Guide to Student Life - Campus Life - Adelphi University

99 What to Do If You Are Being Harassed
ADELPHI UNIVERSITY • GUIDE TO STUDENT LIFE
If you think you are being harassed, DO NOT:
Ignore the incident—it probably will not go away on its own
Resign a position, transfer departments, drop a class, or change a class to avoid the problem
Automatically believe that you caused the incident or provoked the harassment
Believe that the complaint will be taken lightly, ignored or trivialized
If you think you are being harassed, you may want to (but are not required to) consider telling
the harasser to stop. The harassed person may not have directly told the harasser to stop. The
harassed person should consider approaching the harasser and saying “I want (whatever the
harassing behavior is) to stop immediately” in a firm and assertive manner. This approach
gives the complainant an active role in the resolution process and, hopefully, a sense of
“empowerment.”
Telling the harasser to stop will often deter the harasser from subsequent and more progressive
acts of harassment.
If the complainant does not want to confront the harasser on his/her own, or wishes to take
other actions, in conjunction with a personal confrontation, the complainant should proceed
according to the process described below.
The Anti-Harassment Panel
The Anti-Harassment Panel is a group of individuals composed of Adelphi employees who
have been selected based upon their interest in the topic, skill in resolving these issues,
knowledge of this topic, training and willingness to dedicate the time and resources necessary
for completion of their responsibilities as assigned.
Anti-Harassment Panel members shall be instructed how to respond to allegations of harassment
and are kept up-to-date on Adelphi’s current anti-harassment policy and campus and national
harassment cases; they stand prepared to provide information on the avenues of recourse
available to resolve the alleged complaint.
The members of the Anti-Harassment Panel may change at any time but every effort will be
made to ensure that the panel contains at least one female and one male member, and for the
composition of the panel to be diverse. A list of current members will be made available at the
following locations: adelphi.edu, Swirbul Library, the Office of Human Resources, the Office of the
Dean of Student Affairs, the Student Counseling Center and Health Services Center.
Each individual on the panel will take the following actions:
Meet with individuals who allege that they have been the victim of harassment
Clarify the definitions of harassment and discuss how these definitions may or may not pertain
in the circumstances described by the complainant
Discuss with the complainant whether counseling should be considered based upon the
circumstances
Where appropriate, assist the complainant in filing a formal, written complaint regarding the
harassment
Facilitate the filing of the complaint with the appropriate individual
Participate in ongoing education for the campus community regarding matters of harassment to
include the creation and dissemination of appropriate educational materials about harassment