Racial and Ethnic Harassment
The law defines racial or ethnic harassment as “any non-consenting conduct based upon race, ethnicity or national origin that creates a hostile work or educational environment.” Such conduct may include “threats, physical contact, pranks, vandalism, verbal, graphic, or written conduct.” When alleged harassment includes speech alone, the discomfort of the people involved must be weighed against “the tradition of free exchange of ideas inherent in an academic community.” Thus, context will be a critical issue in determining whether a situation is protected by academic freedom or constitutes harassment.
All instructors are required to take the Equal Opportunity Training course, which can be found at Learn@ISU. Reminders will come from the Office of Equal Opportunity until you have completed the required course.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment, in its legal definition, includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests to engage in sexual conduct, and other physical and expressive behavior of a sexual nature where (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or education; (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used, or threatened or suggested to be used, as the basis for academic or employment decisions affecting the individual; or (3) such conduct creates a hostile, intimidating or demeaning environement that is sufficiently severe, pervasive and objectively offensive to substantially interfere with an individual’s academic or professional performance. Determination as to whether the alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment should take into consideration the totality of the circumstances, including the context in which the alleged incidents occurred.
Under this policy, sexual harassment can be verbal, visual, or physical. It can be overt, as in the suggestion that a person could get a higher grade or a raise in salary by submitting to sexual advances. The suggestion or the advance need not be direct or explicit—it can be implied from the conduct, circumstances, and relationships of the persons involved. Sexual harassment can also consist of persistent, unwelcome attempts to change a professional or academic relationship to a romantic or sexual one. It can range from unwelcome sexual expressions directed at individual persons or classes of people to serious physical abuses such as sexual assault. Examples include, but are not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances; repeated and unwelcome sexually-oriented bullying, teasing, joking, or flirting; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; commentary about an individual’s body, sexual prowess, or sexual deficiencies; leering, touching, pinching, or brushing against another’s body; or displaying objects or pictures, including electronic images, which are sexual in nature and which create a hostile or offensive work, education, or living environment.
Sexual, romantic, or intimate relationships between persons in an unequal power relationship that appear to be voluntary and welcome may nonetheless constitute sexual harassment under this definition. Relationships between faculty and subordinate faculty or staff, between a supervisor and those employees whom he or she supervises, or between a faculty member or teaching assistant and his or her student may give rise to legal and ethical concerns or to conflict between personal and professional interests. Although such a relationship may be viewed by the parties involved as consensual, that fact alone does not mean that no sexual harassment exists.
In addition, such relationships can result in discrimination or harassment where (1) third parties are adversely affected in academic or employment matters because of a consensual relationship between others; (2) where a consensual relationship creates a hostile and intimidating work or learning environment for third parties; or (3) when a consensual relationship ends, and one of the parties continues behavior which the other party has made clear is now unwelcome.
“Iowa State University reaffirms and emphasizes its commitment to provide a professional working and learning environment that is fair and responsible; that supports, nurtures, and rewards educational and employment growth on the basis of relevant factors such as ability and performance; and that is free of discriminatory conduct or communication.”
— Iowa State University Policy on Discrimination and Harassment
Procedures for Responding to Harassment by Students
Harassment by students is defined as behavior that disrupts the instructor’s work in the classroom, that creates a physical threat to the instructor or to students or that violates the university’s harassment policies. The behavior can occur in the classroom or out of the classroom.
The Faculty Senate approved a policy on classroom disruptions during its December 10, 2002, meeting. The policy provides for temporary or permanent suspension of disruptive students. Under the policy, instructors need to ask the department chair or program director to have a student suspended. Upon approval, the student would be suspended while an investigation is conducted.
Instructors should contact the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (or mentor, for first-year TAs) as soon as they perceive a student who displays unacceptable behavior. The mentor or Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses will then meet with the instructor to discuss ways of handling the student. If the student’s behavior continues, the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses or the instructor should document the behavior and write a letter to the Dean of Students Office outlining the problem. The letter should include,
- a description of the inappropriate behavior (including, if possible, days, weeks, or months in which it occurred).
- some discussion about how the student was informed that the behavior was inappropriate.
The Dean of Students Office will review the case to make a determination if a violation of the university student conduct code has occurred as outlined in the Student Information Handbook. If the student’s behavior creates an immediate physical threat to the instructor or to other students, the instructor should immediately call the Department of Public Safety (911 or 515-294-4428) or call the Dean of Students Office (515-294-1020).