Hostile work environment harassment is a situation in which the employer, a supervisor, a co-worker, or even a student does or says things that unreasonably interfere with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment because of his or her race, color, sex, religion, creed, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or handicapping condition. A hostile environment is one that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive and one that the particular person who is the object of the harassment perceives to be hostile or abusive. Hostile work environment is determined by looking at all of the circumstances, including the frequency of the allegedly harassing conduct, its severity, whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee's work performance. [...] Jokes, pictures, touching, leering, unwanted solicitations for a date, derogatory epithets, etc., have all been found by courts to be harassing.

If you need additional examples of unlawful harassment that could occur in our university working, learning, and living environment…

* demeaning photos, calendars, cartoons, or graphic content in areas where other University community members can view them
* telling racist, sexist, homophobic jokes that demean people because of their protected class membership
* commenting inappropriately on someone’s appearance
* repeatedly requesting dates from a person who clearly isn’t interested
* stating that people of one sex are inferior to people of the other sex or can’t perform their jobs as well as a result of their sex; labeling people and jobs due to sex or other protected class membership
* sexual innuendoes & comments
* direct or indirect threats or bribes for unwanted sexual activity
* intrusive sexually explicit questions
* sexually suggestive sounds or gestures
* touching, patting, pinching, stroking, squeezing, tickling or brushing against a person
* ogling or leering at a woman’s breast or a man’s derrière
* letters, notes, phone calls or material of a sexual nature
* using derogatory epithets and stories that stereotype people
* using slang words for people or for groups of people
* imposing religious beliefs

Racial harassment - a threat of personal injury or property damage that is racially
based, or other conduct (whether or not accompanied by verbal communication) that
has the effect of emphasizing race, color, or national origin in a manner deemed
offensive by a reasonable person, or that has the effect of creating an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive environment inside or outside the classroom.

Sexual harassment--unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or
conduct of a sexual nature when such conduct has the effect of emphasizing sexuality,
sexual identity, or sexual orientation in a manner offensive to a reasonable person, or
that has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment inside
or outside the classroom.

Harassment of other users may be the sending of unwanted messages or files. Violations include, but are not limited to: [...]
the sending of abusive or obscene messages via computers [....]

Use of computing facilities to send obscene or abusive messages.

The following areas are designated as Unscheduled Public Speaking areas: (a) Sanford Mall; (b) Durham Park; (c) the Duck Pond Field behind Trivette Hall; and (d) the open-air amphitheater adjacent to Plemmons Student Union are designated as the Unscheduled Public Speaking Areas on the University campus. These areas are available on a first-come first-served basis for noncommercial speech or assembly unless otherwise scheduled.

Requests for use of facilities for public speaking or peaceful assembly are granted for one-day only, with a maximum of no more than two days per semester. Requests for use of University facilities for public speaking or peaceful assembly must be made at least 24 hours in advance of the time period requested, unless allowed by special permission of the Vice Chancellor for Student Development. All requests must be made to the Vice Chancellor for Student Development or the Dean of Students.