We’d like to applaud another enactment of one of the Hate Crime and Bias-Motivated Incident Response Protocol codes—namely, the automatic sending of an all-campus e-mail to every member of the campus community. Because of the quick and speedy response called for in the protocol, students and staff were able to quickly mobilize against the incidents of vandalism on campus posters. The Student Organization of Latino/as (SOL) held a forum, and is holding another next week. Because information of the incidents was in every community member’s inbox, the attendance was stronger than it would have been if the primary form of communication had been scattered announcements or word of mouth.

Also, notification to the whole campus keeps reality in our face. Grinnell College may be more of a safe-space than your average school, but bias and oppression are still everyday realities. So kudos to all who formed the protocol for helping the student body respond and keeping us in check with what happens on campus.