II. Policy Prohibiting Harassment

Prohibition Against Harassment

Centre College is committed to providing an academic, work, and living environment free of prohibited forms of harassment, including harassment based on race, color, religion, national ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, veteran's status, or genetic information. This policy also prohibits harassment based on the perception that an individual has one or more of the foregoing protected characteristics or an individual’s association with a person or group with one or more actual or perceived protected characteristics. It is further the policy of Centre College to provide an educational and employment environment free from sexual misconduct, as well as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexual favoritism, or other verbal or physical conduct or communications constituting sexual harassment.

This policy will cover the prohibition on discrimination and harassment on the basis of all protected classes except sex and gender; for information regarding sex and gender harassment and discrimination, including Title IX and non-Title IX sexual misconduct, please refer to the Sexual Misconduct Policy.  Discrimination against a person because of that person’s race, color, religion, national ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, veteran's status, or genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law is deemed in this policy to be discrimination against a person’s “protected status.”

Definitions and Examples of Harassment

Harassment comes in many forms and can be based on various protected categories. No definition can be all-encompassing. Harassment based on protected status or the perception that a person has one or more of these characteristics violates this policy.

Prohibited forms of harassment under this policy include, but are not limited to:

• Verbal Harassment - Inappropriate or offensive remarks, slurs, jokes, or innuendoes based on a person’s protected status. This form of impermissible conduct may include, but is not limited to, inappropriate comments; verbal abuse, threats, or intimidation; or patronizing or ridiculing statements that convey derogatory attitudes based on protected status.
• Physical Harassment - Inappropriate or offensive touching, assault, or physical interference with free movement. This may include, but is not limited to, any physical assault or intimidation directed at an individual due to that person’s protected status.
• Visual or Written Harassment - The display or circulation of visual or written material that degrades an individual or group based on protected status. This may include, but is not limited to, posters, cartoons, drawings, graffiti, reading materials, computer graphics, or electronic media transmissions, including videos, memes, and other social media content.
• Hostile Environment Harassment - A hostile academic, work, or living environment exists where it is permeated by innuendo; insults or abusive comments directed at an individual or group based on protected status; or gratuitous comments on protected status that are not relevant to the subject matter of the class or activities on the job. A hostile environment can arise from an unwarranted focus on sexual topics or sexually suggestive statements in the classroom or work environment. It can also be created by an unwarranted focus on, or stereotyping of, persons in any particular protected status. An environment may also be hostile toward anyone who merely witnesses prohibited harassment in their immediate surroundings, although the conduct is directed at others. Determining whether an environment is hostile stems from the totality of the circumstances, including such factors as the frequency of the conduct, the severity of the conduct, whether the conduct is humiliating or physically threatening, and whether the conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual’s learning or work.