Sexual Misconduct Policy

Hofstra University urges you to read and understand the following information. No form of Sexual Misconduct will be tolerated at Hofstra University. Sexual Misconduct may vary in severity and consists of a range of behaviors that includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other unwelcome verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile environment. Sexual Misconduct includes sexual harassment, sexual violence and sexual assault, including rape, acquaintance rape, and other forms of nonconsensual sexual activity. Many forms of Sexual Misconduct are criminal behaviors and all create an environment contrary to the goals and mission of the University. Either a male or a female may be a victim or perpetrator of Sexual Misconduct.

Specific forms of Sexual Misconduct include but are not limited to:

Non-Consensual Sexual Contact: Any intentional sexual touching without consent.
Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse: Any sexual penetration (anal, oral, or vaginal), however slight, with any object or body part, without consent.
Sexual Exploitation: Taking abusive or non-consensual sexual advantage of another. Examples include:
- Taking or transmitting sexual photographs, videos or audiotapes without consent, or causing or permitting others to take or transmit such photographs, videos, or audiotapes without consent. This includes transmitting photographs or videos via the Internet or text message (“sexting”) without consent.
- Watching another engage in sexual activity or contact without consent; viewing another nude without consent (e.g. watching someone in the shower without consent); allowing a third party to observe sexual acts without a partner’s consent.
- Prostituting another student
Sexual or Gender-based harassment, which includes
- Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors; and
- Other verbal, nonverbal, or physical acts of a sexual nature, or of aggression, intimidation or hostility based on sex or sex-stereotyping even if not of a sexual nature

that create a hostile environment that interferes with or limits a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the University’s programs.

Consent: Consent means the active, knowing, and voluntary agreement to engage in an activity. Actions are performed without consent where:

A person is coerced to participate through force or threats of force.
A person is unable to consent for reasons including but not limited to:
- Use of alcohol or other drugs
- Physical or mental disability or other incapacitation
- Age

Silence, in and of itself, cannot be interpreted as consent. It is the responsibility of the person who initiates sexual contact to be sure that the person with whom they are involved has consented.

New York State Law

Rape, sexual abuse, and other nonconsensual sex offenses are serious crimes under New York state law. Rape is committed when any person engages in sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion; or not by forcible compulsion when the victim is physically, mentally or legally incapable of giving consent. Other sexual offenses under New York state law involve unwelcome physical contact with a person’s genitals, buttocks or breasts. In all cases, the force need not be overtly violent; the threat of force when it places a person in fear of physical injury or kidnapping may be sufficient. Criminal penalties in New York for all such acts vary according to the circumstances, but can include prison sentences of up to 25 years.

Hofstra Disciplinary Action

Any violation of the Sexual Misconduct Policy is also considered a violation of the Student Conduct Code. A Hofstra student who is found to have committed rape, sexual assault or any other Sexual Misconduct is subject to disciplinary action that can include probation, suspension or expulsion. Rape and certain other criminal sexual acts are felonies. Any student charged with a felony may be summarily suspended from Hofstra University pending the adjudication of those charges.

Alcohol and Other Drugs

It is important for members of the campus community to be aware that there can be serious legal consequences for certain sexual conduct. In a campus setting, Sexual Misconduct often occurs when one or both parties are in an impaired state from alcohol or other drugs. Therefore, it is important to understand that intercourse or other sexual activity with a person who is unable to give free and full consent (e.g., because of intoxication, substance abuse or intimidation) may constitute sexual assault or rape. Furthermore, the offender’s use of a mind-altering substance does not in any way diminish his or her responsibility for physically or psychologically abusive behavior.

The University’s primary concern is student safety. Students should not hesitate to report incidents of Sexual Misconduct because violations of drug and alcohol policies were involved.

Please note that the University may be obligated to investigate allegations of Sexual Misconduct and take appropriate action, even if the complainant does not wish to pursue the disciplinary process, but any response by the University may be hindered by the complainant’s wishes for anonymity and/or inaction.

Educational Programs

You are the key to your personal safety on campus and in the community. We encourage you to attend educational programs that promote the awareness of rape, acquaintance rape, and other forcible and non-forcible sex offenses. Furthermore, mandatory programs are conducted for first-year students during New Student Orientation and in the residence halls throughout the academic year. These programs are open to the entire Hofstra community. Other programs on sexual assault are offered throughout the year including: Domestic Violence Week, Personal Safety Week, Alcohol Awareness Week, etc. The Dean of Students Office is happy to co-sponsor programs for any student/organization to educate its members on this topic. For additional information please contact the Dean of Students Office at (516) 463-6913.

Crisis Management Team

The Crisis Management Team responds to crisis incidents reported to Public Safety, including incidents of sexual abuse. Members of the team include the following or their designee and will be representative of both genders:

Director of Public Safety or designee
Director of Student Counseling Services or designee
Dean of Students or designee
University Relations representative, if necessary
Legal Counsel, if necessary

The Crisis Management Team will be sensitive to the fact that the survivor of the sexual assault may not want to meet with all members of the team immediately. They will, however, make themselves available to the survivor to provide ongoing services and assistance as needed. Options/services offered to the survivor will include:

Counseling services, both on and off campus.
Medical services, both on and off campus.
Options and assistance regarding reporting the case to the proper authorities, both on campus and to the local police.

IF YOU ARE THE SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

Your safety and well-being are of paramount importance. What you choose to do is up to you and the University will respect your choice and will work with you throughout the process. Survivors of Sexual Misconduct are encouraged to take the following actions immediately:

Go to a place where you feel safe.
Contact or have a friend contact Public Safety at (516) 463-6789, Student Counseling Services at (516) 463-6791 (Public Safety will contact Student Counseling Services during non-business hours) or the Domestic Violence Hotline at (516) 542-0404. Male and female personnel will be available to assist you.
Go to a hospital emergency room. Public Safety or the police will provide transportation, if necessary.
Medical evidence for use in the prosecution of a criminal offense is collected at the hospital. For this reason, you should not shower, bathe, douche or change clothes. You may need to bring a change of clothes to the hospital in case what you are wearing is collected as evidence.
Do not touch any evidence or straighten up the area where the assault occurred.
Do not blame yourself. The person who assaulted you is responsible.

SURVIVOR’S BILL OF RIGHTS

Survivors have the right to counseling, medical treatment, prosecution, and reporting of their case through the off-campus court system, as well as the right to refuse all of the above without reproach from University personnel.
Survivors will be treated with dignity and seriousness by campus personnel.
Survivors of crimes against one’s person have the right to be reasonably free from intimidation and harm. During University conduct proceedings, survivors have the right to provide testimony from a different room than the student charged, if requested.
University personnel shall be encouraged to inform a survivor that they are not responsible for crimes against their person.
Survivors shall be made aware of existing counseling and other support services that are available, both on and off campus.
Survivors shall be entitled to the same support opportunities the University permits the accused in a campus disciplinary proceeding, which includes the opportunity to have others present during a disciplinary proceeding such as an adviser (for further details, see The Student Conduct Process for Sexual Misconduct, below).
Both the survivor and the accused shall be informed of the outcome of any disciplinary proceeding as detailed in The Student Conduct Process for Sexual Misconduct, below.
Any survivor who does not wish to remain in his or her present residence hall or class section may be granted a transfer to any available housing or class section, upon request, if reasonably available. The University may also issue a no-contact order, and may transfer the alleged perpetrator to a different residence hall or class section pending determination of the complaint, if it deems such action appropriate.

PHONE NUMBERS

Hofstra University Public Safety ............................................................... (516) 463-6789
Hofstra University Dean of Students Office ............................................ (516) 463-6913
Hofstra University Student Counseling Services....................................... (516) 463-6791
Hofstra University Office of Residential Programs .................................. (516) 463-6930
Hofstra University Office of Community Standards................................. (516) 463-6913
Nassau County Sexual Assault Hotline...................................................... (516) 222-2293

The University Harassment Policy and Sexual Misconduct

Violations of the Hofstra University Harassment Policy based on sex are also violations of the Sexual Misconduct Policy, and if complaints are made against a student, will be handled pursuant to the procedures set forth in this Sexual Misconduct Policy. For Sexual Misconduct complaints against a faculty or staff member, or other non-student, consult the procedures set forth in the Harassment Policy, available at http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/faculty/senate/senate_fps_43.pdf.

The Student Conduct Process for Sexual Misconduct

Any student who commits, aids, or attempts to commit Sexual Misconduct on University property, during the course of a University activity, or at any time or place in such a way as to create a sexually hostile environment on-campus or in the course of a University activity, is subject to disciplinary action under the Student Conduct Code.

Retaliation against the complaining student is strictly prohibited, and constitutes a further violation of the Code of Community Standards, to be adjudicated under these procedures. The University will take steps to protect the complainant as necessary, including no-contact orders housing relocation, and class schedule adjustment, both while the investigation and any proceeding is pending, and following the final outcome.
All policies, procedures and definitions applicable to other violations of the Student Conduct Code apply to complaints of Sexual Misconduct except as specified below. Mediation will not be used to resolve complaints of Non-Consensual Sexual Contact or Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse, even on a voluntary basis.

Student Coordinator

The designated Student Coordinator for Sexual Misconduct Complaints (“Student Coordinator”) is the Associate Dean of Students, currently Lynda O’Malley, who can be reached at 516-463-6913 or DeanofStudents@Hofstra.edu. The Student Coordinator is responsible for overseeing all Sexual Misconduct complaints made against students, including all complaints under the University’s Harassment policy against students, and addressing any patterns or systemic problems that arise during the review of such complaints. The Student Coordinator is available to meet with students as needed.

Informational Meeting

Both the complaining student(s) and the student(s) charged shall be entitled to a pre-hearing information meeting in which they will receive the ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF STUDENT RIGHTS AND CONDUCT PROCEDURES form. This form serves as formal notification of the charges and outlines various resolution options as well as the students’ procedural rights. The students will be encouraged to discuss and review the allegations as well as information in the file to the extent permitted under confidentiality laws, including FERPA. Students will have the opportunity to ask and answer questions regarding the allegation(s) as well as the Sexual Misconduct conduct process.

Rights of a Student Charged and of a Complaining Student in Sexual Misconduct Proceedings

Only an administrative board will adjudicate Sexual Misconduct proceedings; student board hearings are not available for these proceedings. Hofstra University remains the official complainant in Sexual Misconduct proceedings, but the complaining student has certain rights in these proceedings as set forth herein. When an administrative hearing is conducted, the student(s) charged with Sexual Misconduct and the complaining student(s) (“the parties”) have the following rights:

The parties shall be informed by the Office of Community Standards, in writing, of the date, time and place of the hearing, which will take place reasonably promptly following the initiation of a complaint. The parties shall be allowed a reasonable amount of time (approximately five (5) business days) to prepare their statement and secure supporting information.
The parties shall have the right to speak for themselves, to present witnesses, and to challenge the evidence. Each party may question the other, but the complaining student has the right to be visually screened from the charged student, or to testify from a different room in the same building in which the hearing takes place. The parties may challenge any written statements that were submitted and may, upon request, receive a written list of all witnesses mandated to attend the hearing. The parties may call upon witnesses to speak on their behalf. A written list of these witnesses or any signed witness statements must be submitted to the Office of Community Standards for final approval at least three (3) business days prior to the hearing. It is the student’s responsibility to notify his/her witnesses of the time, date and place to appear. Witnesses summoned by the Office of Community Standards are subject to a $100 fine if they do not appear as directed to testify.
If the parties wish to submit any evidence in the form of pictures, documents, or other written materials, they will be required to do so at least three (3) business days prior to the hearing. Approval of any additional materials provided by parties is at the sole discretion of the University. After the University has had the opportunity to review such evidence, the parties may review evidence, documents and reports pertaining to the incident prior to the hearing, by making an appointment with an authorized, designated University official from the Office of Community Standards. Parties will not be given access to privileged information or information made confidential under FERPA or other applicable law.
The parties have the right to request the removal of a member of the board with just cause. The party must be prepared to substantiate this contention. Removal of a member of the board may be granted or denied based on the University’s determination as to whether or not there is just cause.
The parties shall have the right to seek an adviser of their choice, who may help the party prepare for the hearing, but may not speak on behalf of the party. Written notification of an adviser and an executed “Adviser Form” must be submitted to the Office of Community Standards at least one (1) business day prior to the hearing. Adviser substitutions may be made after this point but only if a previously submitted “Adviser Form” is on file.
Each party shall be entitled to one (1) adjournment with just cause, as long as the request is made at least one (1) business day prior to the hearing. The Office of Community Standards will determine if an adjournment is warranted. Adjournments cannot be made to accommodate the schedule of an adviser or other student witnesses. Any additional adjournments may be granted or denied at the University’s discretion.

Hearing Process for Administrative and Student Hearings

The usual format of a hearing is set forth below. The Chair of the Administrative Board has the discretion to change the order, as he or she deems appropriate.

Cases will be introduced; allegation(s) read, and the appropriate oaths issued by the chairperson or designated representative of the administrative board.
Opening statement by complaining student and/or University.
Opening statement by student charged.
Statement(s)/report(s) from witness(es) on behalf of the complaining student and/or University.
Questions for the witness(es) in paragraph 4 from members of the board, the complaining student, and the student charged.
Statement(s)/report(s) from witness(es) on behalf of the charged student.
Questions for witness(es) in paragraph 6 from members of the board, the student charged, and the complaining student.
Questions for the student charged from members of the board and the complaining student.
Questions for the complaining student from members of the board and the student charged.
Closing statement from student charged.
Closing statement from complaining student and/or University

Note: During the hearing, statement reports are provided verbally. If a witness or party is absent, the hearing officer will enter written statements pre-approved by the Office of Community Standards into the record.

Note: No character witnesses are allowed. The acceptance and validity of witnesses and written statements are to be determined by the hearing officer. The University reserves the right to call appropriate University members to serve as witnesses and/or to offer relevant testimony to the case.

Note: Neither party may ask questions about sexual history.

Decisions and Appeals in Sexual Misconduct Proceedings

All parties shall be notified of the decision (responsible or not responsible) concurrently by the Office of Community Standards. The student charged shall be notified of any sanctions, and, if consistent with FERPA or other applicable law, the complaining student will be notified of the sanction as well. In developing sanctions, the school will take steps to prevent recurrence of any misconduct and to correct its discriminatory effects on the complainant and others, if appropriate. Once both parties receive notification of the decision letter, either party may choose to appeal the finding of responsibility or the sanction(s) imposed. Either party may request an appeal of the decision by submitting a written petition for an appeal to the Dean of Students Office within seven (7) calendar days after receiving the decision letter. The letter of appeal must address one of the following reasons for appeal:

There is new evidence to warrant a new hearing
The student’s procedural rights have been violated
The sanction(s) is/are too harsh.

The party who did not request the appeal will be notified of the appeal and will have five (5) calendar days to submit a response to the appeal.