Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures

Relevant Excerpt

Harassment: For purposes of this Policy, “harassment” is defined as any type of behavior which is based on an individual’s or group’s membership in a “protected class(es)” that is: (a) unwelcome and (b) offensive when:

1) Submission to the conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term of the individual’s employment or participation in an education program or activity;
2) Submission to or rejection of the conduct is used as a basis for employment or academic decisions or advancement; or
3) Such conduct unreasonably creates a work or academic environment that a reasonable person would perceive to be abusive or hostile.

The alleged conduct need not be severe or pervasive. The university considers the totality of the circumstances when assessing whether the alleged conduct unreasonably creates an abusive or hostile work or academic environment from the perspective of a reasonable person. This includes consideration of whether the unwelcome and offensive conduct unreasonably interferes with, limits, or deprives a member of the community of the ability to participate in or to receive benefits, services or opportunities from the university’s education or employment programs and/or activities. Although the alleged conduct need not be severe or pervasive in order to constitute an unreasonably hostile or abusive environment, the heightened seriousness of alleged severe or pervasive conduct will be considered during OIE’s process.
Harassment when directed at an individual because of their membership in a “protected class(es)” may include, but is not limited to:
• Conduct, whether verbal, physical, written, graphic, or electronic that threatens, intimidates, offends, belittles, denigrates, or shows an aversion toward an individual or group;
• Epithets, slurs, and/or negative stereotyping, jokes, or nicknames;
• Written, printed, or graphic material that contains offensive, denigrating, and/or demeaning
comments, and/or pictures; and
• The display of offensive, denigrating, and/or demeaning objects, e-mails, text messages, and/or
cell phone pictures.