Federal Title IX law states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of 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 University of Arkansas Rich Mountain (UARM) is committed to providing an environment that emphasizes the dignity and worth of every member of its community and that is free from harassment and discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, age, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, or genetic information. Such an environment is necessary for a healthy learning, working, and living atmosphere. UARM is committed to responding promptly and effectively when it learns of any form of possible discrimination based upon sex.
Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities at institutions that receive federal financial assistance. If you believe you or someone else has been subjected to sexual harassment or sex-based discrimination by a university student, employee or visitor under Title IX, report such conduct to Terry Francis, Title IX Coordinator at 479-394-7622 ext. 1460.
UA Rich Mountain adheres to a policy that enables all individuals, regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, sexual orientation, veteran’s status, or disability, to work and study in an environment unfettered by discriminatory behavior or acts. Harassment of an individual or group will not be condoned, and any person (student, faculty, or staff member) who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action.
Harassment that is considered discriminatory includes actions or conduct (verbal, graphic, gestural, or written) directed against any person or group with the intent to demean or create a hostile or threatening environment. It is not the intent of this policy to infringe upon or limit educational, scholarly, or artistic expression. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against should contact the Title IX Coordinator to obtain assistance and information concerning the filing of a complaint.
At the same time the university prohibits discriminatory practices, it promotes equal opportunity through affirmative action. Non-discriminatory affirmative action equal opportunity policies apply to recruitment, hiring, job classification and placement, work conditions, promotional opportunities, demotions/transfers, terminations, training, compensation, choice of contractors and suppliers of goods and services, educational opportunities, disciplinary action, recreational and social activities, use of facilities, housing and university-sponsored programs.
All complaints or reports about sex discrimination (including sexual harassment) should be reported to the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain Title IX Coordinator or respective University of Arkansas Rich Mountain Title IX Compliance Officer.
Title IX Coordinator | Title IX Compliance Officer (Employees) | Title IX Compliance Office (Students) |
---|---|---|
1100 College Drive Mena, AR 71953 479-394-7622 ext. 1460 |
1100 College Drive Mena, AR 71953 479-394-7622 ext. 1530 |
1100 College Drive Mena, AR 71953 479-394-7622 ext. 1400 |
During college, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men will experience attempted or actual sexual assault.
90% know their perpetrator
60% of assaults take place in campus residences
50% of reported assaults involve alcohol
68% of assaults go unreported
Title IX Coordinator | Title IX Compliance Officer (Employees) | Title IX Compliance Office (Students) |
---|---|---|
Terry Francis 1100 College Drive Mena, AR 71953 479-394-7622 ext. 1460 |
Megan Wheeler 1100 College Drive Mena, AR 71953 479-394-7622 ext. 1530 |
Chad Fielding 1100 College Drive Mena, AR 71953 479-394-7622 ext. 1400 |
If you are employed by UARM, you are considered a responsible employee/mandated reporter.
Responsible employees must report to the Title IX Coordinator all relevant details about the alleged sexual misconduct that the person disclosing the incident has shared. This includes:
If someone begins to tell you about a case of sexual misconduct, you should advise the person by saying something like the following:
“I need to tell you that I am considered as mandated reporter, which means I must inform the University that sexual misconduct has occurred. If you do not want details of what occurred reported or are not interested in making a complaint at this time, you have the right to maintain your privacy. I will only report what you confide in me.”
Links to videos that will help frame the context of the law about Affirmative Consent
Copyright ©2015 Emmeline May and Blue Seat Studios
Complainant: Any individual who is alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment. At the time of the filing of a formal complaint, a complainant must be participating in or attempting to participate in the education program or activity of the recipient with which the formal complaint is filed. Any person may report sex discrimination, including harassment, whether or not the person reporting is the person alleged to be the victim of discrimination or harassment.
Consent: Consent is clear, knowing, and voluntary. Consent is active, not passive. Silence, in and of itself, cannot be interpreted as consent. Consent can be given by words or actions, if those words or actions create mutually understandable clear permission regarding willingness to engage in (and the conditions of) sexual activity. If coercion, intimidation, threats, or physical force are used, there is no consent.
If a person is mentally or physically incapacitated so that the person cannot understand the fact, nature, or extent of the sexual situation, there is no consent. Incapacitation can be due to alcohol or drugs or being asleep or unconscious. This policy also covers incapacity due to mental disability, involuntary physical restraint, or from the taking of rape drugs. Possession, use and/or distribution of any of these substances, including Rohypnol, Ketamine, GHB, Brundage, etc. is prohibited, and administering one of these drugs to another person is a violation of this policy. More information on these drugs can be found at http://www.911rape.org/
Use of alcohol or other drugs will never function as a defense to a violation of this policy. An individual violates this policy if the individual initiates and engages in sexual activity with someone who is incapacitated, and (1) the individual knew the other person was incapacitated, or (2) a sober reasonable person under similar circumstances as the person initiating the sexual activity would have known the other person was incapacitated.
There is also no consent when there is force, expressed or implied, or use of duress or deception upon the victim. Whether an individual has taken advantage of a position of influence over an alleged victim may be a factor in determining consent.
Force is the use of physical violence and/or imposing on someone physically to gain sexual access. Force also includes overt threats, implied threats, intimidation, and coercion that overcome resistance or produce consent.
Coercion is unreasonable pressure for sexual activity. Coercive behavior differs from seductive behavior based on the type of pressure someone uses to get consent from another. When someone makes clear to you that they do not want sex, that they want to stop, or that they do not want to go past a certain point of sexual interaction, continued pressure beyond that point can be coercive.
Under Arkansas law, the age of consent varies with the degrees of assault, the age of the actor, and the relationship of the actor to the other party. For specific information, please refer to Arkansas statutes (e.g., Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-14-125, Sexual Assault in the Second Degree).
Consent to any one form of sexual activity cannot automatically imply consent to any other forms of sexual activity. In addition, previous relationships or prior consent cannot imply consent to future sexual acts.
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 relationship is determined based on consideration of the following factors: (1) the length of the relationship; (2) the type of relationship; and (3) the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
Days: Refers to working days, rather than calendar days, unless otherwise specified.
Domestic Violence: The term includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of Arkansas, or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the laws of Arkansas. Under the Arkansas law on domestic abuse, “family or household members” means spouses, former spouses, parents and children, persons related by blood within the fourth degree of consanguinity, in-laws, any children residing in the household, persons who presently or in the past have resided or cohabitated together, persons who have or have had a child in common, and persons who are presently or in the past have been in a dating relationship together.
Education Program or Activity: Includes locations, events, or circumstances over which the University exercised substantial control over both the respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment occurred, and also includes any building owned or controlled by an officially recognized student organization.
Formal Complaint: A document filed by a complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging sexual harassment against a respondent and requesting that the recipient investigate the allegation of sexual harassment. The phrase “document filed by a complainant” means a document or electronic submission (such as by electronic mail or through an online portal provided for this purpose by the University) that contains the complainant’s physical or digital signature, or otherwise indicates that the complainant is the person filing the formal complaint.
Hostile Environment
Intimidation
Preponderance of the Evidence: A standard of proof where the conclusion is based on facts that are more likely true than not.
Respondent: An individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator of conduct that could constitute sexual harassment.
Sanctions: The determination of sanctions to be imposed against a respondent who is found to have been responsible for violating this policy will depend upon the nature and gravity of the misconduct, any record of prior discipline for a violation of this Policy, or both. Sanctions against students may include, without limitation, expulsion or suspension from the University, disciplinary probation, expulsion from campus housing, mandated counseling, and/or educational sanctions. Sanctions against employees and other non-students may include, without limitation, a written reprimand, disciplinary probation, suspension, termination, demotion, reassignment, revision of job duties, reduction in pay, exclusion from campus or particular activities, and/or educational sanctions deemed appropriate.
Sexual Assault: The term “sexual assault” means an offense classified as a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A nonforcible sex offense includes incest (i.e., the nonforcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law) and statutory rape (i.e., nonforcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent). A forcible sex offense is any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent. A forcible sex offense includes:
Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is conduct on the basis of sex constituting one of the following:
Sexual Misconduct: Sexual misconduct offenses include, but are not limited to
Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress.
Supportive Measures: Non-disciplinary, non-punitive individualized services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without a fee or charge to the complainant or respondent before or after the filing of a formal complaint or where no formal complaint has been filed. Such measures are designed to restore or preserve equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity without unreasonably burdening the other party, including measures designed to protect the safety of all parties or the University’s educational environment or deter sexual harassment.
What can Bystanders do to make a difference here at UA Rich Mountain?
Bottom Line: Watch out for your friends and classmates -- if you come across someone who looks like they are in trouble, check with them and make sure they are okay. If you see a friend doing something suspect -- say something.
Many survivors of sexual assault or intimate partner violence feel alone and helpless. This page has some tips and suggestions for being supportive when someone discloses any experience(s) of violence.
What to do or say:
Empower the victim/survivor by asking questions such as:
What not to do or say:
It is important to let the person control what happens following an incident of violence.
Two great links for helping a survivor of sexual assault
Sexual violence can happen to anyone regardless of gender or age. Risk reduction tips can often take a victim-blaming tone, even unintentionally. With no intention to victim-blame, and with recognition that only those who commit sexual violence are responsible for those actions, these suggestions may nevertheless help you to reduce your risk of experiencing a non-consensual sexual act.
Basic Safety Guidelines
Reducing the Risk of Sexual Violence
If you find yourself in the position of being the initiator of sexual behavior, you owe sexual respect to your potential partner. These suggestions may help you to reduce your risk for being accused of sexual misconduct:
Dr. Rebecca Campbell is a professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. Dr. Campbell's research on the neurobiology of trauma informs how we understand the impact of trauma on the brain. Watch this video that gives an analogy to help us to understand how memories are encoded in the brain following a traumatic experience.
Healthy Connections, Inc. (HCI) 136 Health Park Lane
Mena, AR 71953
479-437-3449
Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance 307 S. Cherry
Mena, AR 71953
479-394-5277
Southwest Arkansas Domestic Violence Center, Inc.
24 Hour Crisis Line: 870-584-3441 / 1-800-338-9844
Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault Toll Free 1-866-63-ACASA (22272)
Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence 800-799-SAFE
Teen Dating Abuse Helpline: 866-331-9474
National Hotlines
LGBTQ
Dating, Domestic, and Intimate Partner Violence
Rape, Sexual Assault, Incest, and Abuse
Suicide
Addiction and Mental Health