Bennington College
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

STUDENT HANDBOOK: Policies and Procedures

Bennington College is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination as defined under applicable state and federal laws, including but not limited to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. The College does not discriminate in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, HIV test, or any other legally protected status.

Complaints of any type of unlawful discrimination that do not fall within the Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Policies and Procedures should be directed to the Director of Human Resources, whose telephone number is 802-440-4423, whose office is located in Faculty Row #2, and whose email address is hfaley@bennington.edu. The Director of Human Resources shall adjudicate any complaint of unlawful discrimination in a prompt and equitable manner, which will permit the complainant to make a written submission, to respond to any submission by the person complained against, to be given a written decision by the Director of Human Resources, and to take a written appeal to the Vice President for Finance and Administration, whose decision, which will be rendered in writing, will be final. Except in extraordinary circumstances, such grievance shall be determined by the Director of Human Resources within 60 days of the filing of the complaint.

Please note: Any complaint determined by the Title IX coordinator to fall within the jurisdiction of the Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Policies and Procedures must be brought pursuant to that policy.

https://www.bennington.edu/current-students/student-handbook/policies-and-procedures/nondiscrimination-policy

And we also have this statement for staff and faculty:
Nondiscrimination Policy
Bennington College is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination as defined under applicable state and federal laws, including but not limited to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. The College does not discriminate in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, HIV test, or any other legally protected status. Complaints of any type of unlawful discrimination that do not fall within the Sexual Harassment Policy should be directed to Heather Faley, the director of Human Resources, whose office is located at Faculty Row #2, whose telephone number is 802-440-4423, and whose email address is hfaley@bennington.edu.

The director of Human Resources shall adjudicate any complaint of unlawful discrimination in a prompt and equitable manner, which will permit the complainant to make a written submission, to respond to any submission by the person complained against, to be given a written decision by the director of Human Resources, and to take a written appeal to the Vice President for Finance and Administration, whose decision, which will be rendered in writing, will be final. Except in extraordinary circumstances, such grievance shall be determined by the director of Human Resources within 60 days of the filing of the complaint.
Please note: Any complaint determined by the Title IX Coordinator to fall within the jurisdiction of the Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Policies and Procedures must be brought pursuant to that policy.

We are also working on DEI statements and updating our title IX policies.

DISCRIMINATION RESPONSE PROTOCOL: Incidents of basis should be reported to the Vice President for Institutional Inclusion, Equity and Leadership Development or the Assistant Director for the Office of Inclusion and Diversity. Sexual harassment and misconduct subverts the educational mission of Bennington College and threatens the wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff. Conduct, whether intentional or unintentional, that results in sexual harassment or misconduct is prohibited and will not be tolerated. Bennington College is committed to offering and providing support to individuals who have experienced, or know of someone who has experienced, an incident of sexual harassment or sexual assault. If the student is in immediate danger, Find a safe location and contact Campus Safety by dialing 767 (SOS) on campus or 802-447-4250 from any non-campus phone. Campus Safety staff will provide assistance to you and can help you make connections to medical, psychological, and other staff and resources, as needed. If the student is not in immediate need, If you want to talk to someone confidentially, contact Ali Tartaglia, Director of Student Health Promotion, at x4673 (HOPE) on campus or 802-440-4673 (HOPE) from any non-campus phone. Should you be unable to contact her immediately, leave a message and your call will be returned within six hours. On staff resources include: Ali Tartaglia, Director of Student Health Promotion, x4673 (HOPE) on campus or 802-440-4673 (HOPE). She is a resource for students who have experienced sexual misconduct. Ali can speak to someone about the process, provide assistance navigating services and offer assistance and support.
All clinical staff in Psychological Services (x4451; off campus 802-440-4451)
All clinical staff in Health Services (x4426; off campus 802-440-4426). Meredith McCoy is the Title IX coordinator.

For students, we have a partnership with the KIPP schools, a network of public charter schools that serve low income communities. We offer KIPP students opportunities to visit campus, enhanced need-based aid that meets their demonstrated need, and support of the students at Bennington in partnership with the KIPP organization. For both staff and faculty searches, the College is looking and advertising in a variety of different pools of candidates.

We have also provided expense-paid campus visits to BIPOC students, first-generation students, and low-income admitted students.

First, we have FLoW (first-generation, low-income, working-class) is a student focused, student led group that aims to provide community, resources, and support to those from FLoW backgrounds. FLoW hosts a variety of events on campus, check out our Facebook page—Bennington College FLoW—to stay updated. We have SEPC that is a student lead organization which coordinates student feedback with the Dean's office. We also have the Bennington College Student Union. There mission is this:A student government is an essential part of colleges and other educational institutions. Its purpose is to represent the student body in the decisions made by the administration, which directly affect not only our education, but our daily life on campus. The decision-making process of the administration is far from transparent, and does not take into consideration any input from the student body. Decisions about housing, field work term, health care and academic life are made exclusively by the Board of Trustees, where no student is present. The role of House Chairs, while previously being an elected position of student representation, is reduced to logistical tasks without any political significance. SEPC reps work with individual professors and specific departments, and do not have any say concerning the broader academic issues at hand. We need a student-run platform for representation and political action.

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For students, we have our Diversity in Healthcare Scholarships. The Diversity in Healthcare Scholarship aims to increase access to students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the field of medicine and other healthcare professions. Bennington is committed to attracting a diverse cohort of students to the postbac program. Scholarships are awarded based on merit, as identified by our admissions committee.