Policy Against Harassment

Gustavus Adolphus College aspires to be a community of persons from diverse backgrounds who respect and affirm the dignity of all people. As such, and consistent with our core values and civic responsibilities, respect for each individual is central to how we conduct our work and build relationships within our community. Therefore, harassment, discrimination, and behavior that fail to respect the dignity of another are not compatible with this shared vision of our identity and mission as a liberal arts, residential, Lutheran college.

The policy of Gustavus Adolphus College is that every employee has the right to work and every student has the right to study in an environment free from harassment. Harassment based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation (in accordance with provision of the Minnesota Human Rights Act), natural origin, disability, age, or any other protected class status, may violate state and federal law; it also subverts the educational mission and undermines the sense of community of Gustavus Adolphus College. The College will not tolerate harassment of any member of the College community. Any person who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination/dismissal.

Harassment consists of unwelcome or offensive conduct, whether verbal, physical, or visual, that is based on a protected group status. The College will not tolerate harassing conduct that:

Affects tangible job or academic benefits;
Interferes unreasonably with an employee's work performance or a student's academic progress or success;
Creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

Such harassment may include, for example:

Epithets, slurs or negative stereotypes;
Intimidating or hostile acts based upon protected classification;
Written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion to persons of a protected classification and that is posted or circulated on College property.

Any behavior of a sexual nature that is unwelcome, offensive, or fails to respect the rights and dignity of others may constitute sexual harassment. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other physical, verbal, or visual conduct based on sex constitute sexual harassment when:

Submission to the conduct is an explicit (clear) or implicit (implied) term or condition of employment or academic progress;
Submission to or rejection of the conduct is used as the basis for an employment or academic decision and the conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or academic progress or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or academic environment.

Sexual harassment is conduct based on sex, whether directed towards a person of the opposite or same sex. The following are examples of sexual harassment. Please note that these are not the only examples.

Use of demeaning terms that draw attention to an individual's sex or sexuality;
Use of words of a sexual nature describing body parts or sexual acts, telling suggestive jokes or stories, and conversations about sexual exploits or sexual desires;
Repeated unwelcome invitations to social engagements or work- or school-related activities;
Any indication that an employee's job security, job assignment, conditions of employment, or opportunities for advancement or a student's academic progress or success depend on the granting of sexual favors to any other employee, supervisor, or faculty member;
Offensive physical conduct or physical closeness;
Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, cartoons, or representations of any action or subject which is sexual in nature and which can be perceived as offensive.

In light of the power differential inherent in the relationship between faculty and students and between a supervisor and subordinate and the potential for either intentional or unintentional misuse of that professional power differential, the College strongly discourages romantic and/or sexual relationships between faculty and students, between staff and students, or between supervisors and subordinates. It should be noted that in such cases "consent" may not constitute a defense.

Any member of the College community who believes that she or he has experienced or witnessed harassment or who has been accused of harassment is encouraged to contact a Harassment Adviser. To locate the names of Harassment Advisers, interested parties may contact the Human Resources Department, the Office of the Provost, or the Office of the Dean of Students. Such Harassment Advisers are persons designated by the College who are trained to provide advice and personal support to any person who believes she or he may have either experienced or witnessed harassment or been accused of harassment. In all circumstances, the Harassment Adviser will explain the procedure for filing a complaint of harassment with a Harassment Grievance Officer. A Harassment Grievance Officer is designated by the College to conduct a fair and impartial investigation of the reported situation or incident and to either mediate an informal resolution satisfactory to all parties, or to present a recommendation for action to an appropriate College officer. A person who believes that she or he has experienced harassment may, at his or her choice, take the concern directly to a Harassment Grievance Officer. Harassment Grievance Officers can be located by contacting the Human Resources Department, the Office of the Provost, or the Office of the Dean of Students.

In certain circumstances the Harassment Adviser may seek to facilitate an informal resolution between the parties involved without moving the process to a Harassment Grievance Officer. This will only be done, however, if both parties to the complaint find this resolution acceptable. If an informal resolution is reached, the Harassment Adviser will file a summary report with the Harassment Grievance Officer to be kept on file. If this informal resolution cannot be reached, either the complainant or the Harassment Adviser will refer the case to the Harassment Grievance Officer.

If the Harassment Adviser has reason to believe that the complaining party may have been sexually assaulted, the complainant will be directed to the separate Gustavus Adolphus College Policy on Sexual Assault.

The person making the complaint will meet the Harassment Grievance Officer to provide a detailed description of the alleged harassment. The complainant may wish to be accompanied by a Harassment Adviser or another support person during these preliminary discussions with the Harassment Grievance Officer.

An individual who talks with a Harassment Grievance Officer, a Harassment Adviser, or any other agent of the College about harassment which he or she may have experienced or witnessed, must understand that under some circumstances the individual receiving the report may be required by state and federal law, as well as by College policy, to pursue a complaint by the process described in this policy even if the person making the allegation does not wish to do so.

Upon receipt of a complaint, the Harassment Grievance Officer will provide the accused with written notification detailing the specific charges. The writing need not be created by the

complaining party but may be created by the Harassment Grievance Officer after ascertaining the nature of the complaint. The accused has the right to respond in writing. The ability of the accused to respond in writing, however, does not relieve the accused of the responsibility to meet with the Harassment Grievance Officer and to provide oral information.

A function of the Harassment Grievance Officer is to receive and investigate harassment complaints.
The investigation may be terminated whenever a resolution is found that is acceptable both to the person bringing the complaint and to the person against whom the allegations were made.
Upon concluding the investigation, the Harassment Grievance Officer will keep on file a written report of the incident, including the written statement of charges (see above), the written response of the accused, if any, and a summary of the investigation and the Harassment Grievance Officer's conclusions.
The Harassment Grievance Officer will forward a report of the investigation and a recommendation for action to the appropriate College officer (usually the Provost or a Vice President) for implementation. The report of the Harassment Grievance Officer will include the written response (if any) of the accused to the written statement of charges.

The College officer receiving the Harassment Grievance Officer's report (usually the Provost, the Dean of Students, or the supervising Vice President in the case of complaints involving administration and staff) will determine what disciplinary action, if any, is warranted.

If the Provost concludes that a minor or major sanction is warranted against a member of the faculty, appropriate sections of the Faculty Manual will apply.
If the Dean of Students concludes that disciplinary action is warranted against a student, appeal will be available to the College Appeals Board. In the case of expulsion, a final appeal is available to the President.
If a supervising Vice President concludes that disciplinary action is warranted against a member of the staff or administration or any other person who is neither a student nor a faculty member, a recommendation will be made to the President.

If no action is warranted, the College officer will write a summary report for the Harassment Grievance Officer.

Every effort will be made to deal with harassment complaints in a sensitive, discreet and timely manner that respects the rights of both the complainant and the accused and that observes the legal and moral obligations of the institution.

At any time during the mediation or investigation of a harassment complaint, a complainant may request that the College provide relief from intimidating work, classroom, or living situations which relate specifically to the alleged harassment. The College reserves the right to determine what kind of relief is reasonable.

No person who makes a complaint or cooperates in the investigation shall be subject to any form of retaliation. It is a separate violation of this policy to retaliate against a person who files a complaint or cooperates in an investigation. Any person engaging in such reprisals will be subject to severe sanctions. Cooperating with an investigation, however, will not prevent discipline as appropriate for an individual who is found to have violated this policy.

Revised June 2008.