Sexual Aggression Policy

Loyola College strives to create a safe educational and working environment for all the members of the community including students, faculty, administrators and staff. Violence or threats of violence of any kind, including sexual assault, will not be tolerated. Loyola College fully supports and complies with all local, state, and federal laws governing rape and sexual assault.

a. Sexual Harassment

Loyola College does not tolerate sexual harassment of or by its students or employees. Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission or rejection of such conduct is a condition or basis for employment or educational decisions affecting the individual, or which have the purpose of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive educational or work environment.

b. Sexual Verbal Abuse

Sexual verbal abuse is using language that is sexual in nature and unwanted on the part of another person. Examples include but are not limited to phone calls or use of written and/or verbal communication that are intimidating, threatening or obscene in nature.

c. Sexual Misconduct

Sexual Misconduct includes any sexual act or sexual contact without consent, including intercourse; oral sex; unwanted touching of an intimate body part of another person, such as sexual organs, buttocks or breasts; or an attempt of any of the above. This description of prohibited sexual acts and conduct is not intended to be inclusive of all conduct that could fall within this category. It is the intent of this policy to provide notice that any unconsented sexual conduct, whether by a stranger or an acquaintance of the victim, is prohibited. For purposes of this policy, consent is defined as an affirmative indication of a voluntary agreement to engage in the particular sexual act or conduct in question. Consent cannot be obtained through the use of force, threat or intimidation. Consent cannot be given by someone who is not able to effectively communicate or to understand the nature of the conduct being engaged in as a result of having consumed drugs or alcohol or for any other reason. Silence on the part of an individual does not constitute his or her consent. Drug or alcohol use by the offender is not a defense to a charge of sexual misconduct and will not be considered a mitigating factor in assessing an appropriate sanction.

d. Procedures for Adjudicating Charges of Sexual Misconduct

The Loyola College community fully supports all local, state and federal laws governing rape and sexual assault. It is the responsibility of all students to be aware of and adhere to these laws. As members of the College community, it is our expectation that students will respect the rights, dignity and personhood of others. All hearings involving sexual misconduct will be conducted in accordance with the normal rules and procedures of the judicial process with special sensitivity to the nature of the charges and the best interests of all students involved. In recognition of the unique nature of sexual misconduct cases, the procedures specified in this section supersede any conflicting provisions of the College judicial process. The College encourages students to use the criminal justice system in cases involving sexual misconduct. Actions by the police or criminal courts do not in any way preclude a student from pursuing charges through the College’s judicial system, similarly, pursuit of charges through the College’’ judicial system does not preclude the pursuit of criminal charges. The College will investigate all reports of a sexual misconduct. Due to the usually private nature of these actions, the College may not be able to pursue charges of sexual misconduct/harassment unless the complainant acts as the accuser and primary witness. However, in cases where there may be a witness to the alleged violation, or in cases where the complainant requests that the College pursue the case even though she/he is unwilling to act as the accuser, or in cases in which pursuing the case is in the best interest of the College, the College reserves the right to pursue a case to its conclusion.

Click here to see the full policy as stated in the Community Standards (page 22).