DCSI Internship Agreement (Student)

The College of William & Mary

Sexual Harassment and Consensual Amorous Relations Policies

Sexual Harassment Policy

Unless otherwise constrained by law, William & Mary is committed to providing an environment for its students, employees and others present within the community that is free from discrimination based on any personal factor unrelated to qualifications or performance. Such “irrelevant personal factors” include (without limitation) race or color, citizenship, national origin or ethnicity, ancestry, religion or creed, political affiliation or belief, age, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, marital status, pregnancy status, parental status, height, weight, military service, veteran status, caretaker status, or family medical or genetic information.

Discrimination is conduct based on any irrelevant personal factor that

- adversely affects a term or condition of an individual’s employment, education, or participation in a university activity, or

- is used as a factor in a decision affecting an individual’s employment, education, or participation in a university activity, or

- constitutes harassment that creates a hostile environment or quid pro quo sexual harassment, each as explained below.

Discrimination also includes failure to provide reasonable accommodations for a person’s disability or religion as required by law, or any other violation of a disabled person’s rights under applicable anti-discrimination laws. W&M makes modifications and adjustments to its programs and activities for qualified students with disabilities as required by law, under the Student Accommodation Policy and Procedure. W&M also makes modifications, changes, or adjustments to jobs, work conditions and work environment for qualified employees with disabilities, or to the job application process for applicants, as required by law, under the Employee Reasonable Accommodation Policy and Procedure.

Harassment is unwelcome conduct based on an irrelevant personal factor. Harassment violates this policy when it creates a hostile environment. A hostile environment exists when harassment has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a person’s work or educational performance or participation in a university program or activity, or is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.

Each situation must be considered in context to determine if harassment has occurred. Conduct alleged to constitute harassment is evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable person.

Sexual harassment is harassment based on sex. Sexual harassment can take the form of hostile environment harassment, discussed above, or “quid pro quo” harassment. A hostile environment can arise from sexual harassment even if the conduct is not sexual in nature, so long as the conduct is based on sex. For example, a female supervisor who regularly and severely criticizes her male employees because she prefers working with women is harassing her male employees because of their sex, even if the supervisor has no sexual or romantic interest in any of the employees and is not engaging in sexual conduct.

Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase meaning “this for that.” Quid pro quo sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, including sexual violence, when

- submission to such conduct is made or threatened to be made a term or condition of employment, education, or participation in a university activity; or

- submission to or rejection of such conduct is used or threatened to be used as a factor in a decision affecting employment, education, or participation in a university activity.

Quid pro quo sexual harassment most often occurs when one person has power or authority over another. In part because of this, the Consensual Amorous Relationship Policy prohibits certain sexual or romantic relationships between people in unequal positions. But sexual harassment (of any type) can occur between individuals of equal status or rank. Similarly, an employee can engage in prohibited sexual harassment by sexually harassing a supervisor.

Sexual harassment can occur between persons of the same sex or members of different sexes.

Sexual violence and sexual misconduct are physical acts made against someone’s will or without their consent. Sexual violence and sexual misconduct take different forms, and often constitute sexual harassment. The forms of sexual misconduct are defined and explained in the Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Relationship Violence, and Stalking, which is attached as Appendix B to this Policy.

Retaliation is prohibited at William & Mary. The university takes action to protect individuals from retaliation and to address any retaliatory behavior that occurs. Retaliation prohibited by this policy is adverse action taken against a person for engaging in protected activity.

Examples of adverse action include: firing, denial of a promotion, lowering a grade, unjustified negative performance evaluations and reports, increased supervision or scrutiny, sudden enforcement of previously unenforced policies, exclusion from activities or privileges open to others, or any other action that would deter a reasonable person in the same circumstances from filing a complaint or engaging in protected activity.

A person engages in a protected activity when he or she opposes, reports or complains about discrimination, such as by reporting harassment. Adverse action against an employee or student based on their relationship or association with another person who engages in protected activity is also prohibited retaliation.

For more information and complete policy language, please visit: https://www.wm.edu/offices/compliance/policies/discrimination_harassment_retaliation/policy/index.php#i

Consensual Amorous Relationships with Students

William & Mary's educational mission is promoted by professionalism in faculty-student relationships. Faculty-student romantic and/or sexual relationships, even mutually consenting ones, are a basic violation of professional ethics when the faculty member has any professional responsibility for the student's academic performance or professional future. Faculty members' unbiased evaluation of students is an integral part of William & Mary's mission. An amorous relationship between a faculty member and a student, even if consensual, creates the potential for favoritism (or the appearance thereof), thereby undermining the actual or perceived fairness of the evaluative process. Even when the faculty member has no current direct professional responsibility for a student, consensual amorous relationships may limit the educational opportunities or options for the student's future academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities.

William & Mary prohibits consensual romantic and/or sexual relationships between faculty members and undergraduate students, as well as between faculty members and those graduate students for whom the faculty member has direct professional responsibility. The term direct professional responsibility refers to many faculty roles, both within and outside of the classroom, including, but not limited to: teaching, academic advising, coaching (athletics, drama, etc.), service on evaluation committees (awards, prizes, etc.), graduate or undergraduate thesis committees, etc. In effect, direct professional responsibility for students includes the supervision of all college-sponsored academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities.

Consensual Amorous Relationships with Colleagues

Because amorous relations between administrators or faculty members and other faculty members or support staff whom they supervise may create the appearance of a conflict of interest, administrators and faculty members are advised against participating in amorous relationships with those whom they supervise. Similarly faculty members should avoid situations requiring them to supervise those with whom they currently have an amorous relationship. Whenever such a situation arises or is foreseen, the faculty member shall report the situation promptly and seek advice from the appropriate administrative officer, who should take steps to insure unbiased supervision or evaluation of the person supervised.

For more information and complete policy language, please visit: www.wm.edu/about/administration/provost/documents/consensual_relations.pdf

For questions about these policies, please contact the Office of Compliance & Equity at 757-221-3167 or visit: http://www.wm.edu/offices/compliance/