'From Hatred to Healing'
Council approves hate crime policy
By Sarah Strandberg
A policy dealing with hate crimes the Decorah Human Rights Commission devoted more than a year developing was adopted by the Decorah City Council Monday night.
"You've spent a considerable amount of time on this," Mayor Don Arendt told Commission member Guy Nave, who presented the policy.
"There was quite a bit of thought and deliberation," Nave said of the process of developing the document, titled "From Hatred to Healing - internal procedures for handling hate incidents."
Work on the policy began following "several incidents of intolerance" in the fall of 2008, Nave said.
"It prompted a call to action by Luther and the city to mobilize a response to such incidents," he explained.
"Acts of hate and hate crimes are an assault on our community's values and undermine our quality of life. Such acts erode our sense of security and create an unwelcoming and hostile environment for people and groups of people who are targeted," Nave said.
Purpose
The purpose of the hate-crime policy states: "The city's intention is to respond to acts of hatred, including hate crimes, in a responsive, coordinated manner, with the unequivocal message that such acts will not be tolerated in Decorah. This plan is intended to provide internal, procedural guidelines for city officials responding to acts of hatred based on bias, racism and bigotry. It is intended to be a work in progress and reflects the need for a wide range of governmental and community participation."
The policy is patterned after a hate-crime policy in Dubuque, according to Nave.
2008 incident
The primary incident that prompted the policy involved two Luther College international students who were physically assaulted while walking home from a tavern Sept. 21, 2008. Their assailant also made derogatory remarks before and during the assaults.
After the incident, a listening session was held on the Luther Campus where students shared experiences that made them feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, unaccepted and unsafe both on campus and in the in the community.
Luther President Richard Torgerson then issued a joint statement with Sheila Radford-Hill, the college's Diversity Center director, admonishing those responsible for harassing and harmful conduct and calling on the larger Decorah community to help mobilize a public response to such events.
The Decorah Human Rights Commission, established by the Decorah City Council in the fall of 2005, began exploring a coordinated community response to incidents of hate crime and hate acts that led to the policy adopted Monday night. Council member Karen Tjossem said she and the rest of the Council are grateful for the Commission's work.
"They've been very studious," Arendt added.
Policy
The hate-crime policy sets three goals: "To provide safety and quality for residents of and visitors to the city of Decorah and maintain a positive and inclusive community environment; identify or create systems to rapidly mobilize and coordinate existing governmental and community resources to respond appropriately to acts of bias, hatred or bigotry; and provide appropriate, timely and comprehensive support to victims of acts of hatred, bias or bigotry."
The policy defines an act of hatred as "an act committed against a person or property that includes indicators of hate or bias against the actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, organization affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, age or disability of the victim."
The policy differentiates between criminal and non-criminal acts of hate and bias. It also sets out strategies and actions for dealing with each.
In addition, the policy includes proactive steps to minimize acts of hatred or their impact.
It states: "The Human Rights Commission and appropriate city representatives may develop a public relations campaign that demonstrates our community's intolerance of hate acts, while promoting the benefits of cultural diversity."
