Tripp, Newman, & Danico 1

Task Force for Inclusiveness and Diversity:

Response to LGBTQ Campus Concerns

Laron Tripp
Kayron Newman
Samantha Danico
Mid-South University
12/8/15

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 2

Task force Mission Statement
The Task Force for Inclusiveness and Diversity constructs and distributes information and
policies that promote an inclusive, ethical and respectful environment for all members of the
university and surrounding community.
Functioning as an organization within the university committee composed of student
affairs professionals we conduct research, organize informative meetings and panels, publish
reports and create opportunities for members of the community to have an ongoing dialogue
regarding inclusiveness and diversity.
The goal of this task force is to ensure the equal treatment of all of the students of MidSouth University. We want the students to gain knowledge of aspects of diversity other than
their own. Through this we want our students to become leaders in a global community and
expand their intrapersonal skills. Through addressing policy concerns, diversity issues, and
student concerns, our goal is to create a rich community of respectful and knowledgeable
students.

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 3

About the Task Force for Inclusiveness and Diversity
The Task Force for Inclusiveness and Diversity was founded December of 2015 in order
to create a campus climate that is reflective of all aspects of diversity. This report reflects the
views of the members of the Task Force and it performed independently in its findings and
recommendations.

Task Force Members

Laron Tripp
Director of Greek Life
Mid-South University

Kayron Newman
Director of Judicial Affairs
Mid-South University

Samantha Danico
Director of Housing
Mid-South University

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Table of Contents

Overview of the Issue

Guiding Principles

Implementing Guiding
Principles

References

14

Abstract

16

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 5

Overview of the Issue
At Mid-South University, there has been a rise in concerns of the LGBTQ community
and equality for all on campus. On one hand there are concerns that the LGBTQ community are
getting an unfair advantage in the housing department as opposed to the heterosexual
community. For example, a lesbian couple could live together, but a heterosexual couple could
not. Though it cannot be assumed that two lesbians living together are necessarily in a
relationship. This issue came to light after a publication of the student newspaper featured an
article about a particular assumed couple on campus after an incident where they were
discovered in the shower together. This brings up a series of concerns and issues to the
university.
First there are policy and disciplinary issues that come up. There is a problem not only
with the policies about shower usage, but also about how to uphold these policies when
violations are taking place. As far as our policies go, does the article that was written reflect the
policies and views of the university? Because of these actions and their potential violation of
policy, further problems occur within the residence halls. Since this issue has come to light,
student backlash has occurred in the forms of bullying towards the women spoken of in the
article (though names were not used, assumptions can be made about the identity of the students
being referenced) as well as protesting on campus. Bullying is not something that this university
stands for and action needs to take place in order to stop this from occurring. Since we are a
public campus, peaceful protesting is allowed, but when it causes a potential danger to our
students, we want to be proactive in assuring that all of our students feel safe and welcomed on
campus. We do not want these protest or occurrences of bullying to effect any of our students
negatively as it could lead to feelings of isolation and mental health issues.

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With all of these issues with policy, then we as a university need to make sure that we are
abiding by all state laws, which includes laws about discrimination and diversity. With the paper
being a potential threat to outing the students involved, this could cause a potential lawsuit
from those students for psychological harm due to the negligence of our editor of our schools
newspaper. Our mission needs to be understood by all that work for the university and our
faculty and staff must act in accordance with it. By publicizing student interest that may not
correspond with the university, we are opening up potential backlash from our community and a
lack of understanding of what we represent as an institution.

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Guiding Principles
We are guided by the four Pillars as demonstrated by our Guiding Principles:
Principle one: Equality
Students are advocated for in a nurturing environment in order to adhere to the
development of the student, and to ensure the entire student populations safety. In Higher
Learning institutions are able to engage a diverse body of individuals in order to serve students
well a significant effort must be made to ensure all voices are equally heard and advocated for.
Principle two: Diversity
Our hope to invite students from all walks of life to create an environment derived on an
all-encompassing world view. We actively pursue students from diverse backgrounds to ensure
that inclusion is not a buzz word but something that can be tangibly seen.
Principle three: Ethical Leadership
The values of the dignity, respect for others beliefs, and protecting the rights of others are
promoted and taught to all students and administrators in order to open doors for inclusive and
ethical leaders.
Principle four: Respect
In order to maintain integrity and push an inclusive learning environment an emphasis on
behaving in a way that properly displays respectfulness and a mindfulness for others in a
consistent manner.

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Implementing Guiding Principles
Principle one: Equality
Unfortunately, LGBT student are unlikely to be treated with the same respect or even
given the same opportunities to put a voice to the issue of unequal and stigmatized treatment by a
mostly Christian population (Haldmen & Rasbury, 2014). This can be combated by
implementing a strategy to ensure that faculty and staff alike are safe zone trained in a self-report
evaluation, behavioral, and attitudinal changes and from participant evaluations. Jackson, N. C.,
Johnson, M. J., & Roberts, R. (2008), found that the goals of Safe Zone training improved
relations for students in the LGBT community. This training helps our faculty and staff be better
equipt to handle the conversations that may be brought to them on this topic, such as coming out,
harassment, and worries of depression. Because of this, we recommended that we train our
faculty and staff in Save Zone like programming so students feel safe and respected in
approaching our faculty members.
There is a clear issue of the LGBT students wanting to be accepted as members of the
community, but this may be difficult due to the potentially discriminating nature of some of the
student body. Because of this we propose that we can create a community for these students to
feel safe and accepted. One way to accomplish this would be to implement LGBT inclusive
housing. Looking at schools, such as UMass Amherst, who have successfully implemented these
programs, we can come up with our recommendations (Herbst & Malaney, 1999). UMass
Amherst created housing that was inclusive to those in the LGBT community and exclusive to
those that were not in the LGBT community. With small numbers, this residence hall had a
thriving community of LGBT members that found common interest (Herbst & Malaney, 1999).
Instead of excluding other members of the community, we aim to create a residence hall program

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 9

that will house LGBT students as well as students that are supportive of the LGBT community.
This will only be one of our housing options, as we want to be inclusive to those who are not
supportive of this community and give them an option that is more traditional. This could be a
thriving community where the LGBT community and their supporters feels save and valued on
campus.
In our effort to ensure equality for all members of our community we will refer to current
law that guarantees equality. Hodges (1996) provides a summary of the First Amendment and
how it applies to organizations present at institutions of higher education. Based on the
recommendations of Hodges (1996) we will implement policies that provide equal access to all
official university organizations to promote their issues. The only limitation as noted in
Wisconsin v. Mitchell (Hodges, 1996) is that we will not allow behavior of any variety that is
motivated by bias or hatred.
Principle two: Diversity
With opposing campus climates on the campus, we do not want to make strict guidelines
to being a LGBT promoting or a religion promoting campus. Rather we want the campus to be
reflective of the idea that all aspects of diversity should be accepted and respected on campus.
To do this, we need to look at the wording of our policies and what we are addressing with our
practices. Antibullying and antiharassment policies that specify the LGBT community (Poteat,
& Russell, 2013). These inclusive policies could state bullying and harassment on the grounds
of religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, or any other aspect of diversity is
considered a crime of hate and will not be accepted by the university. With the inclusion of
sexual orientation and gender identity, we are specifying as a university that we are in support of
diversity inclusion in this aspect.

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Poteat and Russell (2013) state that there is a need for training of our faculty and staff
members on campus. This training would be to foster an awareness of this aspect of diversity
and not to change their personal beliefs. We understand that not everyone is in favor of the
LGBT community, but what we want to encourage is the fair treatment of all of our students
regardless of their aspect of diversity. Because of this training and because the faculty and staff
will be more prepared to engage strongly with students of the LGBT community and make larger
impacts on them as students. This could greatly increase the students feeling of value on
campus.
In efforts to implement the principle of diversity, we seek to look at ways to connect the
privileged individuals to minority groups across the entire campus. The reality is that student
environments are becoming more diverse. One present issue is that universities do not seem to be
working in concert with Greek letter organizations to pursue this effort (Boschini, and Thompson
1998). Most Greek letter organizations were founded on environments that were primarily
Christian, white, and male. In order for Greek letter organizations to survive the steady change in
campus climate, diversity must be placed at a high importance (Boschini, and Thompson 1998).
Diversity in Greek organizations help students transition well in the work force which is less
likely to be homogeneous. (Boschini, and Thompson 1998). The way to establish this would be
to have students who take apart of Greek letter organization be held accountable in how they
engage with diverse populations (Boschini, and Thompson 1998). This would mean that the
rejection to a Greek letter organization cannot fall on the grounds of being a member of the
LGBT community.
The need for supportive and inclusive campus should be present at all levels. According
to Trammell (2014) in the article LGBT Challenges in Higher Education Today: 5 Core

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 11

Principles for Success, he notes that institutions of higher education should not only have
policies that are inclusive of LGBT students, but also make it a priority to have openly LGBT
individuals be part of governing boards, administration, faculty, and staff. In an effort to further
encourage a diverse environment, we will implement a policy of actively recruiting openly
LGBT faculty and staff and provide a work environment that is supportive of and responsive to
the needs and concerns of these members of our community. To ensure that the recruitment
process is implemented properly as part of our Affirmative Action plan it will be closely
monitored by human resources.
Principle three: Ethical Leadership
We value the students ability to develop in all facets of leadership. It is imperative that
we are implementing strategies to create leaders who are morally aware and yet do not seek to
create a platform out of their beliefs. In a literary review depicting the implications and the future
direction for research in the realm of ethical leadership ( Brown, Trevio 2006) found that ethical
leadership is a quality that is desired by employers and educators alike. Leaders have influence
over others, in situations where the interest of an individual may serve conflicting agendas it is
best to ensure that the individual is not only looking out for their own interest but the interest of
the followers in which they have influence over as well. For this reason, it is imperative that
those students we have in leadership roles are representative of a nonbiased agenda and help in
creating an ethical environment. We recommend that those who do present a biased agenda be
relieved of their candidacy of their leadership roles.
It is important that not only do our students engage in ethical leadership, but our faculty
and stuff also represent promote an ethical leadership. In an effort to create a more inclusive
environment we recommend that the leadership of the university administer a university faculty,

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 12

staff, and student wide climate survey. This climate survey will give the university an idea of
how certain aspects of diversity are represented and viewed on the campus, which will lead to
further recommendations on how to promote a more accepting climate. Given the realization that
the daily lives of our LGBT community members may create a stressful environment, it is
important to create affinity groups that provide a safe space to discuss experiences and receive
support. We also recommend that areas that have been identified as having an non-inclusive
microclimate be provided with additional support as recommended by Vaccaro (2012) in the
form of professional development for faculty and staff or accountability initiatives (Vacarro,
2012).
Principle four: Respect
As an aspect of respect for all students, we expect that all students will abide by all
policies and procedures put in place by the university handbook. This means that as a university
we will need to make our policies more specific in the area of bathroom usage. We need to
implement shower policies that state only one person may be in the shower stall at any given
time. This policy will not only make the way we treat students equal, it will provide the
university with a guidelines for other potential problems, such as entry into a shower stall of the
opposite gender or same gender that could result in harassment or bullying.
One of the primary goals of the task force is to ensure that the members of the LGBT
community are treated with a great deal of respect. In the report created for the California
Postsecondary Education Commission, Angeli (2009) recommends policies on how to create a
more inclusive environment for LGBT students. Based on the policies recommended by Angeli
(2009), we propose the education and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. We also
recommend that the safety officers and staff be trained on how to recognize and address

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 13

harassment of LGBT members of our community. We also recommend the development of a
safe and secure way for all members of our community to report discrimination and harassing
behaviors that they may have witnessed or experienced, for example, an online form to report
this incidents.
In the hope to advocate for inclusion we seek to ensure that all student beliefs and values
are respected by peers and staff as well. Administrators of higher education institutors have the
power to silence homophobic and heterosexism actions (Rankin 2005). In order to give voice not
just to individuals who are not among minority groups but those who are overlooked and
outsized, we seek to display dignity in a way that promotes integrity and safe space for students
and staff alike.
Evaluation of Implementations of the Guiding Principles
In order to insure that our recommendations and implementations of our guiding
principles are effective, the university should conduct a climate survey every 1-2 years
(appendix). This will provide information on how to further improve our campus climate to
more encouraging of all aspects of diversity. We also want the students to be able to provide
open and honest feedback about our implications.

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References
Angeli, M. (2009, June). Access and equity for all students: Meeting the Needs of LGBT
Students. Report 09-14, California Postsecondary Education Commission, 2009-Jun.
Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED507508
Boschini, V., & Thompson, C. (1998). The future of the Greek experience: Greeks and diversity.
New directions for student services, 1998(81), 19-27.
Haldeman, D. C., & Rasbury, R. L. (2014). Multicultural training and student beliefs in cultural
context. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1(4), 289.
Herbst, S., & Malaney, G. D. (1999). Perceived value of a special interest residential program for
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students. Naspa Journal, 36(2), 106-119.
Hodges, M. W. (1996). First amendment issues and judicial affairs. New Directions for Student
Services, 1996(73), 53-66. doi:10.1002/ss.37119967306
Jackson, N. C., Johnson, M. J., & Roberts, R. (2008). The potential impact of discrimination
fears of older gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals living in small-to
moderate-sized cities on long-term health care. Journal of homosexuality, 54(3), 325-339.
Poteat, V. P., & Russell, S. T. (2013). Understanding Homophobic Behavior and Its Implications
for Policy and Practice. Theory Into Practice, 52(4), 264-271.
Rankin, S. R. (2005). Campus climates for sexual minorities. New Directions for Student
Services, 2005(111), 17-23.

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 15

Tramell, (2014). LGBT challenges in higher education today: 5 core principles for success.
(2014, June 04). Retrieved from http://agb.org/trusteeship/2014/5/lgbt-challengeshigher-education-today-5-core-principles-success
Vaccaro, A. (2012). Campus microclimates for LGBT faculty, staff, and students: An exploration
of the intersections of social identity and campus roles. Journal of Student Affairs
Research and Practice, 49(4), 429-446.

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 16

Appendix
Campus Climate Survey Example Questions:
Surveys need to lead in to questions about sexual violence slowly rather than right up front.
Questions about demographics and general climate surveys are good leadin questions and are
useful to put first in a survey instrument.
Demographics
This information is important to collect so that you can determine how well the sample who
responded to the climate survey represents the larger school sample you are drawing from.
We will not report any group data for groups of fewer than five individuals that may be small
enough to reveal identity. Instead, the researchers will combine the groups to eliminate any
potential for identifiable demographic information.
1.

What is your current gender identity?

Female Male Transgender Female Transgender Male

Genderqueer/Gendernonconforming Other (please specify)_____________________
2.

What is your ethnicity (as you define it)?

Hispanic or Latino Not Hispanic or Latino

3.

What is your race (as you define it)? (mark all that apply)

American Indian or Alaska Native Asian Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander White

4.

Which term best describes your sexual orientation? Bisexual Gay Heterosexual

Lesbian Questioning Other (please specify) _______________________________

5.
What is your current status? (Please mark only one) First year student Second year
student
Third year student Fourth year student Other (please specify) ______________________
6.

What sex were you assigned at birth, meaning on your original birth certificate?

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 17

Female Male

General Climate Questions

7.

Please indicate your level of agreement to the following statements:9

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

a.

I feel valued in the classroom/learning environment.

b.

Faculty, staff, and administrators respect what students on this campus think.

c.

I think faculty are genuinely concerned about my welfare.

d.

I think administrators are genuinely concerned about my welfare.

e.

I feel close to people on this campus.

f.

I feel like I am a part of this college/university.

g.

I am happy to be at this college/university.

h.

The faculty, staff, and administrators at this school treat students fairly.

i.

I feel safe on this campus.

8.

Please indicate your level of agreement to the following statements:10

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

a.
College officials (administrators, public safety officers) should do more to protect
students
from harm.
b.

If a crisis happened on campus, my college would handle it well.

c.

The college responds too slowly in difficult situations.

d.

College officials handle incidents in a fair and responsible manner.

e.

My college does enough to protect the safety of students.

f.

There is a good support system on campus for students going through difficult times.

Perceptions of Leadership, Policies and Reporting

9.

If someone were to report a sexual assault to a campus authority, how likely is it that:11

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 18

Very Likely Moderately Likely Slightly Likely Not at all Likely
a.

The university would take the report seriously.

b.

The university would keep knowledge of the report limited to those who need to know in

order for the university to respond properly.

c.

The university would forward the report outside the campus to criminal investigators.

d.

The university would take steps to protect the safety of the person making the report.

e.

The university would support the person making the report.

f.

The university would take corrective action to address factors that may have led to the

sexual assault.
g.

The university would take corrective action against the offender.

h.

The university would take steps to protect the person making the report from retaliation.

i.

Students would label the person making the report a troublemaker.

j.

Students would support the person making the report.

k.

The alleged offender(s) or their associates would retaliate against the person making the

report.
l.

The educational achievement/career of the person making the report would suffer.

10. Have you received training in policies and procedures regarding incidents of sexual assault
(e.g.
what is defined as sexual assault, how to report an incident, confidential resources, procedures
for investigating)?
YES NO
11. Have you received training in prevention of sexual assault?
YES NO
12. If yes, how useful did you think the training was?
Very Moderately Somewhat Slightly Not Useful
13. Please indicate your level of agreement to the following statements:12
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree/disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Dont know
a.

If a friend or I were sexually assaulted, I know where to go to get help.

b.

I understand [University]s formal procedures to address complaints of sexual assault.

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 19

c.
I have confidence that [University] administers the formal procedures to address
complaints
of sexual assault fairly.
E. Sample Questions Assessing Number of Victims of Sexual Violence
NOTE: be sure to select the appropriate timeframe for your survey. See discussion on page 16
(Chapter
1, Section III.D.1.a). Some of the terms used in this section are graphic. Through extensive
evaluation,
researchers have validated these questions as the most effective and scientific means to assess
whether
someone has been raped or sexually assaulted.13 They are the best practice for insuring the
collection of
valid and useful data, and recent national reports are clear about the need to ask very descriptive
questions about behaviors in order to measure experiences of sexual assault accurately.14
This section asks about nonconsensual or unwanted sexual contact you may have experienced.
When
you are asked about whether something happened since [TIMEFRAME], please think about
what has
happened since [TIMEFRAME]. The person with whom you had the unwanted sexual contact
could have
been a stranger or someone you know, such as a family member or someone you were dating or
going
out with. These questions ask about five types of unwanted sexual contact: 15
a.
forced touching of a sexual nature (forced kissing, touching of private parts, grabbing,
fondling,
rubbing up against you in a sexual way, even if it is over your clothes)
b.

oral sex (someones mouth or tongue making contact with your genitals or your mouth or

tongue making contact with someone elses genitals)

c.

sexual intercourse (someones penis being put in your vagina)

d.

anal sex (someones penis being put in your anus)

e.
sexual penetration with a finger or object (someone putting their finger or an object like
a bottle

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 20

or a candle in your vagina or anus)
The questions below ask about unwanted sexual contact that involved force or threats of force
against
you. Force could include someone holding you down with his or her body weight, pinning your
arms,
hitting or kicking you, or using or threatening to use a weapon against you.
Response choices are Yes/No followed by followup questions if Yes is selected.
14. Has anyone had sexual contact with you by using physical force or threatening to physically
harm you? YES NO
15. Has anyone attempted but not succeeded in having sexual contact with you by using or
threatening to use physical force against you? YES NO
The next set of questions ask about your experiences with unwanted sexual contact while you
were
unable to provide consent or stop what was happening because you were passed out, drugged,
drunk,
incapacitated, or asleep. These situations might include times that you voluntarily consumed
alcohol or
drugs and times that you were given drugs without your knowledge or consent.
16. Since ________ (insert timeframe), has someone had sexual contact with you when you were
unable to provide consent or stop what was happening because you were passed out, drugged,
drunk, incapacitated, or asleep? This question asks about incidents that you are certain
happened. YES NO
17. Have you suspected that someone has had sexual contact with you when you were unable to
provide consent or stop what was happening because you were passed out, drugged, drunk,
incapacitated, or asleep? This question asks about events that you think (but are not certain)
happened. YES NO
Followup Questions:
Earlier you indicated that since TIMEFRAME, someone has had sexual contact with you by
using
physical force or threatening to physically harm you. The questions below ask about that

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 21

experience.
18. When the person had sexual contact with you by using or threatening you with physical
force,
which of the following happened? Please check all that apply.
a. Forced touching of a sexual nature d. Anal sex
b. Oral sex e. Sexual Penetration with a finger or
c. Sexual intercourse object
Earlier you indicated that since TIMEFRAME, someone has had sexual contact with you when
you
were unable to provide consent or stop what was happening because you were passed out,
drugged, drunk, incapacitated, or asleep. The questions below ask about that experience.
19. When the person had sexual contact with you when you were unable to provide consent or
stop
what was happening because you were passed out, drugged, drunk, incapacitated, or asleep,
which of the following happened? Please check all that apply.
a. Forced touching of a sexual nature e. Sexual Penetration with a finger or
b. Oral sex object
c. Sexual intercourse f. Dont Know
d. Anal sex
The next questions ask more about the time since TIMEFRAME that someone had sexual
contact
with you when you were unable to provide consent or stop what was happening because you
were
passed out, drugged, drunk, incapacitated, or asleep.
20. Just prior to (the incident/any of the incidents), had you been drinking alcohol? Keep in mind
that you are in no way responsible for the assault that occurred, even if you had been drinking.
YES NO
a. If yes, were you drunk? YES NO
21. Just prior to (the incident/any of the incidents), had you voluntarily been taking or using any
drugs other than alcohol? YES NO

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 22

22. Just prior to (the incident/any of the incidents), had you been given a drug without your
knowledge or consent? YES NO DONT KNOW
F. Sample Context and Disclosure Questions
It can often be helpful to campus staff to understand more about where sexual assault occurs. A
number of measures have been developed to assess this. [Use if participants indicate they had
unwanted sexual experiences.]
For the next set of questions, please pick the MOST SERIOUS INCIDENT if you had more than
one, and
answer the questions below about this experience. If you had no unwanted sexual experiences,
circle
no experience for each of the questions below.16
23. Who did the UNWANTED BEHAVIOR involve? (Check only one)
a. stranger f. college professor/instructor
b. family member g. college staff
c. acquaintance h. nonromantic friend
d. coworker i. casual or first date
e. employer/supervisor j. current romantic partner
k. exromantic partner m. No experience
l. other (specify) ______________
24. Was this person a student at your University?
a. Yes c. I do not know
b. No d. No experience
25. Was this person affiliated with the University, as an employee, staff, or faculty member?
a. Yes c. I do not know
b. No d. No experience
27. What was the gender of the individual who did this to you?
a. Man c. No experience
b. Woman
28. Did the incident involve: (Circle ALL that apply)

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 23

a. the other persons use of alcohol d. your use of drugs
b. your use of alcohol e. none of the above
c. the other persons use of drugs f. No experience
29. How frightened were you by the incident?
a. Extremely frightened d. Not at all frightened
b. Somewhat frightened e. No experience
c. Only a little frightened
30. Where did the incident occur? (Mark ALL that apply)
a. Offcampus (please specify location) ________________________________________
b. Oncampus (please specify location) ________________________________________
c. Other location (please specify) _____________________________________________
31. Who did you tell about the incident? (Circle ALL that apply)
a. no one f. counselor
b. roommate g. faculty or staff
h. residence hall staff c. close friend other than roommate
i. police d. parent or guardian
j. romantic partner (other than the one e. other family member
who did this to you)
k.

campus sexual assault advocate m. No experience

l.

Other (specify) _______________

32. Did you use the formal procedures to report the incident(s)?
YES NO
33. If yes, did university formal procedures help you deal with the problem?
a.

Didn't help me at all

b.

Helped me a little

c.

Helped, but could have helped more

d.

Helped me a lot

e.

Completely solved the problem

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 24

34. If you did not tell anyone, why? (Circle ALL that apply)17
a.

Ashamed/embarrassed

b.

Is a private matter wanted to deal

with it on own
c.

Concerned others would find out

d.

Didnt want the person who did it to

get in trouble
e.

Fear of retribution from the person

who did it
f.

Fear of not being believed

g.

I thought I would be blamed for what

happened
h.

Didnt think what happened was

serious enough to talk about

i.

Didnt think others would think it was

serious
j.

Thought people would try to tell me

what to do
k.

Would feel like an admission of failure

l.

Didnt think others would think it was

important
m.

Didnt think others would understand

n.

Didnt have time to deal with it due to

academics, work, etc.

o.

Didnt know reporting procedure on

campus
p.

Feared I or another would be punished

for infractions or violations (such as

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 25

underage drinking)
q.

I did not feel the campus leadership

would solve my problems

r.

I feared others would harass me or

react negatively toward me

s.

I thought nothing would be done

t.

Didnt want others to worry about me

u.

Wanted to forget it happened

v.

Had other things I needed to focus on

and was concerned about (classes,

work)
w.

Didnt think the school would do

anything about my report.

x.

Other (specify) ________________

y.

No experience/I did tell someone

27
IV. ADDITIONAL CLIMATE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
1. Optional Module 1: Sample Bystander Attitudes and Behaviors
Yet another facet of climate is engagement in bystander actions and perceptions of peer support
for
bystander actions to address harassment and sexual violence. Validated measures for these
constructs
are now appearing in the peer review literature.
Readiness to Help
Sexual violence refers to a range of behaviors that are unwanted by the recipient and include
remarks
about physical appearance; persistent sexual advances that are undesired by the recipient;
unwanted
touching; and unwanted oral, anal, or vaginal penetration or attempted penetration. These
behaviors

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 26

could be initiated by someone known or unknown to the recipient, including someone they are in
a
relationship with.
Please read the following statements and circle the number that indicates how true each is of you.
18
12345
Strongly disagree/ Not at all true Strongly agree/Very much true
1. I dont think sexual violence is a problem on this campus. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I dont think there is much I can do about sexual violence on campus. 1 2 3 4 5
3. There isnt much need for me to think about sexual violence on campus. 1 2 3 4 5
4. Doing something about sexual violence is solely the job of the crisis center. 1 2 3 4 5
5. Sometimes I think I should learn more about sexual violence. 1 2 3 4 5
6. I have not yet done anything to learn more about sexual violence. 1 2 3 4 5
7. I think I can do something about sexual violence. 1 2 3 4 5
8. I am planning to learn more about the problem of sexual violence on
campus.
12345
9. I have recently attended a program about sexual violence. 1 2 3 4 5
10. I am actively involved in projects to deal with sexual violence on campus. 1 2 3 4 5
11. I have recently taken part in activities or volunteered my time on projects
focused on ending sexual violence on campus.
12345
12. I have been or am currently involved in ongoing efforts to end sexual
violence on campus.
12345
Bystander Confidence
This module focuses on key aspects of bystander attitudes. These include bystander perceptions
of the

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 27

problem, confidence and intent to intervene, and perceptions of peer norms about taking action.
These
questions are intended to assess community norms; they are not intended to or designed to
measure,
assess, or predict individual respondents future behavior.19
Please read each of the following behaviors. Indicate in the column Confidence how confident
you are
that you could do them. Rate your degree of confidence by recording a number from 0 to 100
using
the scale given below:20
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
cant do quite uncertain moderately certain very certain
You may interpret the phrase do something to mean acting in some way, such as asking for
help,
creating a distraction, or talking directly.
Confidence
13. Express my discomfort if someone makes a joke about a womans body. %
14. Express my discomfort if someone says that rape victims are to blame for being raped. %
15. Call for help (i.e. call 911) if I hear someone in my dorm yelling help. %
16. Talk to a friend who I suspect is in a sexually abusive relationship. %
17. Get help and resources for a friend who tells me they have been raped. %
18. Able to ask a stranger who looks very upset at a party if they are ok or need help. %
19. Ask a friend if they need to be walked home from a party. %
20. Ask a stranger if they need to be walked home from a party. %
21. Criticize a friend who tells me that they had sex with someone who was passed out or who
didnt give consent.
%
22. Do something to help a very drunk person who is being brought upstairs to a bedroom by a
group of people at a party.
%

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 28

23. Do something if I see a woman surrounded by a group of men at a party who looks very
uncomfortable.
%
24. Tell an RA or other campus authority about information I have that might help in a sexual
assault case even if pressured by my peers to stay silent.
%
25. Speak up to someone who is making excuses for forcing someone to have sex with them. %
26. Speak up to someone who is making excuses for having sex with someone who is unable to
give full consent.
%
For the next few questions, based on behavior you have observed, how likely are students willing
to:21
Very likely Moderately likely Somewhat likely Not at all
27. Confront other students who make inappropriate or negative sexual comments and gestures?
28. Report other students who continue to engage in sexual harassing or unwanted sexual

behaviors after having been previously confronted?

29. Report other students who use force or pressure to engage in sexual contact?
30. Allow personal loyalties to affect reporting of sexual assault?
31. Choose not to report sexual assault out of concern they or others will be punished for

infractions, such as underage drinking or fraternization?

32. Be interviewed as or serve as a witness in a sexual assault case if they knew relevant

information?

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 29

Please indicate how likely you are to engage in each of the following behaviors using this
scale:22
Not likely 0 1 2 3 4 5 Extremely likely
33. Ask for verbal consent when I am intimate with my partner, even if we are in a longterm
relationship.
34. Stop sexual activity when asked to, even if I am already sexually aroused.
35. Check in with my friend who looks drunk when they go to a room with someone else at a
party.
36. Say something to my friend who is taking a drunk person back to their room at a party.
37. Challenge a friend who made a sexist joke.
38. Express my concern if a family member makes a sexist joke.
39. Challenge a friend who uses insulting words to describe girls.
40. Confront a friend who plans to give someone alcohol to get sex.
41. Refuse to participate in activities where girls appearances are ranked/rated.
42. Confront a friend who is hooking up with someone who was passed out.
43. Confront a friend if I hear rumors that they forced sex on someone.
44. Report a friend that committed a rape.
45. Stop having sex with a partner if they say to stop, even if it started consensually.
46. Decide not to have sex with a partner if they are drunk.
Please answer the following questions based on your experiences:23
47. Since the start of the current academic year, I have had a friend or acquaintance tell me that
they were the victim of an unwanted sexual experience. YES NO
a. If yes: How many women told you this? _____
b. If yes: How many men told you this? ________
48. Since the start of the current academic year, I have observed a situation that I believe was, or
could have led to, a sexual assault. YES NO
[If answered yes to above question:]
49. In response to this situation: (Select the one response that most closely resembles your
actions)

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 30

a. I stepped in and separated the people involved in the situation.
b. I asked the person who appeared to be at risk if they needed help.
c. I confronted the person who appeared to be causing the situation.
d. I created a distraction to cause one or more of the people to disengage from the situation.
e. I asked others to step in as a group and diffuse the situation.
f. I told someone in a position of authority about the situation.
g. I considered intervening in the situation, but I could not safely take any action.
h. I decided not to take action.

2. Optional Module 2: Sample Perceptions of Sexual Assault Questions

Contextual Perceptions of Sexual Assault
These two vignettes were used in research by Bennett & Banyard (under review) and judged
believable
by students. These vignettes are made to be general but may be more appropriately specific to
residential campuses with traditionalaged students. Some of the terms used in this section may
be
offensive.
Please indicate how much do you think this situation is a problem using a 7point Likert Scale
(1=Not at
all, 7=Very much)
Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very Much
1.

You are at a party and you notice Rachael across the room. You have never seen Rachael

around campus and you do not know who she is. Next to Rachael is Jesse. You have never seen
Jesse around campus and you do not know who he is. From what you can see, there is a lot of
alcohol at the party, and Jesse and Rachael appear to be drinking. Jesse keeps grabbing
Rachaels butt and rubbing up against her. Rachael is laughing but you can also tell she is trying
to pull away from Jesse. Rachael keeps removing his hands from her body and politely telling
him to cut it out. Yet, Jesse continues to make advances.
2.
You are at a party and you are watching a girl that you have never seen before, Kayla,
laughing

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 31

and having a great time. While at your party, you also witness Kayla and a guy that you have
never seen before, John. Every time you have seen Kayla and John, they have an alcoholic drink
in their hands. At one point, you encounter them in the hallway and they are slurring their
speech and declaring that they are wasted. Kayla and John are kissing and you overhear John
tell Kayla he is taking her back to his place. Kayla can barely walk on her own, and she seems
reluctant to be kissing John. John begins to lead Kayla away from the party.
Rape Myth Acceptance
Measures of rape myth acceptance have been validated but are becoming less useful because
students
increasingly know the right answer and do not answer truthfully. More subtle options such as
the
vignettes above may more accurately capture student attitudes but have not yet been validated.
Some of
the terms used in this section may be offensive. Researchers have validated these questions as the
most
effective means to assess rape myth acceptance.
Please read each of the following statements and circle the number that indicates how true each
is of
you:
24
12345
Strongly disagree Strongly agree
3. If a girl is raped while she is drunk, she is at least somewhat responsible for
what happened. 1 2 3 4 5
4. When girls go to parties wearing revealing clothes, they are asking for
trouble.
12345
5. If a girl goes to a room alone with a guy at a party, it is her own fault if she is
raped. 1 2 3 4 5
6. If a girl hooks up with a lot of guys, eventually she is going to get into

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 32

trouble.
12345
7. When guys rape, it is usually because of their strong desire for sex. 1 2 3 4 5
8. Guys dont usually intend to force sex on a girl, but sometimes they get too
sexually carried away. 1 2 3 4 5
9. Rape happens when a guys sex drive gets out of control. 1 2 3 4 5
10. If a guy is drunk, he might rape someone unintentionally. 1 2 3 4 5
11. If both people are drunk, it cant be rape. 1 2 3 4 5
12. It shouldnt be considered rape if a guy is drunk and didnt realize what he
was doing. 1 2 3 4 5
13. If a girl doesnt physically resist sexeven if protesting verballyit really
cant be considered rape. 1 2 3 4 5
14. If a girl doesnt physically fight back, you cant really say it was rape. 1 2 3 4 5
15. A lot of times, girls who say they were raped agreed to have sex and then
regret it.
12345
16. Rape accusations are often used as a way of getting back at guys. 1 2 3 4 5
17. Girls who say they were raped often led the guy on and then had regrets. 1 2 3 4 5
18. A lot of times, girls who claim they were raped just have emotional
problems. 1 2 3 4 5
19. If the accused rapist doesnt have a weapon, you really cant call it a rape. 1 2 3 4 5
20. Girls who are caught cheating on their boyfriends sometimes claim that it
was rape.
12345
21. If a girl doesnt say no, she cant claim rape. 1 2 3 4 5
3. Optional Module 3: Sample Physical Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
Questions
To understand the scope of physical IPV committed against your students, it is essential to
measure the

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 33

extent, type, and consequences of the violence. Hamby (2014) describes how small changes to
how
questions are asked can make a big difference.25 Consequences to be measured can include
fearfulness
resulting from the assault or assessing injury related to the incident. The 2010 CDC National
Intimate
Partner and Sexual Violence Survey measured impact of the incident, including need for
services.26 The
CDC survey also asked about specific types of violence.
The sample below uses questions from the University of New Hampshire 2012 survey.27
Physical IPV was
measured using the 16item Safe Dates Physical Violence Victimization scale.28 Some of the
terms used
in this section are graphic. Through extensive evaluation, researchers have validated these
questions as
the most effective and scientific means to assess whether someone has been a victim of intimate
partner
violence. 29
This section will continue to ask questions about relationship and dating experiences. No matter
how
well a couple gets along, there are times when they disagree, get annoyed with the other person,
want
different things from each other, or just have spats or fights because they are in a bad mood, are
tired,
or for some other reason. Couples also have many different ways of trying to settle their
differences.
This is a list of things that might happen when you have differences.
How many times has a casual, steady, or serious dating or intimate partner done the following to
you
DURING THIS SCHOOL YEAR (since the start of fall 20__ semester)?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+
1. Scratched me?
2. Slapped me?

Tripp, Newman, & Danico 34

3. Physically twisted my arm?
4. Slammed me or held me against a wall?
5. Kicked me?
6. Bent my fingers?
7. Bit me?
8. Tried to choke me?
9. Pushed, grabbed, or shoved me?
10. Dumped me out of a car?
11. Threw something at me that hit me?
12. Burned me?
13. Hit me with a fist?
14. Hit me with something hard besides a fist?
15. Beat me up?
16. Assaulted me with a knife or gun?
Please answer the following questions about what you consider the MOST SERIOUS
INCIDENT you
indicated that happened during this school year. If you answered zero (0) to all questions above,
please
circle No Experience or N/A (unless otherwise indicated).
17. How frightened were you by the incident?
Extremely Somewhat Only a Little Not at All No Experience
18. How concerned were you about your safety?
Extremely Somewhat Only a Little Not at All No Experience
19. Did you seek services or contact a hotline after the incident? YES NO N/A
20. Were you injured in the incident? YES NO N/A
a. If yes, did you seek medical attention? YES NO N/A