UWS Pol Introduces Bills To Combat Bigotry On Campus

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Upper West Side and Morningside Height's new Assemblymember, Micah Lasher, just sponsored a group of bills to curb harassment and discrimination on college campuses.

Lasher said the group of bills was created in response to recent antisemitism on campuses, but that the bills are aimed at preventing and responding to harassment and discrimination of all students, not just Jewish students.

“Every student deserves to feel safe and secure on campus, but for far too many, that is not the reality today,” Lasher, who has Columbia University in his district, said. "The State of New York must use every tool at its disposal to protect our kids, and that’s what we are doing with this legislation."

The first bill, called the Assuring College Campus and Educational Safety and Support (ACCESS) Act, requires colleges and universities to establish rules against discriminatory harassment and create penalties for violating them, as well as prevent people not affiliated with the school from taking part in any form of harassment on campus, among other things.

The first bill was sponsored by both Lasher and Queens Senator Leroy Comrie.

The second bill in the package, sponsored by Senator Toby Ann Stavisky and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, both of Queens, would require every college and university in the state to add a Title VI coordinator that would promote equal access to education and services for students.

Title VI is a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program receiving federal financial assistance.

Both bills are being reviewed by the Senate's higher education committee.

Learn more about the first bill here and the second bill here.

Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.