Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone can complete the EOO’s Incident Report form, including third parties reporting an incident about which they have knowledge. There is no method for reporting directly to BRT, however. All submissions are first received and reviewed by the EOO’s Intake team.

All incident reports are received and reviewed by the EOO Intake team. If the allegation includes potential bias and the case does not proceed to the resolution stage through the EOO (formal investigation or alternative resolution), the case is forwarded to BRT for review.

Check out this infographic for more information about the EOO intake process.

Once a report is referred to the BRT, you’ll receive an email providing additional information about the BRT review and what to expect. In some circumstances, BRT may need to conduct further review to better understand the alleged behavior while in others it will be able to complete a hostile environment analysis with the information already available. If a bias-incident resulted in a hostile environment, BRT will recommend responsive measures to address the hostile environment and hopefully prevent any future incidents. Those involved in the review process will be informed of the outcome and any responsive measures taken.

You may reach out to the BRT to inquire about the status of your report at any time by emailing bias@bu.edu.

Bias is a prejudice for or against something or someone, usually in a way that’s considered unfair.

The term ‘bias related’ refers to language and/or behaviors which demonstrate bias against persons because of, but not limited to, others’ actual or perceived: color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, national origin, race, and religion, and sexual orientation. Examples may include defacement of posters or signs, intimidating comments or online messages, vandalism to personal or university property, or similar acts, if there is evidence that the target or victim was chosen because of a characteristic such as those listed above.

A hostile environment occurs when unwelcome conduct based on a person’s protected status is severe or pervasive enough to deny or limit their ability to participate in or benefit from a University program or activity. Such conduct can be verbal, non-verbal, physical, or non-physical and is assessed from both a subjective and objective perspective to determine if it is offensive and creates a hostile environment.

No, but it is private. This means information is held on a need-to-know basis by members of the EOO, BRT, and campus partners assisting with case reviews. There are many confidential resources available and more information can be found in EOO’s Confidential Resources Guide linked here.

No, decisions made by BRT are final. However, community members may always submit additional information to BRT by sending an email to bias@bu.edu.