No Tolerance for Harassment
Harassment of any kind is not acceptable at Oakton College, whether it is sexual harassment or based on age, color, disability, ethnic or national origin, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation, or any other legally protected classification. Oakton College is committed to respecting all individuals and is also committed to the free and dynamic discussion of ideas and issues.
Definition of Harassment
Harassment is the creation of a hostile or intimidating environment in which verbal, written, visual or physical conduct, because of its severity and/or persistence, is likely to interfere unreasonably with an individual’s work or education, such conduct being directed at an individual because of race, national origin, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation or other legally protected classification.
College employees, students, and third persons are prohibited from harassing other employees, students, or third persons sexually or on any other basis. For this policy's purposes, third persons include any person other than college employees and students, on Oakton property, at any college-sponsored activities or at any activity that bears a reasonable relationship to Oakton. If you are employed or seeking a career at Oakton, you can read more about equal opportunity employment and Oakton's Nondiscrimination Policy here.
To provide an environment conducive to learning and professional performance and development, Oakton shall not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form by any employee, student or third person. This policy intends to prevent any occurrence of sexual misconduct at Oakton and inform all members of the college community of the procedures to follow if questions or problems arise.
Sex-based discrimination can occur regardless of whether the discriminatory act is physically sexual in nature. Examples of sexual discrimination include:
Oakton issues this statement of policy to inform the community of our comprehensive plan that addresses sexual misconduct and our educational programs and procedures that attend to matters of sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, whether the incident occurs on or off-campus and after it is reported to an Oakton official. In this context, Oakton reaffirms its commitment to maintaining a campus environment that emphasizes all community members' dignity and worth.
To oversee this policy's implementation, Oakton has a team of staff members and administrators that includes the Title IX coordinator and Student Conduct Manager, representatives from Student Affairs, Human Resources and Oakton Police. The team meets at least once annually to develop, review and revise protocols, policies and procedures to address domestic and sexual violence on campus.
Oakton takes great care to ensure that our policies regarding harassment are clearly stated and explained. We've compiled the list of terminology and definitions below to help you understand Oakton's safeguarding methods from discrimination and harassment.
Consent is knowing, voluntary and clear permission by word or action to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity. Consent may not be inferred from silence, passivity, or a lack of verbal or physical resistance. A person’s manner of dress does not constitute consent. Past consent to sexual activities, or a current or previous dating relationship, does not imply ongoing or future consent. Consent to some sexual contact (such as kissing or fondling) cannot be presumed to be consent for other sexual activity (such as intercourse). Consent to engage in sexual activity with one person does not constitute consent to engage in sexual activity with another person. Consent may be withdrawn at any time. A person cannot consent to sexual activity if that person is unable to understand the nature of the activity or give knowing consent due to circumstances, including but not limited to, the following:
This is violence committed by a person:
It is prohibited for Oakton employees to engage in any of the following types of conduct (whether on or off college property or during or outside of the college’s operational hours):
Any sexual contact or behavior that occurs by force or coercion or without consent for sexual activity. It includes sexual acts against a person who cannot consent either due to age or lack of capacity or impairment. Sexual assault includes any forced act against one's will where sex is the weapon. Examples include fondling, forced sexual intercourse, sodomy, child molestation, incest, attempted rape, statutory rape, and rape. Sexual assault can occur between members of the same or opposite sex.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual acts or favors, and other verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
Examples of conduct of a sexual nature include:
A systematic focus on the needs and concerns of a victim of sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking that:
Engaging in the course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: