FAQ

Discrimination: Any act or failure to act, impermissibly based in whole or in part on a person's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental handicap, and/or reprisal, that adversely affects privileges, benefits, working conditions, results in disparate treatment, or had a disparate impact on employees or applicants.

Sex Discrimination: Discriminatory or disparate treatment of an individual because of his or her sex.

Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination which violates state and federal law and University policy. Students and employees can be the victims, or perpetrators, of sexual harassment. Third parties may also engage in sexually harassing behavior.

In general, sexual harassment may be present if there are unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Employees who are likely to witness or receive reports of sexual harassment and violence have a duty to report. This virtually includes all employees at the institution given their likelihood to interact with students throughout the campus. Additionally, the actual knowledge need not be direct knowledge of an incident as reported by the alleged victim. Actual notice can be established by third party reports.

The privacy of all parties to a complaint of sexual misconduct must be strictly observed, except insofar as it interferes with the College’s obligation to fully investigate allegations of sexual misconduct. Where privacy is not strictly kept, it will still be tightly controlled on a need‐to‐know basis. Dissemination of information and/or written materials to persons not involved in the complaint procedure is not permitted. Violations of the privacy of the complainant or the accused student may lead to conduct action by the College.

In all complaints of sexual misconduct, the complainant will be informed of the outcome. In some instances, the administration also may choose to make a brief announcement of the nature of the violation and the action taken, using no names. Certain university administrators are informed on a confidential basis (e.g., the Chancellor of the College, Dean of Students, Chief of Police). If you report an act of alleged sexual misconduct local police may be notified.

This does not mean charges will be automatically filed or that a victim must speak with the police, but the UNCSA is legally required to notify law enforcement authorities. UNCSA also must statistically report the occurrence on campus of major violent crimes, including certain sex offenses, in an annual report of campus crime statistics. This statistical report does not include personally identifiable information.

Whether you are the complainant or the accused student, UNCSA primary relationship is to the student and not to the parent. However, in the event of major medical, disciplinary, or academic jeopardy, students are strongly encouraged to inform their parents. University officials will directly inform parents when requested to do so by a student, or in certain instance where a health or safety emergency exist, or if the University determines such communication is necessary.

Yes, if you want formal disciplinary action to be taken against the alleged perpetrator. No, if you choose to respond informally and do not file a formal complaint (but you should consult the complete confidentiality policy to better understand the University’s legal obligations depending on what information you share with different college officials).

Do not contact the alleged victim. You may immediately want to contact someone in the campus community who can act as your advisor. You may also contact:

• Vice Provost/Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Tracey Ford at 336-770-3274 or
• Interim Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Title IX Jayne Grandes at 908-510-0563 or
• Director of Student Conduct & Community Standards  at
  336-631-1215

who can explain the University’s procedures for dealing with sexual misconduct complaints. You may also want to talk to a confidential counselor at the counseling center.

Physical evidence of a criminal sexual assault must be collected within 72 hours. If you believe you have been a victim of a criminal sexual assault, you should contact campus police at 336-770-3321 or call 9-1-1.

We recommend before washing yourself or your clothing you go to the hospital Emergency Room to see a SANE nurse. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (a specially trained nurse) at the hospital is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you go to the hospital, local police will be called, but you are not obligated to talk to the police or to prosecute. The exam will help to keep that option open for you, should you decide later to exercise it.

The hospital staff will collect evidence, check for injuries, and address the possibility of exposure to sexually transmitted infections. If you have changed clothing since the assault, bring the clothing you had on at the time of the assault with you to the hospital in a clean, sanitary container such as a clean paper grocery bag or wrapped in a clean sheet (plastic containers do not breathe, and may render evidence useless). If you have not changed clothes, bring a change of clothes with you to the hospital, if possible, as they will likely keep the clothes you are wearing as evidence.

You can take a support person with you to the hospital, and they can accompany you through the exam, if you want. Do not disturb the crime scene—leave all sheets, towels, etc., that may bear evidence for the police to collect.

No. The severity of the infraction will determine the nature of the University’s response, but whenever possible the University will respond educationally rather than punitively to the illegal use of drugs and/or alcohol. The seriousness of sexual misconduct is a major concern and the University does not want any of the circumstances (e.g., drug or alcohol use) to inhibit the reporting of sexual misconduct.

Not unless there is a compelling reason to believe that prior use or abuse is relevant to the present complaint.

If you believe that you have experienced a non‐consensual sexual contact, but are unsure of whether it was a violation of the University’s sexual misconduct policy please contact:

• Campus Safety at 336-770-3321
• Interim Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Title IX Jayne Grandes at 908-510-0563
• Associate Director of Student Conduct at 
  336-631-1215
• the Counseling Center at 336-770-3277
• or another trusted administrator

The University provides advisors who can help you to define and clarify the event(s), and advise you of your options.