Title IX & Equity

Confidential – Communications with some individuals are considered confidential. This means that any information shared by the reporting party with a specific individual will not be used against him or her in court or shared with others. This individual cannot be subpoenaed to testify against the reporting party in a court of law.

Students should always confirm whether confidentiality applies to the communication. Generally, confidentiality applies when a student seeks services from the personal counselors.

Private – FIDM is committed to creating an environment that encourages students to come forward if they have experienced any form of sexual misconduct. The college will safeguard the identities of the students who seek help or who report sexual misconduct. That is, college employees will seek to keep the information private.

A FIDM employee cannot guarantee complete confidentiality, but the individual can guarantee privacy. Information is disclosed only to select officials who have an essential need to know in order to carry out their responsibilities. As is the case with any educational institution, the college must balance the needs of the individual student with its obligation to protect the safety and well-being of the community at large. Therefore, depending on the seriousness of the alleged incident, further action may be necessary, including a campus security alert. The alert, however, would never contain any information identifying the student who brought the complaint.

Seeking medical attention can help you in many ways. First, seeking medical attention can help you take care of your own health by checking for injuries, treating those injuries, and addressing the possibility of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or pregnancy.

Second, a forensic medical exam can preserve evidence of the assault. This is important even if you are currently undecided about your next steps because you may later decide to pursue criminal charges or College disciplinary charges - that evidence can help in both situations. A medical exam is not, however, required before pursuing criminal or College disciplinary charges.

No. Sexual misconduct, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking covers both on-campus and off-campus conduct, as those terms are described below.

On-Campus Violations – The campus includes the geographic confines of the College, including its land, and buildings, its leased premises, and common areas at leased premises. College housing includes apartments through FIDM’s Student Housing department.

Off-Campus Violations – Students should be aware that off campus violations that affect a clear and distinct interest of the College are subject to disciplinary action. As examples, sexual misconduct and harassment are within the College's interests when the behavior:

• Involves conduct directed at or by a College student, employee, or other member of the College community (e.g., private house party, outside employment)
• Occurs during College-sponsored events (e.g., field trips, social or educational functions, College-related travel, student recruitment activities, internships and service learning experiences)
• Occurs during the events of organizations affiliated with the College, including the events of student organizations
• Occurs during a Study Tour Program or other international travel
• Poses a disruption or threat to the College community

The Title IX Coordinator can assist a student in filing formal complaints or, if the student does not want to file a formal complaint, the staff can work with the student to address concerns over housing, class assignments or schedules, leaves of absence, withdrawal or other academic concerns. The staff can also assist the student in notifying local law enforcement, if the student so requests.