{"id":1784,"date":"2020-11-24T17:07:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T21:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/?p=1784"},"modified":"2020-11-24T17:07:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T21:07:35","slug":"doing-your-part-being-an-active-bystander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/2020\/11\/24\/doing-your-part-being-an-active-bystander\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Your Part: Being an active bystander"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture this:\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0walking down the Einhorn Family Walk, same as always, and the never-ending stream of commentary in your head is making judgements about each and every person that crosses your path.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Wow, he needs to work out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYikes, she looks a little young to be pregnant.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0all been there.\u202f Hundreds of these sniping judgements run through your head, and sometimes\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0not even aware of it. This is the result of a little thing called bias, which is hostile behavior towards a person because of their age, ethnic origin, ability status, gender expression, race,\u00a0<\/span>religion<\/span>\u00a0or sexual orientation\u2014and the list goes on. Bias shows up explicitly, like swastikas being drawn in the snow, or implicitly, like teachers immediately believing that their Black female students have an \u201cattitude.\u201d If you look at someone and automatically have an opinion on them just by looking at them, then\u00a0<\/span>that\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0most likely a product of bias. Whether bold and direct or on the low, one thing is for sure: bias can hurt, and in extreme cases, it can<\/span>\u00a0lead to violence or death<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0probably going over every thought you\u2019ve ever had about a person, it\u2019s important to know that just because you\u2019re not committing an act, you\u2019re still not necessarily in the clear. You could be a bystander, somebody who witnesses a discriminatory act and\u00a0<\/span>has the opportunity to<\/span>\u00a0either help, do nothing, or even add on to the discrimination (seriously, don\u2019t be that person). If you sit by and watch people on your dorm floor mocking someone\u2019s pronouns,\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0an inactive bystander. If you let your friends make fun of your roommate because they have an accent when they speak English,\u00a0<\/span>you\u2019re<\/span>\u00a0an inactive bystander. If you see a group of\u00a0<\/span>people<\/span>\u00a0harassing a girl because\u00a0<\/span>she\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0trans<\/span>\u00a0and do nothing<\/span>, you\u2019re an inactive bystander.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We have the power to protect each other, and we have a mandate to aid those who are more vulnerable in society. One way to do this is to be an\u00a0<\/span>active<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>bystander, someone who intervenes in a bias-related incident.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>When deciding\u00a0<\/span>whether or not<\/span>\u00a0to intervene and how to do so, there are several things to consider<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. S<\/span>tart with potential risks and benefits. There are\u00a0<\/span>definitely more<\/span>\u00a0benefits than risks when it comes to intervening in a bias-related incident, but people do not always realize that when one is happening. Oftentimes, people focus more on the potential risks, which could be that they would face physical, legal or social consequences as a result of intervening or worry that they will make the situation worse because they don\u2019t know how to handle the situation or are disrespecting someone\u2019s privacy. But\u00a0<\/span>often<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0worth the effort of intervening. And even if the offender\u00a0<\/span>doesn\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0listen to what you had to say \u2013 you still made them think about their actions and helped them to potentially correct their bias.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Seek out educational resources to prepare to have productive difficult conversations and learn how to be an effective active bystander. Trainings such as the Wellness Leadership Institute<\/a><\/span>\u2019s<\/span><\/a> STOP Bias workshop on recognizing, reporting, and stopping bias, watching YouTube videos and TED talks about bias, and having conversations with diverse groups\u00a0<\/span>of people will help you learn how to recognize bias related incidents and what to do when one occurs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. A<\/span>lways consider your personal safety first. If a situation becomes too dangerous, calling the authorities is a safe way to diffuse an incident.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Utiliz<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0the people around you, including strangers or friends,\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>s a way to<\/span>\u00a0rally around and provide comfort to the person being targeted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    W<\/span>hy should you be an active bystander versus one who simply observes a bias-related incident and minds their business? Bystander intervention in bias-related incidents creates an inclusive and safe environment for all students,\u00a0<\/span>staff<\/span>\u00a0and faculty. There are multiple benefits in creating a safe and inclusive campus, like an increase in student engagement and overall sense of belonging. Imagine if someone intervened\u00a0<\/span>every time<\/span><\/i>\u00a0a bias-related incident occurred on campus \u2013 how different things could look, feel and be. It is\u00a0<\/span>all of<\/span>\u00a0our responsibility to do our part in creating such an environment, and being an active bystander is one part of that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    So next time, call your floor mates out, because pronouns\u00a0<\/span>aren\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0a joke. Ask your friends\u00a0<\/span>what\u2019s<\/span> so funny about having an accent\u2014the answer: it\u2019s not. Call for backup or alert those with more authority to get the group to stop. If you can say something, then say something. If you can do something, then do something. Do it because\u00a0<\/span>it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0the right thing to do.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Being women of color on campus, we can tell you that a sense of belonging and inclusivity is what most of us who belong to marginalized identities crave. Acknowledging acts of bias (asking where I am really from, calling me Spanish, picking a man over me because I am a woman with an accent, etc.) and taking action is a first step in creating the Orange Community we all need. Please have the courage to step in and show your support by being a consistent challenger of bias.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Learn more on how to recognize, report and stop bias on the STOP Bias webpage<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    Written by STOP Bias Peer Educators Dassy Kemedjio \u201921, Sofia Rodriguez \u201924, Nia Williams \u201924 and Berkley Morgan \u201922<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Picture this:\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0walking down the Einhorn Family Walk, same as always, and the never-ending stream of commentary in your head is making judgements about each and every person that crosses your path.\u00a0 \u201cWow, he needs to work out.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYikes, she looks a little young to be pregnant.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ve\u00a0all been there.\u202f Hundreds of these sniping judgements run…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":319,"featured_media":1836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[39,49],"class_list":["post-1784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-and-identity","tag-stop-bias","tag-student-leadership"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/319"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1784"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1839,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784\/revisions\/1839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experience.syracuse.edu\/the-peel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}