MD Youth NAACP sounds alarm on bias incidents involving SU student at USM Hagerstown Campus
HAGERSTOWN, Md. – The Maryland Youth NAACP is raising concerns over incidents at the Salisbury University Master of Social Work Program at USM Hagerstown Campus.
Maryland Youth NAACP President Dorien Rogers says the organization has been made aware of several bias-based incidents between faculty and students in the school’s social work program. Rogers calls the incidents, and how they were handled, a troubling lack of accountability.
“It’s not just the issue of faculty conduct; it’s an issue of the very system that’s allowing the faculty misconduct to continue to transpire,” said Rogers.
According to the group, and internal documents obtained by 47 ABC WMDT, one student at the school during the fall of 2023 submitted a formal complaint against a professor in the social work department. The student alleged instances of microaggressions, and harassment in-person, via text, and over social media from one of the professors.
Those behaviors included “calling on Black students and giving examples that only fit the stereotypical black student, in comparison to their other peers when it pertains to interaction,” Rogers said. “The professor went so far as to harass a student.”
However, the school’s Office of Institutional Equity declined to move forward with the complaint. School officials said that even if the conduct was substantiated, the behavior would not rise to the level of conduct violations.
According to Rogers, the school also labeled the student the “aggressor” in the action, despite no counterclaim from the professor. The student was served with a no-contact order with the faculty member. Rogers says that represents an institutional failure.
“The very systems that we’re referring to, even though it’s on paper, are supposed to be pushing for equity, pushing for fairness, there’s bias and framing the person, bringing it forward,” Rogers said. “Especially when it’s a person of color, as if they did something wrong, when they’re the one coming forward to file and expose themselves and be vulnerable.”
The school must establish a task force to make sure that the school conduct policies and DEI practices are consistent across campuses, and that there are internal reviews of cases from all departments.
Rogers tells 47 ABC WMDT that the student has since filed a claim with the Council on Social Work Education’s Department of Accreditation and the Middle
States Commission on Higher Education. According to Rogers, both organizations are expected to release their findings within the next two weeks.
In response, Salisbury University issued the following statement to 47ABC:
“Salisbury University has been made aware of concerns regarding SU students at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown and is working to investigate these allegations as we continue our goal of ensuring open, inclusive and welcoming learning spaces for all students.
Diversity and inclusivity are at the core of SU’s vision, mission and values. We have an unwavering commitment to serving all students regardless of background, and we promote diversity, equity and inclusion in an effort to prepare students for an inclusive workforce.
We encourage SU students at our partner campuses to take advantage of SU’s online resources and let University representatives know if their needs are not being met. Our aim is to give each SU student the best possible experience, regardless of their physical location.”
