Bullying and Hazing Policy

Initiated by: Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness
Reviewed by: Policy Coordinator
Approved by: Dr. Paul F. Gasparro, President

Purpose

This policy establishes Belmont College’s commitment to providing a healthy and safe environment. Belmont College prohibits bullying and/or hazing as defined in this policy. Bullying and/or hazing will not be accepted or tolerated and the College will investigate and respond to all reports of bullying and/or hazing as outlined in this policy.

Policy Statement

It is the policy of Belmont College to provide the College community with a clear understanding of what defines bullying and hazing, what is considered unacceptable behavior in regard to bullying and hazing, and the process for resolution and consequences for demonstrating bullying and hazing behavior at Belmont College.

Persons Affected

All members of the Belmont College community (students and employees).

Definitions

Bullying – conduct, with malice, taken against a person that a reasonable person would find to be hostile, offensive, or unrelated to the employee’s legitimate business interests. This conduct can be performed by a single individual or as a group.

Hazing – an initiation process involving harassment. This means doing any of the following, or pressuring, causing, forcing, soliciting, or coercing any person, including the victim, to do any of the following for the purpose of initiating, admitting, or affiliating an individual into or with a student group or student organization; continuing, reinstating, or enhancing an individual’s membership or status in a student group or student organization; or perpetuating or furthering a tradition or ritual of a student organization: engage in any conduct prohibited by federal and/or state and/or municipal criminal law, regardless of whether an arrest is made, or criminal charges are brought; take into their body any food, liquid (including alcohol), drug of abuse, or other substance that subjects the person to a substantial risk of mental or physical harm; cause or create a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to another and/or engage in any act or omission that contributes to the death of another.

Organization – any College student groups (e.g. registered student organizations, intramural or club athletic teams, and other recognized student groups). Organization includes those recognized by, or operating under the sanction of the College.

Procedures

It is expected that all members of the College community will promote an organization of honesty, integrity, and compliance with policies and procedures, as well as compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations This Policy applies to all staff, faculty, students, and student organizations, and is effective from enrollment to commencement, including breaks in the academic year. This Policy applies to conduct that occurs on or off-campus, between two or more people who are affiliated with the College, or any student or other organization associated with the College. This Policy also applies to volunteers acting in an official capacity that advise or coach student organizations and who have direct contact with students.

Managers and supervisors will:

Ensure that all employees are aware of the bullying and hazing policy and procedures.
Ensure that any reported incident of bullying and/or hazing is formally addressed.
Provide leadership and role-modeling in appropriate professional behavior.
Respond in a timely manner, sensitively and confidentially (when possible) to all situations where bullying and/or hazing behavior is observed or alleged to have occurred.

Employees should:

Be familiar with and behave according to this policy.
Report incidents to Human Resources, if the employee is a witness to bullying and/or hazing behavior.
Speak to the alleged bully(ies) and/or those hazing to object to the bullying behavior where appropriate.

Other members of the College community and visitors should:

Be familiar with and behave according to this policy.
Report incidents to members the Dean of Student Affairs at 740.695.9500 or bdawson@belmontcollege.edu.
Speak to the alleged bully(ies) and/or those hazing to object to the behavior where appropriate.

The College will maintain a report of all violations of this policy that are reported to the College and which result in a charge of violation of this policy. The College will update the report bi-annually on January 1 and August 1 of each year and will post the updated report on the College’s website.

Unacceptable Behavior

Examples of bullying behavior include, but are not limited to: repeated and health harming abuse; manipulation and sabotage by others that prevent work from getting done; verbal and written abuse; threatening conduct; intimidation and humiliation; persistent, ongoing, harsh, unreasonable, and unjustified criticisms; credit stealing; setting impossible deadlines; malicious gossiping and rumor-mongering; false accusations towards others; yelling, shouting, berating others; cyber bullying (lack of email etiquette, social media postings, etc.).

Examples of hazing include, but are not limited to: forced consumption of drugs or alcohol; beating, paddling or other forms of assault; branding; forced ingestion of vile substances; water intoxication; sleep deprivation; forcing degrading or humiliating acts, public nudity; personal servitude, assigning pranks such as stealing or painting objects; lineups for the purpose of intimidation or interrogation; exposure to cold weather or extreme heat without appropriate protection; or endure any other activity that creates a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury.

Grievance Procedure

The following grievance procedures are to be employed when an individual has a complaint regarding bullying and/or hazing behavior:

The individual who is alleging bullying and/or hazing behavior or an individual who witnesses bullying and/or hazing may first discuss the issue with the person or persons involved. College Public Safety may also be contacted at 740.695.9500.
If a resolution is not reached, then any member of the College community with a complaint of bullying and/or hazing behavior should notify his/her immediate supervisor or the Dean of Student Affairs. In the instance of a College employee alleging bullying and/or hazing behavior against his/her immediate supervisor, the employee should contact his/her next higher level supervisor or Human Resources.
The individual(s) alleging bullying and/or hazing behavior will prepare a written grievance and deliver it to Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness within 30 days. The Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness will then lead an investigation regarding the grievance as it was submitted. The Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness will then have a period of 20 working days to respond to the complaint. The written response and decision will be final.
If the individual(s) alleging bullying and/or hazing behavior is not satisfied with the decision, an appeal may be made in writing within five (5) working days to the President for review.
The President will convene a meeting of the parties, give an opportunity for full expression of the problem, and render a decision within five (5) working days of the meeting.
If the individual(s) alleging bullying and/or hazing behavior is not satisfied with the President’s decision, an appeal for further review may be made in writing within five (5) working days to the Board of Trustees. The Board shall act on the appeal no later than the next regular Board meeting following the appeal. Action will be based on arguments presented by the complainant or his/her representative and information supplied by the President. The Board’s decision shall be final and binding upon the College and upon the aggrieved complainant.

Consequence

Those found to have violated this Policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment, as outlined in Belmont Operating Policy 515.0306.20, Progressive Employee Discipline, and/or expulsion from the College, as outlined in Belmont Operating Policy 740.0335.91, Violations of Student Code of Conduct.

Contact

Any member of the College community who feels he or she has been victimized by bullying and/or hazing is encouraged to report the matter to his or her supervisor, the Dean of Student Affairs, or directly to law enforcement.

2023 Hazing Incidents Report

Date of Report: January 1, 2024

Overview:

According to the Belmont College Bullying and Hazing Policy 505.0105.15, Belmont College is committed to providing a healthy and safe environment. Belmont College prohibits bullying and/or hazing as defined in the policy. Bullying and/or hazing will not be accepted or tolerated and the College will investigate and respond to all reports of bullying and/or hazing as outlined in the policy.

2023 Reported Incidents:

There were no reported hazing incidents in 2023.