Nondiscrimination and Anti-harassment Policy

II. Definitions

To the extent any of the following definitions overlap, the intent is that they be construed broadly and be illustrative in nature of the conduct prohibited by this Policy. If you have questions about these definitions or would like further explanations of these definitions, please contact the Title IX Coordinator or Deputy Title IX Coordinator.

1. Consent means each person involved in sexual activity has given knowing, willing, free, and clear permission to engage in the sexual activity or contact. Consent is an active and affirmative process. For more information on the College’s requirements regarding consent, see “Sexual Misconduct,” Section III.C.3 of this Policy.
2. Decisionmaker means an individual responsible for reaching a determination regarding responsibility of a report of harassment or discrimination pursuant to this Policy. The appellate decisionmaker means an individual responsible for reviewing an appeal of a determination regarding responsibility of a violation of this Policy.
3. Discrimination means treating a person (or group) unfavorably or differently because of that person’s (or group’s) race, creed, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, sexual preference, gender, gender identity or expression or perceived gender, pregnancy, or any other status protected under local, state or federal law.
4. Educational program or activity means locations, events, or circumstances over which the College exercised substantial control over both the Title IX Respondent and the context in which Title IX Sexual Harassment occurs, such as but not limited to any building owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the College.
5. Formal Complaint means a document signed and filed with the College by a Complainant, as defined in the Title IX Procedures, or signed by the Title IX Coordinator on behalf of the Complainant, alleging Title IX Sexual Harassment against a Respondent, as defined in the Title IX Procedures, and requesting that the College investigate the allegations of Title IX Sexual Harassment in accordance with the Title IX Procedures.
6. Harassment means verbal or physical conduct that is unwelcome and so severe or pervasive to create a work or educational environment under both an objective (e.g., a reasonable person’s view) and subjective (e.g., the subject of the alleged conduct’s view) standard that it has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a person’s (or group’s) academic or work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational or working environment, otherwise known as a “hostile environment”. Harassment may be a form of discrimination when it targets a person (or group of persons) on the basis of that person’s (or group’s) race, creed, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, sexual preference, gender, gender identity or expression or perceived gender, pregnancy, or any other status protected under local, state or federal law.
7. Reporting party means a person reporting an alleged violation(s) of this Policy or person to or against whom conduct prohibited by this Policy is directed. The subject of an alleged violation may or may not be the reporting party. The subject of an alleged violation may choose not to report the alleged violation or may otherwise not be the one who reports the alleged violation, but who nevertheless is the one who is able to participate in the procedures of and pursue the resources set forth in this Policy. For purposes of this Policy, the subject of an alleged violation will generally be referred to as the “reporting party”.
8. Responding party means the person reported to have engaged in an act(s) that may constitute a violation of this Policy.
9. Retaliation means any adverse or negative action or behavior taken against a person as a consequence of such person raising good faith concerns about conduct prohibited by this Policy; opposing discrimination, harassment or sexual misconduct; reporting, making a report or complaint, cooperating, and/or participating in any way in the College’s procedures under this Policy or the Title IX Procedures (including as a witness); or otherwise participating in a process administered by any other third party (including, for example, a criminal process or complaint with a government agency).
10. Sexual harassment
    1. Sexual harassment means any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s educational or employment endeavors (also referred to as “quid pro quo”); (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for decisions affecting that individual’s educational or employment endeavors; or (3) such conduct is sufficiently severe or pervasive to unreasonably interfere with an individual’s employment or academic performance under both an objective (e.g., a reasonable person’s view) and subjective (e.g., the subject of the alleged conduct’s view) standard or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational or working environment, otherwise known as a “hostile environment”. Sexual harassment may include, but is not limited to, unwelcome texts, phone calls, internet-based communications, or other electronic communications of a sexual nature; crude, obscene, or sexually offensive gestures or unwelcome sexual comments.
    2. “Title IX Sexual Harassment” means conduct that occurs in the United States within the educational program or activity of the College, including but not limited to sexual violence and stalking, which falls under the jurisdiction of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX Sexual Harassment will be remedied under the procedural requirements of the Title IX Procedures.
11. Sexual misconduct includes but is not limited to sexual harassment and Title IX Sexual Harassment; sexual violence, which may include intimate partner, dating and domestic violence; sexual assault; sexual exploitation; stalking; and any other form of gender-based discrimination or harassment.
12. Sexual violence means the act of committing any unwelcome or unwanted physical activity or contact of a sexual nature toward another person without their active consent or when a person is incapable of giving active consent. Sexual violence may be committed by force, intimidation or coercion, or when a person is otherwise incapable of giving active consent (g., due to the person’s substantial impairment by drugs or alcohol, or because a physical or psychological condition or impairment otherwise impairs a person’s judgment). Sexual violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse; intentionally violent and/or controlling or coercive behavior by a person against the other person; psychological abuse; or other types of conduct prohibited under this Policy. There are many types of sexual violence, including but not limited to the following:
    1. Dating or Domestic Violence
       1. Dating violence means violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the subject of the alleged violation as determined by (i) the length of the relationship, (ii) the type of relationship, and (iii) the frequency of the interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
       2. Domestic violence means violence committed by a current or former spouse of the other party or intimate partner, by an individual with whom the other party shares a child in common, by an individual who is cohabitating or previously cohabitated with the other person as a spouse or intimate partner, or by an individual similarly situated to a spouse of the other party (also known as common law marriage). Domestic violence also includes violence committed by one individual against the individual’s or the other party’s minor child.
    2. Sexual assault means any sexual contact or penetration (anal, oral or vaginal) with any body part or object of another person without their active consent or when a person is incapable of giving active consent. One type of sexual assault is rape, which is the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus, with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of a person, without the active consent of the other person. Another type of sexual assault is fondling, which is the touching of the intimate parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the active consent of the other person. Sexual assault also refers to any sexual act conducted with an individual who is under the age of legal consent or acts of incest.
13. Sexual exploitation means a person takes sexual advantage of another person without active consent for any purpose. Sexual exploitation can take many forms including, for example: photographing, videotaping, or audiotaping sexual activity or contact without active consent; sharing consensually obtained photographs, videotapes, or audiotapes with others without the consent of those involved (also known as revenge porn); invasion of sexual privacy; sexually-based bullying; sexually-based defamation and slander; engaging in behavior that is beyond the boundaries of the other person’s active consent (such as having a friend hide in the closet to watch you have sexual activity or contact with another person who is unaware that the friend is in the closet; live streaming sexual activity or conduct; ignoring established “safe words/actions”); exposing one’s intimate parts, such as genitalia, groin, breast and/or buttocks to someone without their active consent, including by electronic means (also referred to as indecent exposure); and prostituting another individual for personal gain.
14. Stalking means a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their own safety or the safety of another, or to suffer substantial emotional distress. The term “course of conduct” means two or more acts, including acts in which the alleged stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property. Stalking includes “cyber stalking,” a form of stalking that may be over an electronic medium such as the internet, mobile applications, social networks, blogs, cell phones, texts, or other similar devices. The term “reasonable person” is viewed as what a person in the same or similar circumstances would deem threatening.
15. Title IX Coordinator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator means the persons who oversee the College’s response to discrimination, harassment and retaliation reports and complaints, and other duties and responsibilities as required by law. The Title IX Coordinator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator and their contact information is: