Student Handbook 2023-2024

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are some additional examples of sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment is a form of prohibited sex discrimination. The College’s policies protect men and women equally from sexual harassment, including harassment by members of the same sex. Staff, faculty, and students are protected from sexual harassment by any other staff, faculty, student, or contractor. Examples of kinds of conduct that constitute sexual harassment include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Engaging in unwelcome sexual advances
  2. Leering or staring at someone in a sexual way, such as staring at a person’s breasts or groin
  3. Sending sexually explicit emails or text messages
  4. Telling unwelcome, sexually-explicit jokes
  5. Displaying sexually suggestive or lewd photographs, videos, or graffiti
  6. Making unwelcome and unwanted physical contact, such as rubbing, touching, pinching, or patting
  7. Making unwelcome and suggestive sounds, such as “cat calls” or whistling
  8. Commenting on a person’s dress in a sexual manner
  9. Making sexual gestures
  10. Repeatedly asking someone for a date after the person has expressed disinterest
  11. Giving unwelcome personal gifts such as flowers, chocolates, or lingerie that suggest the desire for a romantic relationship
  12. Telling another person of one’s sexual fantasies, sexual preferences, or sexual activities
  13. Commenting on a person’s body, gender, sexual relationships, or sexual activities
  14. Using sexually explicit profanity

2. What should I do if I have been sexually harassed?

The College encourages you to report sexual harassment as soon as possible. Ignoring sexual harassment does not make it go away. And delayed reporting may limit the College’s ability to investigate and remedy the sexual harassment.

If you are a student, you may report sexual harassment to the Title IX Coordinator. If you are the victim of sexual harassment that constitutes a crime, the College encourages you to also file a complaint with local law enforcement and to press charges.

You always have the option to directly confront the person that is harassing you. Sometimes, individuals are not aware that their behavior is offensive and quickly apologize and change the behavior once it is brought to their attention. However, you are not required or expected to confront your harasser prior to filing a complaint.

3. What are some additional examples of sexual violence/assault?

Sexual violence/assault is a form of prohibited sexual harassment. Sexual violence/assault includes physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is incapable of giving consent due to use of drugs and/or alcohol or to an intellectual or other disability. Examples of kinds of conduct that constitute sexual violence/assault include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. The use of force or coercion to effect sexual intercourse or some other form of sexual contact with a person who has not given consent
  2. Having sexual intercourse with a person who is unconscious because of drug or alcohol use
  3. Hazing that involves penetrating a person’s vagina or anus with an object
  4. Use of the “date rape drug” to effect sexual intercourse or some other form of sexual contact with a person
  5. One partner in a romantic relationship forcing the other to have sexual intercourse without the partner’s consent
  6. Exceeding the scope of consent by engaging in a different form of sexual activity than a person has consented to
  7. Groping a person’s breasts or groin on the dance floor or at a bar
  8. Knowingly transmitting a sexually transmitted disease such as HIV to another person through sexual activity
  9. Coercing someone into having sexual intercourse by threatening to expose his/her secrets
  10. Secretly videotaping sexual activity where the other party has not consented

4. What constitutes “consent” for purposes of sexual violence/assault?

Lack of consent is a critical factor in determining whether sexual violence/assault has occurred. Consent is informed, freely given, and mutually understood. Consent requires an affirmative act or statement by each participant. Consent is not passive.

  1. If coercion, intimidation, threats, and/or physical force are used, there is no consent.
  2. If a person is mentally or physically incapacitated or impaired by alcohol or drugs such that the person cannot understand the fact, nature, or extent of the sexual situation, there is no consent.
  3. If a person is asleep or unconscious, there is no consent.
  4. Consent to one form of sexual activity does not imply consent to other forms of sexual activity.
  5. Consent can be withdrawn. A person who initially consents to sexual activity is deemed not to have consented to any sexual activity that occurs after he or she withdraws consent.

5. What should I do if I am a victim of sexual violence/assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking?

Don’t blame yourself. These crimes are never the victim’s fault. Please contact the Title IX Coordinator as soon as possible for information on options and resources available to you. You may also wish to call local law enforcement (911 if emergency), or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE.

If you are the victim of sexual violence/assault, domestic violence, or dating violence, do everything possible to preserve evidence by making certain that the crime scene is not disturbed. Preservation of evidence may be necessary for proof of the crime or in obtaining a protection order. Victims of sexual violence/assault, domestic violence, or dating violence should not bathe, urinate, douche, brush teeth, or drink liquids until after they are examined and, if necessary, a rape examination is completed. Clothes should not be changed. When necessary, seek immediate medical attention at an area hospital and take a full change of clothing, including shoes, for use after a medical examination.

It is also important to take steps to preserve evidence in cases of stalking, to the extent such evidence exists. In cases of stalking, evidence is more likely to be in the form of letters, emails, text messages, etc. rather than evidence of physical contact and violence.

6. Can I make a complaint of sexual violence/assault against my boyfriend or girlfriend?

Anyone can commit sexual violence/assault, even if you and that person are in a romantic relationship. The critical factor is consent. If your boyfriend or girlfriend perpetrates a sexual act against you without your consent, such conduct constitutes sexual violence/assault, and you may make a complaint. This type of conduct and other types of conduct perpetrated by your boyfriend or girlfriend may also be classified as domestic violence or dating violence.

7. What should I do if I am sexually harassed by someone who is not a College student or employee?

The College’s policies protect you from sexual harassment by vendors, contractors, and other third parties that you encounter in your College learning, living, and employment environment. If you believe that you have been subject to conduct that violates these policies, you should report the sexual harassment just as if it were committed by a College student or employee.

8. What should I do if I am sexually harassed by a student, but we are off campus?

It is possible for off-campus conduct between College employees or students to contribute to a hostile working or academic environment or otherwise violate the College’s policies. You may make a complaint of sexual harassment even if the conduct occurs off-campus.

9. What should I do if I observe sex discrimination or sexual harassment, but it is not directed at me?

Anyone that witnesses sex discrimination or sexual harassment, even it is directed at someone else, can still feel uncomfortable and harassed. If you are a student and witness conduct that you believe constitutes sex discrimination or sexual harassment, please make a complaint in the same manner as if the conduct was directed against you. If you are an employee or staff member of the College, it is your duty to report conduct that constitutes sex discrimination or sexual harassment.

10. What is the role of the Title IX Coordinator?

The Title IX Coordinator oversees the College’s compliance with Title IX and receives inquiries regarding Title IX, including complaints of sex discrimination and sexual harassment. The Title IX Coordinator has received special training on the College’s policies and procedures pertaining to sex discrimination and sexual harassment, and is available to answer questions about those policies and procedures, respond to complaints, and assist you in identifying other resources to aid in your situation.

11. If I make a complaint of sex discrimination or sexual harassment, will it be treated confidentially?

The College will take reasonable and appropriate steps to preserve the confidentiality of the parties to the complaint and to protect the confidentiality of information gathered during the investigation. However, the College has an obligation to provide a safe and non-discriminatory environment for all students and employees. Therefore, no unconditional promises of confidentiality can be provided.

12. Who is typically involved in investigating a complaint of sex discrimination or sexual harassment?

The College’s Title IX Coordinator or his/her designee will be involved in investigating complaints of sexual harassment. The Title IX Coordinator may appoint another member of the staff to investigate and resolve the complaint. The process of gathering evidence will necessarily require the involvement of the complainant, the respondent, and any witnesses to the incident that gave rise to the complaint. In sum, it will involve those persons necessary to fairly and completely investigate the complaint and resolve it.

13. What are the possible outcomes of an investigation into a complaint?

The outcome will be determined based on the totality of the evidence using a preponderance of the evidence standard. If the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the incident occurred, then the complaint is resolved in favor of the accused. If, however, the preponderance of the evidence supports that sex discrimination or sexual harassment occurred, the actions taken by the College will include those necessary to maintain an environment free from discrimination and harassment and to protect the safety and well-being of the complainant and other members of the College Community. Such actions will also include reasonable steps to correct the effects of such conduct on the complainant and others and to prevent the recurrence of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Examples of such action include: no-contact orders, classroom reassignment, the provision of counseling or other support services, training, and discipline for the perpetrator, including up to termination, expulsion, or other appropriate institutional sanctions.

14. May I have a support person with me in the investigation process?

During the investigation process, both a complainant and a respondent may ask a support person to accompany him or her at all stages of the process. In cases involving multiple complainants or respondents, the support person cannot be another complainant or respondent. The support person does not serve as an advocate on behalf of the complainant or respondent, may not be actively involved in any proceedings, and he or she must agree to maintain the confidentiality of the process.

15. What should I do if I am retaliated against for making a complaint of sex discrimination or sexual harassment?

The College’s Title IX: Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy prohibits retaliation against any person for making a good faith complaint of sex discrimination or sexual harassment and/or cooperating in the investigation of (including testifying as a witness to) such complaint. Retaliation is a serious violation that can subject the offender to sanctions independent of the merits of the underlying allegation of sex discrimination or sexual harassment. If you feel you are the victim of retaliation in violation of this policy, you should report the retaliation just as you would a complaint of sex discrimination or sexual harassment.

16. How does the College handle a bad faith allegation of sex discrimination and sexual harassment?

A bad faith allegation of sex discrimination or sexual harassment occurs when the accuser intentionally reports information or incidents that he or she knows to be untrue. Failure to prove a complaint of sex discrimination or sexual harassment is not equivalent to a bad faith allegation. The College may impose sanctions against an individual who knowingly makes false allegations of sex discrimination or sexual harassment.