Harassment and Discrimination - The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act addresses outright harassment, differential treatment and hostile environments.

Incidents of direct harassment based on race, color, or nationality, would be considered discrimination. Some examples of harassment include:

• Using racial slurs when speaking to a group;
• Mocking behavior about a race;
• Sabotaging the work, or ostracizing a student, because of their nationality; or
• Physical confrontation or violence.

Differential treatment occurs when:

1. Someone is treated differently, in a way that interferes with his or her ability to participate in a program;
2. That different treatment was based on race, color, or national origin; and
3. There was no "legitimate, non-discriminatory, non-pretextual basis for the different treatment."

For example, denying a student participation in a campus event because of their nationality would be a basis for a discrimination complaint.