Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment occurs when a student engages in unwelcome conduct of a sexual or gender-based nature that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive so as to substantially interfere with an individual’s employment, education, or access to University programs, activities and opportunities, and such conduct would detrimentally affect a reasonable person under the same circumstances.

It also occurs when a student who has power or authority over another engages in:

• unwelcome sexual advances
• requests for sexual favors
• other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature

and submission to or rejection of such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of rating or evaluating an individual’s educational or employment progress, development, or performance.

Sexual harassment may include, but is not limited to:

• sexual advances
• requests for sexual favors
• sexual exploitation
• stalking
• dating violence, and domestic violence.

Sexual Harassment and Misconduct rises to the level of a violation of the Code of Conduct if it is determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the University’s Education Programs or Activities.

Unfortunately, sexual harassment also happens frequently on college campuses.

Behavioral examples:

Sexual harassment can be a single event or a pattern of behavior that occurs over time. These can be behaviors such as:

• Unwelcome patting, hugging, or touching a person's body, hair or clothing
• Unwelcome sexual jokes or comments
• Unwelcome inquiries about a person's sex life or sexual preferences
• Being repeatedly asked for a date after expressing disinterest

There is no such thing as a "typical" victim or harasser

The victim as well as the harasser can be any gender. The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, co-worker, a staff or faculty member. Harassers can even be individuals who are not employees, but engaging in harassing behaviors in the work environment. Also, a victim does not have to be personally harassed, but could be affected in a negative way by another person's offensive conduct.