Sexual Misconduct

Concordia College is committed to a safe and healthy environment and as such will not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form. Sexual assault is a crime and sexual harassment is a violation of federal and state laws and both are violations of individual rights and dignity. Members of the Concordia community, guests and visitors have the right to be free from sexual misconduct. When an allegation of sexual misconduct is brought forward, and a respondent is found to have violated this policy, serious sanctions will be used to ensure that such actions are not repeated. All members of the community are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of others. The Concordia Sexual Misconduct Policy has been developed to reaffirm these principles and to provide recourse for those individuals whose rights have been violated.

DEFINITIONS

The requirements of this policy are blind to the sexual orientation or preference of individuals engaging in sexual activity. Sexual misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse: Intercourse however slight, meaning vaginal or anal penetration by a penis, object, tongue or finger, or oral copulation (mouth to genital contact or genital to mouth contact) without consent

Non-Consensual Sexual Touching: Intentional contact however slight with the breasts, buttock, groin, or genitals, or touching another with any of these body parts, or making another touch you or themselves with or on any of these body parts; any intentional bodily contact in a sexual manner, though not involving contact with/of/by breasts, buttocks, groin, genitals, mouth or other orifice without consent.

Sexual Exploitation: Occurs when a student takes non‐consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another for his/her own advantage or benefit, or to benefit or advantage anyone other than the one being exploited, and that behavior does not otherwise constitute one of other sexual misconduct offenses. Examples of sexual exploitation include, but are not limited to:

  • prostituting another student;
  • non‐consensual video or audio‐taping of sexual activity;
  • non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit messages, photos, or video electronically or otherwise;
  • going beyond the boundaries of consent (such as letting your friends hide in the closet to watch you having consensual sex);
  • engaging in peeping tommery;
  • knowingly transmitting an STI or HIV to another student.

CONSENT

In order for individuals to engage in sexual activity of any type with each other, there must be clear consent. Consent is sexual permission.

  • Consent is informed, knowing and voluntary. Consent is active, not passive. Silence, in and of itself, cannot be interpreted as consent. Consent can be given by words or actions, as long as those words or actions create mutually understandable permission regarding the conditions of sexual activity.
  • Consent to some form of sexual activity cannot be automatically taken as consent to any other sexual activity.
  • Silence‐without actions demonstrating permission‐‐cannot be assumed to show consent.
  • Consent cannot be inferred from a prior or existing sexual, romantic or marital relationship.
  • Consent cannot be procured by use of physical force, compelling threats, intimidating behavior, or coercion. Coercing someone into sexual activity violates this policy just as much as physically forcing someone into sex.
  • If you have sexual activity with someone you know to be‐‐or should know to be- mentally or physically incapacitated (by alcohol or other drug use, unconsciousness, sleep, blackout, or any other means), you are in violation of this policy. Incapacitation is a state where one cannot make a rational, reasonable decision because they lack the ability to understand the; who, what, when, where, why or how of their sexual interaction.

Use of alcohol or other drugs will never function to excuse behavior that violates this policy. If you were assaulted while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, your intoxicated state does not excuse the behavior of your attacker.

REPORTING

While it is the goal of Concordia College to be a community free of sexual assault, the College recognizes the need to respond when incidents occur. It is our first priority to provide support and services to the person or persons who are affected by the incident in effort to lessen the traumatic impact. The College cannot provide assistance if we are unaware of the assault so we encourage those who are involved or others aware of the event to report the incident. The College emphasizes the importance of reporting and has provided a variety of reporting options. It is also important to note that if you were assaulted while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, reporting this incident to the College will not result in disciplinary charges against you for policy violations related to chemical use. It is our first priority to have your report this incident and assist you through this difficult time.

Confidential Consultation:

If you desire that details of the incident be kept confidential, you should speak with on campus counselors, campus pastors, campus health service providers or off‐campus rape crisis resources, who will maintain confidentiality. Campus counselors are available to help you free of charge, and can be seen on an emergency basis.

Campus Reporting

When reporting to other members of our campus community (e.g. Faculty members, RAs, Hall Directors, advisors, etc.), most are not required to tell anyone else your private, personally identifiable information unless there is cause for fear for your safety, or the safety of others. Some of these resources, such as RAs, are instructed to share incident reports with their supervisors, but your personally identifiable information will not be shared further unless you give permission, except in the rare event that the incident reveals a need to protect you or other members of the community. If your personally identifiable information is shared, it will be shared with as few people as possible, and all efforts will be made to protect your confidentiality to the greatest extent.

If you have been assaulted, you are encouraged to speak to officials of the institution to make formal reports of incidents. Most commonly, these reports are taken in the Student Affairs office or the office of public safety. You have the right and can expect to have incidents of sexual misconduct taken seriously by the College when formally reported, and to have those incidents investigated and addressed through administrative procedures. Formal reporting does not mean that your report won't be kept private, but it does mean that people who need to know will be told, and information will be shared as necessary with investigators, witnesses, and the accused. The circle of people will be kept as tight as possible, to preserve your rights and privacy.

The college's decision to initiate disciplinary action will be influenced by the wishes of the reporting party and the results of an investigation. The disciplinary process will be explained and possible outcomes of the proceedings discussed prior to proceeding. The person bringing charges has the right to participate in the disciplinary hearing and be accompanied by a support person. Persons bringing charges have a right to be informed of the final outcome and sacntions resulting from any disciplinary proceedings. The college will support and assist throughout the process and preserve materials relevant to a campus disciplinary proceeding.

If the accused is a member of the campus community, the college will investigate the complaint and, in consultation with the reporting party, initiate appropriate disciplinary action against the accused, even in cases also being handled by civil authorities. The college will also, at the reporting party's request, shield him/her from unwanted contact with the alleged assailant by providing, if available and feasible, alternative college-owned housing and alternative classes.

The College reserves the right to take whatever measures it deems necessary in response to an allegation of sexual misconduct in order to protect students' rights and personal safety. Such measures include, but are not limited to, modification of living arrangements, interim suspension from campus pending a hearing, and reporting to the local police.

Not all forms of sexual misconduct will be deemed to be equally serious offenses, and the College reserves the right to impose differing sanctions, ranging from oral warning to expulsion, depending on the severity of the offense. The College will consider the concerns and rights of both the reporting party and the person accused of sexual misconduct.

Criminal Reporting:

Whenever sexual violence occurs, be it on or off campus, it is strongly recommended that those involved report the incident to the police. All are advised that the college will assist and support them through this process. At the direction of the police, the college will assist in obtaining, securing and maintaining evidence. The individual can report an incident to the police even if she/he does not wish to have charges filed. Whether or not criminal charges are filed depends, first and foremost, upon the wishes of the reporting party and secondly upon the decision by the county attorney on whether or not there are sufficient grounds to prosecute.

Federal Statistical Reporting Obligations

Certain campus officials have a duty to report sexual misconduct for federal statistical reporting purposes. All personally identifiable information is kept private, but statistical information must be passed along to the office of public safety regarding the type of incident and its general location (on or off‐campus, in the surrounding area, but no addresses are given), for publication in the annual Campus Security Report. This Report helps to provide the community with a clear picture of the extent and nature of campus crime, to ensure greater community safety. Mandated federal reporters include: student affairs, public safety, local police, coaches, athletic directors, residence life staff, student activities staff, human resources staff, advisors to student organizations and any other official with significant responsibility for student and campus activities.

Federal Timely Warning Reporting Obligations

It is important to note that College administrators must issue timely warnings for incidents reported to them that pose a substantial threat of bodily harm or danger to members of the campus community. The College will make every effort to ensure that the reporting person's name and other identifying information is not disclosed, while still providing enough information for community members to make safety decisions in light of the danger. The reporters for timely warning purposes are exactly the same as detailed at the end of the above paragraph.

SUMMARY

The college will continue its efforts to deal with the issue of sexual violence through education, counseling and appropriate disciplinary and/or legal action. All members of our campus community should take responsibility for preventing sexual violence, and, if it does occur, take appropriate action to report it to appropriate civil and college authorities.

The college offices of student affairs, counseling, health service and human resources have informational brochures available from the Minnesota Crime Victims Reparation Board and the Minnesota Office of Crime Victims Ombudsman.

CAMPUS RESOURCES

Counseling Center

Academy 106

(218) 299 3514

Kjos Health Center

N. Wing - Hoyum Hall

(218) 299-3662

Student Affairs & Residence Life

Lorentzsen Hall

(218) 299-3455 / (218) 299-3872

Public Safety

Knutson Campus Center - Campus Information Suite

(218) 299-3123

OTHER RESOURCES

Rape and Abuse Crisis Center

317 8th St North

Fargo, ND  58102

Phone: 701-293-7273 /1-800-344-7273

Fax: 701-293-9424

Email: info@raccfm.com (general information only-due to confidentiality, we are unable to respond to personal email inquiries related to abuse, please call)

Website: http://www.raccfm.com

(Some portions of this document have been incorporated (with permission) from the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management's Model Campus Sexual Assault Policy. http://www.ncherm.org/policies.html#CSM)

Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students