Sexuality and Harassment

Deerfield Academy is a community in which every member has the right to feel safe and respected. We seek to treat every individual with sensitivity and compassion and will not tolerate any form of harassment. Harassment is any abuse of an individual or group based on ethnic origin, religious beliefs, race, sexual orientation, gender, age or grade in school. It includes both easily identified acts of verbal, written or physical abuse, and more subtle, but equally damaging, forms of harassment, such as graffiti, epithets, stereotypical remarks of “humor” or any behavior that contributes to the creation of a hostile environment in which to live and learn. What you should do if you think that you are being harassed in any way:

• If possible, speak up at the time. Tell the individual the behavior is unwelcome and must cease immediately. You may feel more comfortable writing a letter.
• If the situation persists, talk to someone you trust beyond your friends, such as your faculty resident, advisor, teacher, coach, proctor, peer counselor, a member of the Dean of Students staff or the Head of School.
• In addition, it may be helpful to write down what happened to you. Be as specific as possible, recording direct quotations, actions and witnesses.
• The Harassment Panel provides students with a forum to speak with someone about responses to harassment, or other kinds of mistreatment; contact the Health Center for details.

Sexual Intimacy

Deerfield Academy honors the importance of many different types of relationships on our campus, though students are asked to use common sense and discretion when in public view. However, for many reasons, sexual intimacy, while a normal and healthy aspect of adult life, is not permitted for students at Deerfield Academy. Sexual intimacy includes all those actions that involve the exposure, contact with, or use of genitalia or nearby regions of the body.

Incidents of sexual intimacy are dealt with by the deans’ office in conjunction with parents, advisors, the counseling staff and the Health Center. The school may take action up to and including required counseling, letter of reprimand and/or a meeting with advisor and parents/guardians. Repeated disregard for the Sexual Intimacy policy is grounds for suspension.

We address issues of human sexuality through special programs, in our classrooms, in our dormitories, and in private conversations. Students with questions or concerns are encouraged to seek help and advice from their families, school counselors, Health Center staff, and advisor.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is sometimes more difficult to identify and understand than other forms of harassment. The overriding factor in sexual harassment is that the offending behavior is uninvited and/or unwanted. It can be subtle and ambiguous as well as direct and overt. It is NOT social or courting behavior.

Sexual harassment may include:

• Inappropriate personal questions
• Sexually stereotyped or sexually charged insults, humor or verbal abuse
• Sexually explicit or suggestive remarks about a person’s physical attributes, clothing or behavior
• Leering at or ogling a person’s body
• Unwelcome touching
• Any demeaning sexual propositions
• Pressure exerted for sexual activity or for a relationship that takes on a sexual or romantic coloring, which exceeds the limits of a healthy adult-student or student-student friendship;
• Physical assault or any coerced sexual relations.

Upon investigation the school will take action in substantiated cases of harassment. Depending on the circumstances and the severity or repetition of the offense, the response may range from reprimand up to and including dismissal for a student or termination of employment for an adult.

The school seeks to assure any individual who raises a substantiated complaint that he/she will not be subject to any further forms of harassment. Therefore, the school will also take action in cases of retaliation toward someone making a complaint about harassment. Depending on the circumstances, the response may range from reprimand up to and including dismissal for a student or termination of employment for an adult.

Hazing

The diversity of the Deerfield community offers a unique opportunity to learn and practice compassion and understanding. Sensitivity, openness and candor are important to an atmosphere in which you can grow. Impinging on the well being or violating the rights of others is not tolerated. Any incidents involving sexual or any other harassment, racial, religious, or ethnic intolerance, physical injuries or threats, and fighting will be dealt with as disciplinary matters. Furthermore, the community does not tolerate humiliating or potentially harmful “rites of passage” or “initiations” and such behaviors will be treated as disciplinary matters. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has specific standards: Chapter 269 of the General Laws, Section 17-19 mandates the reporting of cases of hazing.

Massachusetts Hazing Statute

From Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 269: Whoever is a principal organizer or participant in the crime of hazing, as defined herein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than three thousand dollars or by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment. The term “hazing” shall mean any conduct or method of initiation into any student organization, whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person. Whoever knows that another person is the victim of hazing and is at the scene of such crime shall, to the extent that such person can do so without danger or peril to himself or others, report such crime to an appropriate law enforcement official as soon as reasonably practicable. Whoever fails to report such crime shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

Any student who believes that he or she is a victim of hazing, harassment, or mistreatment of any kind should contact a faculty member immediately. The student involved has two principal options to pursue. The first is to contact a member of the Harassment Panel. This panel consists of faculty and staff members who help the student reach an outcome that addresses the situation. This process may preclude the usual disciplinary process and response. The second option is to report the situation to the Dean of Students Office, at which time a Discipline Committee may be convened to hear the allegations and to make recommendations to the Head of School. In some cases, the Head of School may choose to form an ad hoc committee to hear the allegations and to assist her in formulating a response. This ad-hoc process may preclude the usual disciplinary process and response.