A 24-hour “discrimination hotline” at NIU has been in operation since March, but NIU officials say the response has been minimal.

The hotline has received “between 10 and 15 calls” since the service started, Ombudsman Bertrand Simpson said.

Barbara Henley, assistant vice president for student affairs, said, “To my knowledge, there have not been many calls. We are fortunate in that sense. It could be a combination of three reasons: it’s new, it takes time for word to get around or the environment is more harmonious.”

The hotline is an attempt to create a centralized number for reports of discrimination on campus.

Calls to the hotline are handled by the ombudsman’s office during the weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and by staff members on the weekends and nights. The calls concern any form of discrimination—racial, sexual or handicap, Henley said.

Simpson said the lack of response might be because people do not know that they can call, the reason they can call or the results of calling.

“If the victim does not come forward, there is nothing we can do. It depends on the nature of the problem, or unwillingness to get involved. We haven’t been able to do anything yet. Most of the time we give them information on how to proceed,” Simpson said.

“If some student is being discriminated against by a faculty member, if the person comes forward, we can do something about punishing the offender.

“Let’s say a faculty member is discriminating against a student in class. Sanctions would be made after a hearing was held, evidence was found, and if the faculty member was found responsible, then the faculty member would be sanctioned.”

In the case of a student discriminating against another student, it is possible the offender could be expelled.

“We had one call where a student was upset about what was said about him in The Northern Star,” Henley said. “We had calls from students who received copies of The Thunderbolt (which some called a racially derogatory newspaper) on their doorsteps.

“A student reported discrimination by another student in a residence hall. Another called in about seeing a student beaten up in the parking lot of the recreation center.”

Simpson said, “We ask that callers tell us if they have seen an act of discrimination, experienced discrimination or have seen someone else experience something that might be of a discriminatory nature.

“Most of the callers have felt better after venting their frustrations and knowing how to proceed. Whether we have done enough is another question,” he said.