FAQs

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that protects people from discrimination based on sex/gender in federally-funded education programs and activities. As a recipient of federal funds and an institution that values equity and inclusion, Lafayette College must comply with Title IX.

The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that receive federal aid to keep and disclose information about crime within set geographic parameters. Compliance is monitored by the United States Department of Education, which can impose civil penalties against institutions for each infraction and can suspend institutions from participating in federal student financial aid programs. Schools are required to publish an annual security report, maintain a public crime log, give timely warnings of crimes that represent a threat to the safety of students or employees, and keep the most recent eight years (as of 2012) of crime statistics that occurred. Lafayette College’s ASR can be found here. Timely warnings are sent via Leopard Alert  and College email.

Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination and applies to schools that receive federal funding. The Clery Act requires institutions of higher education to notify the community about certain public safety and crime prevention matters. The two laws are very different but have some important similarities, particularly after the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 amended Clery.

Title IX and Clery chart

If you are the complainant: After you report an incident of sexual harassment, you will be contacted, usually via email, by the Director of Educational Equity inviting you to an informational meeting. This informational meeting is intended to answer questions regarding resources, discuss available supportive measures, and institutional procedures–it does not automatically trigger an investigation of the reported conduct.

If you are a third-party reporter:

After you submit a report, the Director of Educational Equity, or designee, will acknowledge receipt of the report and may have some follow-up questions for you. You are welcome to request a meeting with the Director of Educational Equity or Deputy Title IX Coordinator at any time if you have questions.

If you submit an anonymous report:

The College is limited in its ability to respond to anonymous reports. You should not expect to receive a follow-up communication if you report anonymously; however, the College may attempt to gather additional information about any reported incidents. Anonymous reports will be kept on record, and if enough information is available, may be recorded in the school’s crime statistics.

Click here to access the Resource Guide

Below is a flowchart explaining the different outcomes after reporting:

The Clery Act requires institutions to issue timely warnings to the campus community about crimes that have occurred and may continue to pose a serious or ongoing threat to students and employees. The Office of Public Safety is responsible for determining if a timely warning must be sent out after a crime is reported. Such warnings will never contain names or other identifying information about victims. In addition, the Office of Public Safety maintains a crime log for all crimes (including crimes of sexual violence) as defined by the Clery Act. Identifying information will not be included in the campus crime log. For more information on timely warnings or recording of crime statistics, contact the Department of Public Safety at (610) 330-5330.

• Reports can be made at any time online at sash.lafayette.edu by clicking the “Report Sexual Harassment” button or at https://onepard.lafayette.edu/
• You can make a report directly to the Director of Educational Equity or one of the Deputy Title IX Coordinators during normal business hours (appointments are encouraged).
• You also have the right to report the incident to the police and/or seek a protective order from a court. The Department of Public Safety and/or the Director of Educational Equity can provide more information about these options.

Supportive measures are non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge to the parties to restore or preserve access to the College’s education program or activity, including measures designed to protect the safety of all parties or the College’s educational environment, and/or deter harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation.

Supportive measures are individualized and determined on a case-by-case basis. The following is a list of supportive measures that may be explored. A more complete list of supportive measures is located in the policy.

• Academic supportive measures may include dean’s excuses, support to drop a class after the deadline, requesting incompletes, changes to your academic schedule, or other possibilities as appropriate
• No Contact Orders: No Contact Orders are Lafayette’s non-disciplinary measures to ensure that two or more individuals are not permitted to communicate directly or indirectly with each other for a period of time. 
• Living situation and room changes: It is sometimes possible to relocate people on a temporary or permanent basis when two individuals’ residential proximity becomes unsafe or disruptive. Temporary accommodations may sometimes include providing a second residential space for an individual to access on a short-term basis.
• Additional measures: Other arrangements made on a case by case basis may include workplace accommodations, visa and immigration assistance, financial aid assistance, and transportation assistance.

Parties involved in a formal grievance process under the College’s Sexual Harassment policy may choose an adviser to accompany them to all meetings and proceedings related to the process. An adviser in these cases may include any member of the Lafayette community (e.g. a fellow student, a faculty or staff member, etc.), a family member, friend, attorney or another person of choice. The adviser may not advocate on behalf of the parties in any meetings or hearings (except for questioning the other party at a live hearing) but may provide general support and advice to their advisee.

There are also campus and community resources that parties may turn to for support including confidential counselors, national hotlines, and community advocates  For more information click here.