More than half of the total reported on-campus hate crimes in 2019 were motivated by race or ethnicity (435 of the 757 hate crimes reported).
A 2008 amendment to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security and Campus Crime Statistics Act (see Criminal Incidents at Postsecondary Institutions) requires postsecondary institutions to report hate crime incidents. A hate crime is a criminal offense that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the perpetrator’s bias against the victim(s) based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. The Clery Act requires institutions to report data on hate-related incidents for seven types of crimes—murder, sex offenses (forcible and nonforcible), robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The 2008 amendment also requires campuses to report hate-related incidents for four additional types of crimes: simple assault; larceny; intimidation; and destruction, damage, and vandalism.
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1 Placing another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.
2 Willfully or maliciously destroying, damaging, defacing, or otherwise injuring real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.
3 Physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.
4 Attack upon a person for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.
5 Unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession of another.
6 Any sexual act directed against another person forcibly and/or against that person’s will.
7 Taking or attempting to take anything of value using actual or threatened force or violence.
8 Unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.
9 Willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle, or personal property of another.
NOTE: Data are for degree-granting institutions, which are institutions that grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Some institutions that report Clery Act data—specifically, non-degree-granting institutions and institutions outside of the 50 states and the District of Columbia—are excluded. A hate crime is a criminal offense that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the perpetrator’s bias against a group of people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Includes on-campus incidents involving students, staff, and guests. Excludes off-campus crimes and arrests even if they involve students or staff. In 2010, 2018, and 2019, there were 0 incidents of murder, nonforcible sex offenses, and motor vehicle theft that were classified as hate crimes.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Campus Safety and Security Reporting System, 2010, 2018, and 2019. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 329.30.
1 Placing another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct, but without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.
2 Willfully or maliciously destroying, damaging, defacing, or otherwise injuring real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.
3 Physical attack by one person upon another where neither the offender displays a weapon, nor the victim suffers obvious severe or aggravated bodily injury involving apparent broken bones, loss of teeth, possible internal injury, severe laceration, or loss of consciousness.
NOTE: Data are for degree-granting institutions, which are institutions that grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Some institutions that report Clery Act data—specifically, non-degree-granting institutions and institutions outside of the 50 states and the District of Columbia—are excluded. A hate crime is a criminal offense that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the perpetrator’s bias against a group of people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Includes on-campus incidents involving students, staff, and guests. Excludes off-campus crimes and arrests even if they involve students or staff.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Campus Safety and Security Reporting System, 2019. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 329.30.
1 The reported total of 341 incidents also includes one robbery that was motivated by race, which was not shown separately in the reference table.
2 The reported total of 167 incidents also includes two robberies and one arson that were motivated by sexual orientation, which were not shown separately in the reference table.
3 Defined for the respondents as a “preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender, e.g., male or female.”
4 Defined for the respondents as a “preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a person or group of persons based on their actual or perceived gender identity, e.g., bias against transgender or gender non-conforming individuals. Gender non-conforming describes a person who does not conform to the gender-based expectations of society, e.g., a woman dressed in traditionally male clothing or a man wearing makeup. A gender non-conforming person may or may not be a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person but may be perceived as such.”