Title IX Sexual Harassment

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex (gender) in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding.

 

 

Reporting

East Mississippi Community College encourages all members of the campus community to report any incident of sexual misconduct. The College has adopted procedures to promptly and fairly address concerns and complaints about sexual harassment. EMCC encourages the reporting of sexual harassment as it may be necessary to give the College opportunity to take action. The standard of proof the college uses in Title IX and Sexual Harassment hearings will be Preponderance of Evidence or “more likely than not” that the violation did/did not occur. Below are options in which students, employees, and applicants can pursue to make a complaint of sexual harassment.

Making a Complaint to College Administration

A complaint of sexual harassment by another student or college employee can be made by contacting the Title IX Coordinator at 662.476.5443 or by email at titleix@eastms.edu, the Dean of Student Services at the campus in which the student is enrolled, or an official with authority to institute corrective measures on the college’s behalf. Although there is no time limit on making a complaint to College Administration, it is highly encouraged to report incidents of or share information about, sexual harassment as soon as possible after the incident occurred. The college may ultimately be unable to adequately investigate if too much time has passed or if an accused individual has left the institution. Other factors that could negatively affect the college’s ability to investigate include the loss of physical evidence, the potential departure of witnesses, or loss of memory. To reach the Title IX Coordinator after hours or in an emergency, please contact Campus Police.

In the case of an emergency, victims should call 911 from wherever they are, and a law enforcement official will respond to assist them. In non-emergency situations, allegations of misconduct should be reported to the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the location where the assault or abuse occurred. Non-emergency reports to law enforcement may be made as follows:

Contact Campus Police at 662.386.8011 if the incident occurred on the Scooba campu.
Contact Campus Police at 662.243.1990 if the incident occurred on the Golden Triangle, Lion Hills, Communiversity, or West Point campuses. 

Employee Reporting Obligations
East Mississippi Community College makes every effort to protect students’ privacy and confidentiality. The College encourages complainants of sexual harassment to talk to somebody about what happened – so complainants can get the support they need, and so the College can respond appropriately. Different employees on campus have different abilities to maintain a complainant’s confidentiality. Some are required to maintain near complete confidentiality; talking to them is sometimes called a “privileged communication.”
This section is intended to make members of the college community aware of the various reporting and confidential disclosure options available to them – so they can make informed choices about where to turn should they become a complainant of sexual harassment. The College encourages complainants to talk to someone identified in one or more of these groups:

Privileged Employees
Licensed Professional Counselors and the College’s nurse who provide mental-health counseling or medical services to members of the school community are not required to report any information about an incident to the Title IX coordinator, and/or Campus Police, without a complainant‘s permission. These employees are known as Privileged Employees. While these professionals may maintain a complainant’s confidentiality from the College, they may have reporting or other obligations under state law. A complainant who speaks to a Privileged Employee must understand that, if they want to maintain confidentiality, the College will be unable to conduct an investigation into the particular incident or pursue disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrator. Privileged Employees will still assist the complainant in receiving other necessary protection and support, such as victim advocacy, academic support or accommodations, disability, health or mental health services, and changes to living, working or course schedules. A complainant who at first requests confidentiality may later decide to file a formal complaint with the college or report the incident to local law enforcement, and thus have the incident fully investigated. Privileged Employees will provide the complainant with assistance if the complainant wishes to do so.

Mandated Reporters
With exception of the College’s employees designated as Privileged Employees, every individual employed by East Mississippi Community College is considered to be a Mandated Reporter. A “mandated reporter” is a college employee who has the authority to address sexual harassment, who has the duty to report incidents of sexual harassment as defined above, or who a student could reasonably believe has this authority or duty. A mandated reporter must report all relevant details about the alleged sexual harassment shared by the victim and that the College will need to determine what happened – including the name(s) of the complainant(s) and alleged respondent(s), any witnesses, and any other relevant facts, including the date, time and specific location of the alleged incident. To the extent possible, information reported to a mandated reporter will be shared only with people responsible for handling the College’s response to the report. Before a complainant reveals any information to a mandated reporter, the employee should ensure that the complainant understands the employee’s reporting obligations – and, if the complainant wants to maintain confidentiality, direct them to confidential resources.
If the complainant wants to tell the mandated reporter what happened but also maintain confidentiality, the employee should tell the complainant that the College will consider the request, but cannot guarantee that the College will be able to honor it.
Mandated reporters will not pressure a complainant to request confidentiality, but will honor and support the complainant’s wishes. By the same token, mandated reporters will not pressure a complainant to make a formal complaint if the complainant is not ready to.

 

Contacts and Resources

Confidential Campus Resources of Support
College Nurse       662.476.5103
Non-Confidential Resources of Support
Title IX Coordinator       662.476.5443
Scooba Campus Dean of Students     662.476.5062
Golden Triangle Dean of Students     662.243.1979
Lion Hills Director       662.329.6742
Communiversity Director      662.243.1929
West Point Center Director      662.243.2644
Scooba Campus Police      662.386.8011
GT Campus Police       662.243.1990

Law Enforcement
Emergency Assistance 911

Off Campus Law Enforcement
Kemper County Sheriff Department    601.743.4880
Lauderdale County Sheriff Department    601.482.9806
Meridian Police Department     601.485.1893
Noxubee County Sheriff Department    662.726.5133
Macon City Police Department     662.726.5847
Lowndes County Sheriff Department    662.328.788
Columbus Police Department     662.244.3500
Oktibbeha County Sheriff Department    662.323.2421
Starkville Police Department     662.323.4134
Clay County Sheriff Department     662.494.2896
West Point Police Department     662.494.1244

Medical and Counseling
Mississippi State Coalition Against Sexual Assault  888.987.9011
Wesley House Community Center     601.485.4736
Care Lodge        601.693.4673
East MS Sexual Assault Center, Inc.    601.485.2828
Sexual Assault Victim Services     866.331.9474
Text “loveis” to 77054
R.A.I.N.N. (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network)  800.656.4673
24-Hour Rape Crisis Hotline     800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) 877-739-3895 TTY: 717-909-0715.

Training Materials and Policy

Title IX Regulations, April 2023
Faculty and Staff Training
Student Training 
RA Training
Investigator Training**

Certifications

Title IX Coordinator Certification Higher Education Session 1 Title IX Roles and Responsibilities

Title IX Coordinator Certification Higher Education Session 2  Developing Policies and Conducting Investigations

Title IX Corrdinator Certification Higher Education Session 3 Specific Topics for Title IX Coordinators

Title IX Coordinator Certification Higher Education Session 4 Case Studies and Compliance Audits

 

 

* *These materials are the exclusive property of Title IX Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved, ©2023. The publishing of these materials on this website is authorized by Title IX Solutions, LLC solely for use by this institution in compliance with Regulation 34 CFR §106.45(b)(10)(i)(D). No other use or dissemination by this institution or any third party is authorized without the prior written consent of Title IX Solutions, LLC.
The information and materials provided during this program were for educational purposes only and not intended to be legal advice. Attendees should seek independent legal advice concerning the issues presented.