WHAT IF I WAS DRINKING OR ALCOHOL AND/OR DRUGS WERE INVOLVED, WILL I GET IN TROUBLE?
No, MICA's policy states:
"The College encourages reporting and seeks to remove any barriers to reporting by making the procedures for reporting transparent and straightforward. The College recognizes that an individual who has been drinking or using drugs at the time of the incident may be hesitant to make a report because of a potential policy violation and consequences for their own conduct. An individual who reports sexual misconduct, either as a complainant or third party witness, will not be subject to disciplinary action by the College for their own personal consumption of alcohol or drugs at or near the time of the incident, provided that any such violations did not and do not place the health or safety of any other person at risk. The College may, however, initiate an educational discussion or pursue other educational remedies regarding alcohol or other drugs."
CAN I REPORT CONFIDENTIALLY?
If a reporting party would like the details of an incident of discrimination or harassment to be kept confidential, the reporting party may speak with on-campus licensed professional counselors (MICA Counseling Center) and campus health service providers (MICA Student Health Services) whose official responsibilities include providing such services to members of the MICA community or, in the case of employees, the College's Employee Assistance Program. These confidential on-campus resources are available to help free of charge and can be seen on an emergency basis during normal business hours.
Off-campus resources such as professional counselors, health care providers, rape crisis counselors, domestic violence resources, local or state assistance agencies, and members of the clergy are required to maintain confidentiality except in extreme cases of immediacy of threat or danger or abuse of a minor.
HOW DO I MAKE A FORMAL REPORT?
To make a formal report you may:
- Speak directly to the Title IX Coordinator, Deputy Title IX Coordinator, or Title IX Specialist
- Talk to a MICA faculty or staff member who will report on your behalf. You will then be contacted by the someone in Title IX.
Remember, all faculty and staff members of the MICA community with the exception of Student Health and the Counseling Center are Mandatory Reporters and must report all instances of sexual misconduct. Individuals may want to consider carefully whether they share personally identifiable details with non-confidential employees, since those details must be shared by the employee with the Title IX Coordinator and/or Deputy Coordinators (in the case of sex discrimination or sexual harassment, including sexual violence) or other appropriate College official.
If a complainant does not wish for his or her name and/or the name of the alleged violator to be shared, does not wish for an investigation to take place, or does not want a formal resolution to be pursued, the complainant may make such a request to the Title IX Coordinator or other appropriate College official, who will evaluate that request in light of the responsibility to provide a safe and non-discriminatory environment for all members of the campus community.
Formal reporting still affords privacy to the reporter, and only a small group of officials who need to know will be told, including but not limited to: Division of Student Affairs, Campus Safety, Human Resources, and the Threat Assessment Team. Information will be shared as necessary with investigators, witnesses and the responding party. The circle of people with this knowledge will be kept as tight as possible in order to preserve the complainant's rights and privacy.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I REPORT?
After you report you should be provided with resources. You can refer to the resources at the top of this page, or reach out to a member of the Title IX Team. After you report we can make interim changes including but not limited to:
- No contact orders (eliminating contact between you and the respondent)
- Changes to campus housing
- Changes to class schedule
- Contact faculty members on your behalf
We then will work with you to determine the course of action in terms of process, for example, if you want to pursue disciplinary action or not, etc. This is very situational and we respect the wishes of the individual who reports unless there is deemed to be an ongoing threat to the MICA community.