Effective Date: October 17, 2011
Harassment and discrimination are contrary to the College’s mission. The College is committed to responding to all reports of harassment, abuse, or discrimination and will use all reasonable means to prevent, confront, and eliminate such behavior. Harassment and discriminatory acts infringe upon a victim’s dignity and integrity, often denying or limiting a victim’s access to academic life. Harassment and discriminatory acts are among the most egregious in our community and warrant the most serious penalties. Anyone who is found to have violated the College’s Harassment Policies through intentional and targeted behavior directed at any individual(s), on or off-campus, should expect that the College will impose sanctions, up to and including termination or expulsion from the College. With the consent of the victim(s), the College will report the incident to the police when the alleged action constitutes a hate crime. Further, the College reserves the right to restrict anyone who is accused of violating the College’s Harassment Policies from all college property and/or events pending the resolution of the complaint.
Maintaining our commitment to a campus climate where harassment and discrimination are not tolerated must be a shared goal. By joining the Trinity College community, faculty, staff and students accept that they have an individual responsibility to help create an environment free of harassment. We encourage prompt reporting of any behavior that falls short of our communal values and we expect faculty, staff and students to cooperate fully in any College investigation or judicial process regarding harassment allegations.
The College does not consider ignorance to be a reasonable defense in complaints of harassment and discrimination. As such, all faculty, staff and students should familiarize themselves with the particulars of the College’s Discrimination and Harassment policy as outlined in the Student Handbook and Employee Handbook.
Additionally, while some actions, speech, and forms of expression run contrary to individual beliefs and even our community values, we recognize that many of them are protected by law and are permissible under the principles of academic freedom. We fully expect that those who introduce protected but controversial, provocative, or divisive elements, and those who disagree with them, will make themselves available to civil debate and discussion. The College provides space for provocative and unpopular speech and expression so long as those actions do not violate the law and/or are not found to be targeted and intentional actions that violate our harassment policy.