NON-DISCRIMINATION AND ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY & COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 15, 2017

Examples of conduct that may violate this Policy include the use of epithets, slurs, jokes, stereotyping, or intimidating or hostile acts directed at any individual because of his/her protected class status, as well as the failure to provide equal consideration, acknowledgment or access to educational opportunities to equally qualified individuals. Harassment does not have to include intent to harm or be directed at a specific target. Prohibited harassment may involve a single episode or ongoing behavior depending on the severity of the issue. Further, this Policy forbids not only verbal harassment but also harassment in any medium, including email and electronic social media.

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Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome or unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, physical, demonstrative, or electronic conduct or communication of a sexual nature when: … 3) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance or participation in a University program, department or extra-curricular activity; or 4) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working, learning, studying, or school environment.

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Examples of conduct which may constitute sexual harassment include, but are not limited to: verbal comments of an overtly sexual nature, whether in the form of jokes, innuendoes, slurs, or other statements; the use of sexual teaching materials or comments of a sexual nature not relevant to the material being taught or any other academic purpose; remarks of a sexual nature about an individual’s clothing or body; remarks speculating about an individual’s sexual orientation, activity or previous sexual experiences; verbal harassment or abuse of a sexual nature; making offensive gender-based remarks; the display or transmission of sexually offensive objects, photographs, drawings, graffiti, email, electronic social media communications, computer graphics or programs when sexual content is not relevant to any academic purpose; non-verbal behaviors of a sexually degrading or offensive nature, such as gesturing, or leering; unwanted touching, hugging, or brushing against an individual’s body; requests, demands or persistent pressure for sexual favors, particularly when accompanied by an offer of rewards or threats of retaliation concerning work, grades, promotions, tenure or any other academic or University-related decision; and sexual abuse/assault (“sexual violence”).

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Anti-Bullying and Hazing Policy for Students

Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies
Last updated: September 15, 2017

Bullying refers to any form of physical, verbal, demonstrative, or electronic harassment that one should reasonably expect would demean, threaten, or physically or emotionally hurt its victims or others. It can be of a sexual nature or otherwise. It can take place in person, over the phone, in cyberspace, or through an on-line communication, or any other means. It can be one-on-one or group-based.

Examples of conduct that may constitute prohibited bullying include, but are not limited to:

• Threatening another with physical harm;
• Pushing, elbowing, poking, tripping, sitting on, kicking, or hitting;
• Demeaning others’ intellectual ability, academic performance, or grade level; and
• Using one’s position of power to coerce or intimidate another person in any way.

Additional examples of conduct that may constitute prohibited bullying include: (i) taunting others because of their physical traits including, but not limited to, age, voice, height, weight, athletic skill, or any other personal characteristic; (ii) taunting others about their social skills, e.g., making jokes at the expense of someone socially awkward; (iii) taunting others either verbally or using gestures about their actual or perceived sexual orientation; (iv) taunting others about their actual or perceived race, color, or national origin; (v) using derogatory terms to refer to someone’s race or ethnic background; (vi) excluding someone from a group or activity purposely to hurt them, e.g., refusing to let someone sit at a particular lunch table; (vii) damaging, hiding, taking of property; (viii) calling someone offensive or demeaning names; (ix) making jokes involving offensive stereotypes; (x) posting on Facebook, or any other on-line social networking site, mean, offensive, demeaning, embarrassing, or threatening comments or images; (xi) texting, whether individually or as a group, mean, offensive, demeaning, embarrassing, or threatening comments or images; (xii) creating fake web pages or fake profiles or assuming another’s identity in any social media context to create content likely to cause embarrassment or concern; (xiii) spreading mean and hurtful rumors verbally or on-line; and (xiv) creating offensive graffiti.

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Undergraduate Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: September 15, 2017

Students have the right to examine and exchange diverse ideas, consistent with the mission of the University, in an orderly, respectful and lawful manner inside and outside the classroom.

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Undergraduate Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 15, 2017

Students have the right to an environment that is conducive to learning and without unreasonable concerns for personal safety. Behavior which is intimidating, threatening, or hostile to individuals or groups is therefore regarded as a serious offense. Abusive or harassing behavior, verbal or physical, which demeans, threatens, or injures another is subject to University Disciplinary Action.

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Undergraduate Student Disciplinary Procedures

Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: September 15, 2017

Prohibited behavior includes acts that are dishonest, immoral, or unlawful; that cause damage to property or harm to oneself or to others; or that bring discredit or shame upon the institution.

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