Running head: CAMPUS CLIMATE REPORT 1

2016-17 Campus Climate Survey:

Sexual Violence and Misconduct

Heather E. Mueller Titus

Cornish College of the Arts

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2016-17 Campus Climate Survey: Sexual Violence and Misconduct

The 2016-17 Cornish College of the Arts Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Violence

and Misconduct reflects the institutions commitment to a thorough, transparent, and honest self-

examination of a problem that affects many students. During the Fall of 2016, students were

invited to respond to the pilot Campus Climate Survey, which was conducted under the

supervision of Jerry Hekkel, Dean of Student Life and Title IX Coordinator. The survey

intended to gather information about student knowledge and experience related to discrimination

and harassment, particularly the spectrum of sexual violence and general perception of campus

climate. Results are intended to raise awareness about student experiences and campus

resources, and to expand the conversation and engagement opportunities related to these

important issues. Cornish College students are invited to provide feedback, comments, or

questions as we continue to utilize this information to inform ongoing assessment of and

additions to prevention efforts and training.

This document summarizes the results of the survey, the design and methodology used to

produce these results, and provides recommendations for future assessments and programming.

Throughout the academic year, Cornish College staff will work with the community to use the

survey data to answer additional important questions, including how to more effectively address

and prevent sexual violence and misconduct.

Definitions

Cornish College defines sexual violence and misconduct as:

Sexual harassment

Hostile environment caused by sexual harassment

Sexual assault
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Non-consensual sexual contact

Non-consensual sexual intercourse

Domestic violence

Dating violence

Sexual exploitation

Stalking

Retaliation

Intimidation

The above terms are defined in Appendix A (Office of Student Life, 2016).

Background

Title IX & Campus SaVE Act

Title IX and the Campus SaVE Act apply to all post-secondary education institutions that

receive federal funds, including any money used by students who receive funding through

federal financial aid programs. Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a Federal

law that states that "No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from

participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education

program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance" (The Margaret Fund of NWLC,

2016). As of March 2014, the U.S. Department of Education has also enforced the Campus

SaVE Act. This update expands the scope of Violence Against Women Act (2014) legislation in

terms of reporting, response, and prevention education requirements around rape, acquaintance

rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (EverFi, 2014; Efforts to

End Violence Against Women, 2014). When filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of

Education, the Campus SaVE Act and Title IX work together to protect every student and hold
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schools accountable by transforming campus culture and eliminating sexual violence and

misconduct.

Campus Climate Survey

In 2014, the Obama administration released Not Alone: The First Report of the White

House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. This report offers clear suggestions

for addressing sexual violence and misconduct on campus, including a recommendation that

institutions conduct campus climate surveys to identify and remedy problem areas (White House

Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault, 2014). Additionally, the White House Task

Force created a sample campus climate survey template to help ensure all higher education

institutions could implement the survey with limited resources.

A student campus climate survey is a tool is used to identify student perception of

campus experience at a given time. Seeking to understand how students experience the campus

community is important to supporting students learning and development. The purpose of

gathering and sharing this information is to better understand Cornish Colleges students

perceptions and experiences and to gather a sense of campus climate, particularly related to

sexual and gender-based misconduct. The results are used to further campus conversation and

prevention efforts, as well as to inform future training and outreach (for faculty, staff, and

students) to support a healthy and inclusive environment (Law Room, 2016).

Current Initiatives and Guidance

Cornish College has shown its commitment to creating a safe and positive campus

environment through its well-defined sexual violence and misconduct and reporting policies,

robust Campus Clarity annual online trainings, and various interactive student initiatives and

orientation workshops.
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Sexual Misconduct and Reporting Policies

Cornish College outlines specific policies and procedures that pertain to sexual violence

and misconduct in the 2016-17 Cornish Student Handbook. It states that gender-based

discrimination, including sexual violence and misconduct, is strictly prohibited and any act

committed by members of the community, guests, and visitors will not be tolerated (Office of

Student Life, 2016). All members of the community are expected to conduct themselves in a

manner that does not infringe on the rights of others. The Title IX coordinator is available to

provide information about resources for assistance and about options for addressing concerns

(Office of Student Life, 2016). Resources and options may vary depending on the nature of the

complaint, whether the complainant is a student, faculty or staff member, the wishes of the

complainant regarding confidentiality, and whether the complainant prefers to proceed formally

or informally. The Student Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedure can be viewed in its

entirety in the 2016-17 Cornish Student Handbook, Appendix A (Office of Student Life,

2016).

Campus Clarity Trainings

For the last two years, the Office of Student Life has administered the Think About It

Training for students to ensure compliance with the SaVE Act and Title IX. Think About It is

a research-based, comprehensive online training program that empowers students to make

healthy choices and minimize risks associated with alcohol, drugs, and sexual violence (Law

Room, 2016). Administered through Campus Clarity, this engaging training is designed to help

create a safe campus environment by examining the interconnected issues of hooking up,

substance abuse, sexual violence, and healthy relationships through a variety of interactive,

realistic scenarios and guided self-reflection (Law Room, 2016).

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As of Fall 2015, all incoming first year and transfer students receive this training before

arriving to campus, and are encouraged via email reminders to complete the survey during the

academic year. The goal is to provide students with the necessary confidence and skills to

intervene before sexual assault occurs, to speak out against stereotypes and attitudes that

perpetuate sexual violence and drug and alcohol use, and to support survivors (Law Room,

2016). In addition to the student-version of this training, there is also a separate online training

called Workplace Answers for all faculty and staff, who are required to take the training once a

year. This approach helps create a community of responsibility, where students, faculty, and

staff are equal partners in preventing sexual violence and misconduct.

Student Programming

April 2016 was the first time that Cornish College observed Sexual Assault Awareness

and Prevention Month (SAAPM), as promoted by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center

(NSVRC). Each year, schools and organizations around the country observe this month by

creating events and marketing campaigns centered around raising public awareness about sexual

violence and educating communities on how to prevent it from happening altogether (National

Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2016). Throughout April 2016, Student Life collaborated

with the counseling center, the student-led organization Cornish Cares, and Heather Mueller, a

graduate student intern from Seattle University, to host a range of student programming on

campus and social media promotion on Facebook and Instagram.

In addition, Jerry Hekkel and Heather Mueller presented workshops about sexual

violence and misconduct resources and tools at the 2016-17 Orientation on August 31-September

1, 2016 for all incoming first year and transfer students. Jerry Hekkel presented a

comprehensive workshop focusing on student conduct and Title IX policies, reporting

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guidelines, and how to get help on campus via the Title IX coordinator and counselors. Heather

Mueller presented an interactive workshop focusing on consent and active bystander

intervention, equipping students with communication strategies to use in their everyday lives.

Through the efforts implemented during April 2016 and recent orientation, the Office of

Student life communicated with over half of the student population to ensure all students

received messages about preventing sexual violence and misconduct, resources for survivors,

and tools for students to create a culture of consent on campus.

It should be noted that most organizations use the term Sexual Assault Awareness

Month (SAAM) and do not include the word Prevention. However, current best practices

suggest that including the word Prevention adds emphasis that encourages individuals and

organizations to play a role in preventing sexual violence year-round, and not just in April (The

White House, Office of Press Secretary, 2016).

Methods

All enrolled students for the 2016-17 Academic Year received an email invitation from

the Office of Student Life to complete the survey. The survey was designed using the template

offered in the White House Task Force Report (2014), and edited to reflect Cornish Colleges

language and policies. In the survey, students were presented with a brief statement about the

importance of collecting this information, that their participation was voluntary and anonymous,

and were not offered any incentives to take the survey. The survey contained measures designed

to assess the incidence and prevalence of unwanted sexual contact and experiences, intimate

partner violence, and other issues of sexual misconduct including harassment and bullying. It

also contained measures that assessed participants perceptions of the general campus
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environment, perceptions of campus leadership, policies, and reporting practices as they relate to

sexual assault and rape and bystander attitudes and behaviors.

The survey was administered on October 27, 2016 through Campus Clarity, which

generates a unique invitation link for each student to minimize the risk of duplicate responses.

Students were told that the study was being conducted by the Office of Student Life, under the

supervision of Jerry Hekkel, Dean of Student Life and Title IX Coordinator, and Brittany

Henderson, Associate Dean of Student Life. A reminder message was sent out through a Student

E-Newsletter to encourage response on November 1, 2016. The survey was digitally open from

12:15 PM on Thursday, October 27, 2016 through 12:00 AM on Wednesday, November 16,

2016. The survey was designed to take 15-20 minutes to complete for most respondents who

reported one incident or fewer. Overall, the time to actually complete the survey met this goal,

as the average time to complete it was 15.5 minutes. 108 students of the entire undergraduate

student body (n=673) took the survey via a web-based survey, with 51% of participants

completing all or part of their survey on a personal mobile device.

Sample

Participants included in the analyses presented herein were 108 undergraduates between

the ages of 18 and 24, with an outlier of one student under the age of 18, and nine students over

the age of 25. Women made up 57% of the sample, men made up 32%, and 11% reported being

gender neutral, fluid or agender. Participants were primarily in their first or second year in

school (38.2% freshman, 23.5% sophomore, 14.7% juniors, 13.7% seniors) and enrolled in the

beginning of the academic school year (August-September). The majority of the sample (77.2%)

identified as Caucasian/White, with 15.8% of the sample identifying at Asian as the next highest

category. For the remaining participants, 3% identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native,
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2% as Black of African American, 2% as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 6.9% of

participants declined to answer. About half of the sample identified as straight (46%), and the

remaining participants identified as gay or lesbian (13%), bisexual or pansexual (33%), asexual

(3%) or something else (5%). Additionally, about half of the participants live in a Cornish

College Residence Hall on campus (50.5%), and the other half (49.5%) live off-campus either in

an apartment or house, or with their parents or guardian or spouse in a house.

Limitations

The response rate was 15.2% (n= 108) with a completion rate of 62%. Originally, we

hoped for minimum response rate of 25% (n=175) and 95% completion rate. While the survey

was sent to the entire undergraduate student population, typical marketing procedures for

conducting surveys on campus were not as effective as usual, yielding a lower response rate.

Despite multiple rounds of edits and reviews, there were duplicate questions in the survey and

issues in logic of how students navigated survey questions, creating technical errors. Depending

on the previous answer, the survey had multiple paths of how to answer questions, which

sometimes led students to the previous question, causing duplicate answers. Both the response

and completion rates may have been affected by the sensitivity of the subject matter as well,

resulting in 46 students to drop out before completing the survey. In addition, we were unable to

view answers to some questions because the responses were protected due to sample size

constraints.

The survey results should be viewed in light of these relatively low response and

completion rates. Since our final rates are not much lower than our predicted rates, the results of

the pilot survey can serve as a foundation for future campus climate surveys and be used for

benchmarking student experiences over time. However, these survey results should not be
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considered a valid measure of rates of sexual violence and misconduct across the entire

undergraduate population. It should also be noted that while faculty and staff must complete

annual sexual violence and misconduct training, no data was collected from faculty or staff at the

institution in the pilot survey.

Key Findings

91.6% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they feel safe on the schools

campus, however 8.4% of students did not feel safe. Similarly, 45.3% believed the

school is trying hard to make sure all students remain safe.

Almost all of respondents generally believed they are knowledgeable about the resources

available related to sexual violence and misconduct, and 87.1% are knowledgeable about

the topic of sexual assault, including how it is defined, how often it occurs, and what the

legal consequences are.

Two-thirds of respondents knew how to intervene as a bystander to protect other students

from sexual violence and misconduct and 69.7% felt confident in helping themselves or a

friend report or seek services.

While more than half of respondents agreed that Cornish College is doing a good job of

trying to prevent sexual violence and misconduct, the majority of respondents were

unaware or declined to answer how well the school is at providing services,

investigating incidents, or holding people accountable for committing sexual assault.

When asked what might happen when a student reports an incident of sexual violence or

misconduct to a university official, more than three quarters of respondents believed the

college would conduct a fair investigation. Similar percentages are evident for options

about other types of reactions by the college (e.g. officials would take the report
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seriously; protect the safety of the students; take action against the offender; treat

students with dignity and respect).

Overall rates of reporting were low. Of the incidents that occurred on campus during the

2016-2017 school year, no one reported it to campus officials, law enforcement, or

others. However, 68.1% of respondents believed that the school is more interested in

protecting students over the reputation of the school, indicating they are likely to report in

the future.

Respondents were more likely to disclose an unwanted sexual contact or experiences with

a roommate, friend or family member before disclosing to campus officials. However, if

they did contact someone through the school, students were most likely to get in contact

with administrators, faculty, or other officials at this school before seeking help through

outside resources.

The most common reason for not reporting incidents of sexual violence and misconduct

was that the student did not consider it as a serious enough matter to report. Other

reasons included that no action was taken since it was a private matter and they did not

need further assistance.

Perceptions of Campus Climate

The majority of students (89.5%) reported that they agree or strongly agree that

campus officials would take seriously a report of sexual violence or misconduct, and 96%

believed that campus officials would protect the privacy of a person making the report.

Knowledge of Policies and Resources

78% of students reported being knowledgeable about the colleges policy on sexual

violence and misconduct, but 24.4% of students did not understand the legal definition of sexual
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assault and consent. Two-thirds of students (69.1%) reported they would know how to formally

report sexual violence or misconduct and what services are available at Cornish College if they

or a friend are a survivor. Undergraduates in their first and second year have experienced sexual

violence and misconduct programming specific to Cornish College exhibited higher rates of

knowledge of policies and resources then students in their third and fourth year who did not.

While 77% of students in the survey thought Cornish College takes sexual violence and

misconduct prevention seriously, 18% of students believed the institution could do a better job

educating students. In addition, more than six in ten students (67.1%) knew how to intervene as

a bystander to protect other students from sexual violence and misconduct.

Perceptions of Risk

The majority of students (91.6%) of students reported that they agree or strongly

agree that they feel safe on Cornish Colleges campus, but 8.5% of students reported that they

disagree or strongly disagree that school officials trying hard to make sure all students stay

safe. Additionally, 18.9% of students reported alcohol abuse as a big problem on campus, as it

relates to experiences of sexual violence and misconduct.

Incidence of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Incidence refers to a count of how many unique incidents of unwanted sexual contact or

misconduct occur during a given period of time (e.g., since the beginning of the current academic

year). A total of 5 incidents of unwanted sexual contact and 15 incidents of unwanted sexual

advances, comments, or exposure were reported from our original sample of 108 students. In

addition, there was one incident involving an intimate partner.

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Prevalence of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Prevalence rates are a count of how many unique people have had an unwanted sexual

experience during a given period of time (e.g., since the beginning of the current academic year).

A total of four students in our sample reported experiencing at least one incident of unwanted

sexual contact, and one student reporting two incidents. Separate from these five students, 15

students reported experiencing unwanted sexual advances, comments or exposure since the

beginning of the year. In addition, one student experienced an incident with an intimate partner.

Demographic Information about Perpetrators

Two students who experienced unwanted sexual contact identified their perpetrators as

male, two identified their perpetrators as female, and one student declined to answer. Three

students identified their perpetrator as a student, professor, or other employee at Cornish College,

one declined to answer, and one dropped out of the survey. One student identified their

perpetrator as someone they had seen or heard but not talked to, two as an acquaintance, friend

of a friend, or someone they had just met, one as an ex-friend or roommate, and one as an ex-

dating partner or spouse. Students were also asked other questions about their perpetrators, but

the responses were protected due to sample size constraints.

Context of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

When asked where the incident occurred, three students (60%) reported the incident took

place on campus while the other two students (40%) reported the incident took place off-campus

but in Seattle, Washington. Two students reported their perpetrator had been drinking alcohol or

using drugs, two reported their perpetrator was not inebriated, and the last student dropped out

earlier in the survey. Students were also asked if they or other people involved had consumed

alcohol or drugs, but the responses were protected due to sample size constraints.
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Disclosure of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Of the five students in the sample who indicated they experienced unwanted sexual

contact, three students told at least one person about the incident, one said they did not tell

anyone, and one declined to answer. Two of the three students who told at least one person

said they only told roommates, friends or family members about the incident. Of the three

students who said they told at least one person, two did not report the incident to anyone at the

school, including school officials, counselors, or local police, and one declined to answer. The

two students who indicated they did not tell at least one person about the incident were asked to

indicate why and were allowed to indicate multiple reasons. The five reasons listed by students

who did not disclose were: (1) the incident was not serious enough to report, (2) it was a private

matter, (3) did not need any assistance, (4) did not want others to worry, and (5) had other things

to focus on (school, work, etc.).

Reporting of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

Of the five students who indicated they experienced sexual contact since the beginning of

the school year, no one indicted they reported it to campus officials, law enforcement, or others.

In addition, they were asked other questions about why they did not report to campus or local

police, how upsetting the incident was, and if it caused problems in the students personal or

academic life, but the responses were protected due to sample size constraints.

Recommendations

While Cornish College is doing an excellent job in many areas of addressing and

preventing sexual violence and misconduct, there are a variety of opportunities for improvement.

The results of the survey will be used to inform college decision-making about policies,
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procedures, education and prevention training and awareness, and communication efforts around

sexual violence and misconduct.

The following are recommendations based on an overview of best practices from other

institutions and the findings of the 2016-17 Campus Climate Survey:

Similar to the current academic year, all incoming first year and transfer students should

be required to participate in sexual violence and misconduct awareness and bystander

intervention trainings. Since first, second year and transfer students who went to the

mandatory trainings and orientation workshops were more likely to respond to the

survey, Cornish College should implement a series of campus-wide education events

throughout each academic year addressing the following:

o Sexual violence prevention that provides students with education about

communication tools related to explicitly establish consent between partners

o Bystander intervention training, tools, and resources

o Rape myths and the stigma of seeking help or counseling services

o Responsible use of alcohol in a way that does not place blame on survivors of

violence or those who have experienced unwanted sexual experiences.

To reach current students who missed recent events, Cornish College should continue to

administer its Campus Clarity Think About It trainings throughout the year focused on

different topics including definitions of consent and sexual violence and bystander

intervention to provide safe-space opportunities for students to learn.

Since none of the students who indicated they had experienced unwanted sexual

experiences chose to use Cornish Colleges formal procedures to report, the college
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should promote the knowledge of its resources and be more transparent about its formal

reporting policies.

o As of now, students are primarily disclosing incidents to close friends, family, or

loved ones, so it will also be important to include information on how to provide

support if a friend discloses sexual violence or misconduct to them by

encouraging them to seek out resources.

Since one third of students believe the school is more interested in protecting its

reputation over students, the college should consider establishing a student advisory

board that will work with college staff (Cornish College Security, Title IX Coordinators,

and Counselors) in order to engage students and increase transparency. Roles of these

students could provide the important student perspective when:

o Reviewing and recommending online trainings and events

o Advocating for changes in policies and formal reporting procedures

o Acting as active bystanders and promoting a culture of consent on campus

The Title IX Coordinator should continue to monitor the implementation of sexual

violence and misconduct conduct policies, and create an online training to teach other

campus faculty and staff about the importance of eliminating sexual violence and

misconduct and encouraging students to report if they or someone they know experiences

sexual violence or misconduct.

As a pilot survey, there are also recommendations on how to improve the survey for the

next academic year or next time the survey is adjusted, administered and analyzed:

Construct a team of faculty and staff, graduate assistant or intern, and undergraduate

students to conduct more extensive research and analysis. This would help to
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eliminate errors in the logic of how to respond to questions and duplicate questions

that skewed results.

Multiple students addressed the fact that they needed additional choices other than

declined to answer or something else (please specify). There should be a third

option of I Do Not Know the Answer to show that students want to respond are not

sure of what to say or do not know the correct answer. Once the student selects the

answer I Do Not Know, survey logic can be used to only ask these students what

might be helpful to ensure they can learn the information they did not know.

Similarly, the survey should include the optional trigger warning as a drop-down

button to allow students to drop out of the survey while still providing valuable

information. We intended to include this button, however we learned it is not built-in

and activating it requires checking a box during survey development. Often times,

students can feel triggered by the topic of sexual violence or misconduct if they or

someone they know has experienced this type of behavior. With this option, even if

students do not complete the survey, we can learn which questions may be

problematic for students and can be re-worded in future surveys.

This pilot survey had low response and completion rate, potentially because students

did not understand the importance of the survey, were triggered by the content of

sexual violence and misconduct, or were not incentivized to take a survey. In the

future, the following should be considered:

o Administer paper copies in random sample of Cornish College undergraduate

student courses in each department and major in addition to the web-based

survey to gather more participants.

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o Create more marketing around the campus climate survey before sending it

out, and find a more reliable way to remind students to take and complete the

survey after it is sent out. There is no way to send a reminder through

Campus Clarity, and the student e-newsletter and two campus wide emails

alone proved inefficient.

o Consider offering low-valued monetary incentives to motivate students to act

using the tool provided via Campus Clarity. Prior to administering the survey,

incentives were not offered because there was not a way to protect the privacy

of students who received prizes based on their participation. Further research

should be done on the process and benefits of using the Campus Clarity tool to

administer incentives. Ideas include a free lunch with a professor, voucher for

a meal on campus, or Cornish-branded clothing and accessories.

There were neither information nor data collected from faculty, staff, or other campus

officials. When resources and time allows, the survey should also gather the opinions

of all school officials to learn how Cornish College can create more effective

trainings, resources, and materials catered to this specific population. By doing so, it

will further strengthen the communitys commitment to advocating for and

eliminating sexual violence and misconduct and ultimately maintain a positive

campus climate.
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References

About Vice President Biden's Efforts to End Violence Against Women. (2014). Retrieved

December 30, 2016, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/1is2many/about.

EverFi. (2014). Guidebook - How to Exceed Campus SaVE (Clery Act) and Title IX

Compliance. Retrieved December 30, 2016, from http://thecampussaveact.com/.

Law Room. (2016). About us: Campus clarity by EverFi. Retrieved December 30, 2016, from

https://home.campusclarity.com/about-campusclarity/.

National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). (2016). What is Sexual Assault

Awareness Month (SAAM)? Retrieved December 30, 2016, from http://www.nsvrc.org/

saam/about.

Office of Student Life. (2016). Connection 2016-2017 [Cornish Student Handbook]. Seattle,

Washington.

The Margaret Fund of NWLC. (2016). History of Title IX. Retrieved December 30, 2016,

from http://www.titleix.info/History/History-Overview.aspx.

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (2016). Presidential Proclamation - National

Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 2016 [Press release]. Retrieved

December 30, 2016, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-

office/2016/03/31/presidential-proclamation-national-sexual-assault-awareness-and.

White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. (2014). Not alone: The first

report of the white house task force to protect students from sexual assault. Retrieved

from: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ sites/default/files/docs/report_0.pdf.

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Appendix A

Definitions

The following definitions are informed by Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 1994,

and are taken verbatim from the Cornish College Student Handbook for 2016-17. Violations of

Sexual Violence Misconduct under the Cornish College policy include, but are not limited to the

following prohibited behaviors:

Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social

relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and where the existence of

such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors:

the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, the frequency of interaction

between the persons involved in the relationship.

Domestic Violence: A pattern of abusive behavior that is used by an intimate partner to

gain or maintain power and control over the other intimate partner. Domestic violence

can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of

actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate,

manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, inure, or

wound someone. Washington State additionally defines domestic violence as physical

harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily

injury or assault, between family or household members; sexual assault of one family or

household member by another; or stalking of one family or household member by

another family or household member.

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Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse: Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse is any sexual

intercourse (anal, oral, or vaginal), however slight, with any object, by a person upon

another regardless of gender, without consent.

Non-Consensual Sexual Contact: Non-Consensual Sexual Contact is any intentional

sexual touching, however slight, with any object, by a person upon another regardless of

gender, without consent.

Relationship Violence: Dating Violence and/or Domestic Violence

Sexual Assault: Any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs by force or without

consent of the recipient of the unwanted sexual activity. Falling under the definition of

sexual assault is sexual activity such as forced sexual intercourse, sodomy, child

molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. It includes sexual acts against people

who are unable to give consent either due to age or lack of capacity.

Sexual Harassment: Sexual Harassment is gender-based verbal or physical conduct that

unreasonably interferes with or deprives someone of educational access, benefits or

opportunities. There are three types of Sexual Harassment:

1. Hostile Environment: This includes any situation in which there is harassing

conduct that is sufficiently severe, pervasive/persistent and patently/objectively

offensive that it alters the conditions of education, employment, or residence from

both a subjective (the Complainants) and an objective (reasonable persons)

viewpoint.

2. Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment: This exists when there are unwelcome sexual

advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a

CAMPUS CLIMATE REPORT 22

sexual nature; and submission to or rejection of such conduct results in adverse

educational or employment action.

3. Retaliatory Harassment: This includes any adverse employment or educational

action taken against a person because of the persons participation in a complaint

or investigation of discrimination or Sexual Misconduct.

CAMPUS CLIMATE REPORT 23

Appendix B

Resources

For more information, please contact:

Jerry Hekkel
Dean of Student Life
Title IX Coordinator
206-726-5111
jhekkel@cornish.edu

Joseph Canfield
Vice President of Human Resources
Deputy Title IX Coordinator
206-726-5004
jcanfield@cornish.edu

Brittany Henderson
Associate Dean of Student Life
206-726-5174
bhenderson@cornish.edu

On-Campus Resources

Cornish Safety & Security

3rd Floor, Main Campus Center
Telephone: 206-726-5038
Cornish Counseling Services
1st Floor, Cornish Commons
Telephone: 206-726-5027

Office of Student Life

1st Floor Cornish Commons
206-726-5003
Human Resources
7th Floor Main Campus Center
206-726-5082

Off-Campus Resources:

Seattle Crisis Clinic

206-461-3222 or toll free 866-427-4747
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN)
1-800-998-6423
http://www.online.rainn.org (online chat)