Appendix P: Harassment and Discrimination Policy (Including Sexual Harassment)

Every College staff member, faculty member, and student has the right to work and study in an environment free from discrimination and harassment and should be treated with dignity and respect. The College prohibits discrimination and harassment against applicants for employment or admission, students, faculty, or staff on the basis of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, status as a veteran, or any other classification protected by local, state or federal law, as applicable.

The College's policy against discrimination and harassment ("Policy") incorporates protections afforded by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination in educational programs and activities based on gender. The Policy also incorporates all other local, state, and federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Any individual whose conduct violates the Policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination for the faculty and staff and expulsion for students.

Harassment is the creation of a hostile or intimidating environment, in which verbal or physical conduct, because of its severity and/or persistence, is likely to interfere significantly with an individual's work or education, or affect adversely an individual's work or living conditions on campus. Illegal and improper harassment of individuals who are in any of the protected classifications identified above may include, for example:

• Making unwelcome or offensive comments about a person's clothing, body, or personal life;
• Use of unwelcome or offensive nicknames or terms of endearment;
• Offensive jokes or unwelcome innuendoes;
• Any suggestion that sexual favors, or status as being in any protected classification identified above, would affect one's job, promotion, performance evaluations, grades, working, or educational conditions; or
• Other conduct that creates a work or educational environment that may be considered offensive or hostile, even though some employees or students might not find it objectionable.

Sexual harassment, in particular, may consist of unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct when one or more of the following occur:

• Submission to or rejection of such conduct is made a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic success;
• Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment or academic decisions; or
• Such conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work or educational environment.

The Policy is about human respect, dignity, and compliance with laws pertaining thereto. Nothing herein is intended to inhibit the faculty in its pursuit of free inquiry or the teaching of, or use of material concerning, topics that may be deemed offensive by some, but that have a legitimate academic and intellectual purpose. In some instances creating an uncomfortable environment challenging prejudices and preconceptions may serve a legitimate educational purpose. Nothing in the Policy is intended to diminish the College's commitment to academic freedom or freedom of expression, each of which is essential to the work of an educational institution.

The College has designated the Director of Human Resources as its representative to handle issues arising under the Policy, including Title IX. Individuals who need further information or clarification of the Policy should contact the Director of Human Resources directly. Staff, faculty, students, and others protected hereby who feel they have suffered discrimination or harassment in violation of the Policy should follow the Complaint Resolution Procedure below.