Waldorf College is committed to maintaining an academic environment free from any form of sexual assault. Sexual assault involves any act of forced, coerced, or non-consensual sexual intercourse or sexual contact. An individual is unable to give informed consent if they are asleep, intoxicated, unconscious, or in some other way physically or emotionally unable. Sexual assault is also the term used to define any unwanted touching of an intimate part of another person.
Acquaintance rape is a form of sexual assault that includes manipulation within a relationship. This manipulation includes using acquaintance to gain trust and take advantage of the victim’s vulnerability. Acquaintance rape includes:
Sexual assault can occur against males and females, regardless of sexual orientation, race, class, religion, age, or disability. Waldorf strictly prohibits and will not tolerate any act of sexual assault.
A sexual assault is reported about once every six minutes in the United States. Reported assaults represent only a fraction of the rapes that actually occur. In a national survey of college students, 90 percent of the victims never reported their assaults to the police, therefore, the frequency of an assault is grossly underestimated in law enforcement statistics.
College students of traditional age are vulnerable to being victims of sexual assault. The new setting coupled with sexual impulses and peer pressure may lead to dangerous experimenting with new freedoms. Acquaintance rape is prevalent on college campuses. Acquaintance rape refers to the fact that the victim knows the assailant prior to the rape. The assailant may be a friend or significant other or someone who knows the victim from living in the same residence hall or having a class together.
Most sexual assaults involve the use of alcohol by both the assailant and the victim. The mood-altering effects of alcohol reduce inhibitions, as well as the ability to assess dangerous situations and safeguard one’s self. Sexual contact when the victim is intoxicated is sexual assault because a person is unable to give informed consent when drunk. Intoxication of the assailant does not diminish responsibility.
In the case that a sexual assault occurs, the student has the option of notifying any or all of the following: residence life staff, counseling center staff, the Dean of Students, or the Forest City Police. Although the choices about who is notified rest solely with the victim, he/she is encouraged to take the steps listed below. In the event that the victim is physically or psychologically unable to make her/his own decisions, normal emergency medical and psychological procedures will be followed, including taking the victim to the hospital and calling a member of the Waldorf counseling staff.
The following steps are those which Waldorf encourages all victims to consider:
Waldorf reserves the right to pursue adjudication of an incident of sexual assault apart from, and independent of, any legal recourse a student might choose. An individual who decides against filing a criminal complaint does not relinquish the right to an institutional investigation. Sanctions which might be imposed on an assailant by the College are not predicated upon, or limited to, those which might be administered through a court of law. The College makes no attempt to shield members of the Waldorf community from the law, nor does it initiate involvement in legal proceedings against a member of the community. Membership in the Waldorf community does not exempt anyone from local, state, or federal laws, but rather imposes the additional obligation to abide by all of Waldorf’s policies.
Waldorf also reserves the right to hold its students and employees accountable for acts of sexual assault at all times and places. The jurisdiction of the Waldorf Sexual Assault Policy includes all campus property, as well as any College sponsored event which takes place off-campus (ie. athletic event, concert tour, trip, conference, or retreat). The jurisdiction of this policy also includes any conduct which occurs off campus which is deemed to have a negative impact on the campus.
When a report of a sexual assault is filed with the Student Life Office, the following hearing procedure will be followed:
In an effort to be sensitive to the needs of a victim of sexual assault, the following are basic rights to which every victim is entitled.
If you know someone who has been the victim of sexual assault, the following are suggestions of things that you can do to help.
Waldorf takes very seriously the important role which education and prevention programs play in a safe campus environment. The College is committed to providing this type of programming for its community. This commitment is exemplified through an acquaintance rape seminar in required new student orientation, acquaintance rape prevention programming, the Waldorf Sexual Harassment Policy, the Waldorf Sexual Assault Policy, and the Human Sexuality Statement in the Student Handbook.
Waldorf believes that a well informed community can better prevent the incidence of sexual assault. The Student Life Office will give timely notice to the Waldorf community when an assault or attempted assault is reported on campus so that the community can take appropriate steps to prevent this type of activity in the future. The name of the victim will not be released by the Dean of Students in any notifications to the community members informing them of information pertaining to the offense. Also, such notifications will not include information that would cause the victim to be identified. Thus, the College will strive to balance its concerns for the privacy of victims of sexual assault with its duty to warn members of the Waldorf community when serious crimes are reported.
An annual report of the number of sexual assaults on campus will be prepared. Both the timely notice and the annual report are required components of the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act. The annual report is sent to the Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning.
The College is committed to campus security that prevents or at least reduces crime. Close attention is paid to campus lighting and building security. The College employs Winnebago Security to provide campus surveillance including the checking for unlocked or blocked open doors. Additional information about campus security can be found in the Waldorf Campus Safety brochure.
The following individuals and agencies can be contacted for assistance in the event that a sexual assault occurs. The decision of who is called rests solely with the victim, although the College encourages victims to follow the emergency procedures detailed earlier in this policy in the section entitled, Emergency Procedures and Reporting Options.