A Campus Adaptive Resolution Model Targeted at Yellow-Zone Behavior (Cultural Breaches)

Abstract

The usual campus responses to identity-based discrimination (gender, race, ethnicity, and pregnancy, for example) fail in addressing less severe forms of identity-based discrimination by mimicking adversarial processes found in the criminal justice system, focusing on formal investigation processes to address alleged violations. We advance a model that repairs yellow-zone behavior (cultural breaches) and argue that higher education campuses must look beyond traditional compliance-only responses toward an adaptable resolution model (ARM) grounded in restorative and mediation practices. An ARM model can mitigate and reduce yellow-zone behavior (cultural breaches) and related institutional betrayal and addresses harmful power dynamics.