, arson, assault, criminal mischief, or murder committed by an individual(s) motivated by a bias against the victim's age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, religious practice, or sexual orientation.

Bias crimes, which can increase in frequency during certain times of the year such as Black History month or during such events as gay pride activities, are often committed by more than one person and may be fueled by the consumption of alcohol or other altering substances.

These crimes are unique in that they affect not only the victim(s), but also the group to which the victim belongs, and as such threaten to tear at the fabric that holds the community together.

Back to Top of Page

• In Garden City, dial 5 or 516.877.3511
• In Hauppauge, call 631.300.4367
• In Manhattan, call 212.965.8340
• In the Hudson Valley, call 911.

In addition, Adelphi University Public Safety has arranged for merchants in the immediate Garden City area to post stickers in their windows that identify them as safe places for students to go for assistance in the event of an emergency. To view this list of participating merchants, visit the Department of Public Safety's Web site.

Seek medical treatment at once for any injuries you might have sustained.

Be sure to document the incident. Take photographs of the scene, talk to witnesses, and write down details. If you are the victim of harassing phone calls, log each of them and save any threatening voicemail messages or correspondence you might receive.

Because bias incidents often strike at the heart of personal identity, reporting them can be a sensitive and embarrassing issue. However, you should seriously consider reporting any bias incidents to Adelphi University Public Safety and the police. Reporting highlights the importance of increased security, raises awareness of bias throughout the University and community, and may enable prosecution of the perpetrator.

In the aftermath of a bias-related incident, victims often feel shock, anger, fear, powerlessness, and depression. Contact the Adelphi University Student Counseling Center or other off-campus organizations for support that can help you cope. Please refer to the "Support Services" sections of this pamphlet for contact information.

If you are the victim of a bias-related crime, and you have reported that crime to the police, you may be eligible for compensation through the New York State Crime Victims Board. Call 1.800.247.8035 or TTY: 1.888.289.9747 or visit www.cvb.state.ny.us for eligibility requirements.

Reporting a Bias-Related Incident
Garden City Campus:
Emergency campus phones are located inside and outside of the Garden City campus buildings. In an emergency dial 5 or for immediate help call ext. 3507 or 3511. Dial ext. 3500 with questions during normal business hours. Calls from public phones and cell phones require dialing 516.877.3511.

Hauppauge Center:
On-Campus: Contact the Public Safety Officer on duty at 631.300.4367.
Off-Campus: Dial 911.

Manhattan Center:
On-Campus: Contact the security officer at the front desk at 212.965.8340.
Off-Campus: Dial 911.

Hudson Valley Center:
On-Campus and Off-Campus: Dial 911.

Back to Top of Page

On Long Island:
BiasHELP of Long Island:
877.END.BIAS (363.2427) – toll-free hotline with live operators 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
www.biashelp.org

In Manhattan:
Safe Horizons Crime Victims Hotline:
212.577.7777 – 24-hour hotline
www.victimservices.org

The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project:
212.714.1141 – 24-hour bilingual hotline
www.avp.org

In the Hudson Valley:
Family Services, Inc.:
845.452.7272 – 24-hour hotline

Legal Options
Criminal Prosecution:
Bias crimes should be reported immediately to the authorities to ensure a proper police response. The earlier a crime is reported, the more likely it will be that valuable evidence is collected and witnesses are identified.

Civil Suit:
Bias crime victims have the option of consulting an attorney to initiate a suit in civil court for damages. The purpose of a civil suit is to compensate victims for the wrong done to them. Civil action may be brought against a perpetrator regardless of whether criminal charges are pursued.

Back to Top of Page

Please refer to the charts below for a list of maximum penalties for a list of offenses and a list of offenses.