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Sexual Misconduct Policy

Clarion University is committed to creating an environment free of sexual harassment for all members of its University community. Sexual harassment encompasses all forms of sexual misconduct: sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, stalking, dating violence, domestic violence, and any sexual activity conducted without consent. Accordingly, Clarion University will not tolerate any form of sexual harassment and provides this policy to ensure its employees, students, and other members of the University community are not subjected to sexual harassment in any form.

OVERVIEW OF POLICY

The Clarion University Sexual Misconduct Policy and Complaint Procedures was recently revised in January 2017. The procedures described within the policy are applicable to any student, employee, or applicant for education programs or employment who believes that he/she has been the victim of sexual misconduct. You may also choose to reference the Title IX Brochure, which contains a synopsis of the information contained in the Sexual Misconduct Policy. 

If you have questions or concerns regarding student sexual misconduct, you can contact the Office of Judicial Affairs at 814-393-1918. You can also contact the Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Susanne Fenske, at sfenske@clarion.edu or 814-393-2351.

Complaints regarding student sexual misconduct can be submitted using the Incident Report Form

If you have questions or concerns regarding faculty/staff sexual misconduct, you can contact Amy Salsgiver, Director of the Office of Social Equity at Clarion University. The Director can be contacted at 814-393-2109 or asalsgiver@clarion.edu. You can also visit www.clarion.edu/socialequity for additional information. 

Complaints regarding faculty and/or staff sexual misconduct can be submitted using the Online Complaint Form.

EXAMPLES OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

  1. Amanda and Bill meet at a party. They spend the evening dancing and getting to know each other. Bill convinces Amanda to come up to his room. From 11:00pm until 3:00am, Bill uses every line he can think of to convince Amanda to have sex with him, but she adamantly refuses. He keeps at her, and begins to question her religious convictions, and accuses her of being “a prude.” Finally, it seems to Bill that her resolve is weakening, and he convinces her to give him a “hand job” (hand to genital contact). Amanda would never had done it but for Bill’s incessant advances. He feels that he successfully seduced her, and that she wanted to do it all along, but was playing shy and hard to get. Why else would she have come up to his room alone after the party? If she really didn’t want it, she could have left. Bill is responsible for violating the University Non-Consensual Sexual Contact policy. It is likely that campus decision-makers would find that the degree and duration of the pressure Bill applied to Amanda are unreasonable. Bill coerced Amanda into performing unwanted sexual touching upon him. Where sexual activity is coerced, it is forced. Consent is not valid when forced. Sex without consent is sexual misconduct.

  2. Jiang is a junior at the University. Beth is a sophomore. Jiang comes to Beth’s residence hall room with some mutual friends to watch a movie. Jiang and Beth, who have never met before, are attracted to each other. After the movie, everyone leaves, and Jiang and Beth are alone. They hit it off, and are soon becoming more intimate. They start to make out. Jiang verbally expresses his desire to have sex with Beth. Beth, who was abused by a babysitter when she was five, and has not had any sexual relations since, is shocked at how quickly things are progressing. As Jiang takes her by the wrist over to the bed, lays her down, undresses 19 her, and begins to have intercourse with her, Beth has a severe flashback to her childhood trauma. She wants to tell Jiang to stop, but cannot. Beth is stiff and unresponsive during the intercourse. Is this a policy violation? Jiang would be held responsible in this scenario for Non Consensual Sexual Intercourse. It is the duty of the sexual initiator, Jiang, to make sure that he has mutually understandable consent to engage in sex. Though consent need not be verbal, it is the clearest form of consent. Here, Jiang had no verbal or non-verbal mutually understandable indication from Beth that she consented to sexual intercourse. Of course, wherever possible, it is important to be as clear as possible as to whether or not sexual contact is desired, and to be aware that for psychological reasons, or because of alcohol or drug use, one’s partner may not be in a position to provide as clear an indication as the policy requires. As the policy makes clear, consent must be actively, not passively, given.

  3. Kevin and John are at a party. Kevin is not sure how much John has been drinking, but he is pretty sure it’s a lot. After the party, he walks John to his room, and John comes on to Kevin, initiating sexual activity. Kevin asks him if he is really up to this, and John says yes. Clothes go flying, and they end up in John’s bed. Suddenly, John runs for the bathroom. When he returns, his face is pale, and Kevin thinks he may have thrown up. John gets back into bed, and they begin to have sexual intercourse. Kevin is having a good time, though he can’t help but notice that John seems pretty groggy and passive, and he thinks John may have even passed out briefly during the sex, but he does not let that stop him. When Kevin runs into John the next day, he thanks him for the wild night. John remembers nothing, and decides to make a report to the Dean. This is a violation of the Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse Policy. Kevin should have known that John was incapable of making a rational, reasonable decision about sex. Even if John seemed to consent, Kevin was well aware that John had consumed a large amount of alcohol, and Kevin thought John was physically ill, and that he passed out during sex. Kevin should be held accountable for taking advantage of John in his condition. This is not the level of respectful conduct the University expects.

Last Updated 8/8/22