Abuse, Harassment, Bullying, and Retaliation

Cornell College defines abusive or harassing behavior as any verbal, written or physical conduct that is sufficiently serious (i.e. severe, persistent or pervasive) as to limit or deny an individual's ability to participate in or benefit from the college's programs. Bullying involves repeated physical, verbal or psychological attacks or intimidation directed against a person who cannot properly defend themselves because of size or strength, or because the person is outnumbered or less psychologically resilient. This includes abuse, harassment, and bullying through online platforms and includes doxxing - to publicly identify or publish private information about someone, especially as a form of punishment or revenge. 

This policy extends to retaliation against a person who reports, is accused of, or participates in an investigation of student misconduct, sexual misconduct, or against their family or friends. Any behavior that intimidates, threatens, causes harm, or discourages a reasonable person from engaging in activity protected under College policy may be considered to be retaliation.  Acts of retaliation may include, but are not limited to: adverse changes in employment status or opportunities; adverse academic action; adverse changes to academic, educational, and extra-curricular opportunities; harassment or intimidation; and seeking out or attempting to discover the individuals and witnesses involved in a report or complaint process for the purpose of influencing their participation or testimony or taking adverse action against them.  Retaliation can be committed by any individual or group of individuals, not just by a Respondent or Complainant.  This behavior is prohibited regardless of whether it occurs on or off campus, in person, or through social media, email, or other forms of communication. 

Acts of abuse, harassment, bullying or retaliation should be reported to the Dean of Students or in an incident report. For information about incidents involving bias-related abuse or harassment see the Bias-Related Incident Policy.