C.
Examples of Prohibited Harassment
Sexual, racial, disability harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following examples of
conduct that is undertaken because of the sex, race, or disability of the student victim:
1.
Unwanted physical touching (beyond normal greetings).
2.
Displays of offensive materials, objects, photos, etc., with a sexual, racial, or disabled
theme.
3.
Situations affecting a student’s studying and learning conditions and making the learning
environment unpleasant and uncomfortable, whether the actions are purposeful or not.
4.
Verbal insults (in reference to gender, race, sexual orientation, or disability).
5.
Rumors designed to cause the individual emotional distress or place him or her in a bad
light.
6.
Physical assault.
7.
Unwelcome direct propositions of a sexual nature.
8.
Subtle pressures for unwelcome sexual activity, an element of which may be conduct such
as repeated and unwanted staring.
9.
A pattern of conduct not legitimately related to the subject matter of a course, which is
sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student’s ability to participate in or
benefit from the education program or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment
that includes one or more of the following:
(a) Comments of a sexual/racial nature or which are demeaning or derogatory based on a
disability, or
(b) Sexually explicit statements, questions, jokes, or anecdotes.
10. Unwanted attempts to establish a personal relationship.
11. A pattern of conduct that would cause dis-comfort or humiliate, or both, a reasonable person
at whom the conduct was directed that may include one or more of the following:
(a) Unnecessary touching, patting, hugging, or brushing against a person’s body,
(b) Remarks of a sexual nature about a person’s anatomy or clothing, or
(c) Remarks about sexual activity or speculations about a previous sexual experience.
All persons should be aware that conduct towards a student that is not specifically identified in this
policy may nonetheless constitute impermissible sexual, racial or disability harassment.
D.
Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech
1.
As participants in a public institution, the faculty and staff of the Peralta Community College
District enjoy significant free speech protections found in the First Amendment of the United
States Constitution and Article I, Section I of the California Constitution. The right of
academic freedom includes a special area of protected speech. Consistent with the
principles of academic freedom, course content and teaching methods remain the province
of individual faculty members. Academic freedom, however, is not limitless. Academic
freedom does not protect classroom speech that is unrelated to the subject matter of the
course or in violation of federal or state anti-discrimination laws. Some speech may
constitute environmental sexual harassment, harassment based on another impermissible
characteristic or discrimination. If a faculty member engages in unwelcome sexual behavior
or other improper behavior based on a characteristic protected by this policy that has the
purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an employee’s work environment or a
student’s academic performance or creates a hostile and intimidating work or academic
environment, then it may constitute environmental harassment or discrimination, as outlined
in Board Policy and these implementing procedures.
2.
The District must balance these two significant interests: the right of academic freedom and
the right to be free from discrimination and harassment. The First Amendment protections,
including those of academic freedom, are not absolute. When a faculty member raises
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