Active Avoidance Policy

Introduction

In situations involving allegations of misconduct against any member of the University community, the accused individual(s) and the complainant(s) often remain members of the community pending adjudication by the dean, department head, or Human Resources representative and after a resolution has been implemented or sanction imposed. In some circumstances, it is necessary for the University to invoke its Active Avoidance Policy in order to allow all parties to function within the environment.

Active Avoidance Policy

In situations in which the appropriate dean, department head, or Human Resources representative deems it necessary to invoke the Active Avoidance Policy, all parties are instructed to make no effort to make contact with the other party(s) by any means whatsoever. Each party is instructed to respect the need for each individual to be able to manage his or her University duties with a minimum of contact with the other(s). All individuals are also instructed to act reasonably and responsibly should incidental contact occur.

Procedures

When the Active Avoidance Policy is implemented or subsequently modified or changed, a letter is sent to the Director of University Security by the dean, department head, or Human Resources representative indicating the identify of each party. Each party receives a letter instructing each individual to make contact with University Security when a situation occurs in which one party feel threatened by another party's presence or behavior. All parties are further instructed to contact the dean, department head, or Human Resources representative if one party attempts to make contact with another or fails to leave an area. University Security should be notified when changes to the stipulations of the agreement are implemented.

Notification

The University reserves the right to notify University Security and Residential Life staff as well as appropriate deans, department heads, supervisors, and Human Resources representatives on a need to know basis. The Director of Residential Life may notify the appropriate members of the residence hall staff, limiting the number of residential life staff notified to the minimum number of people who need to know.

Guidelines

In all instances, all parties are expected to avoid all contact with each other, while respecting each individual's right to free access to the campus community. Occasionally, an individual's access to certain optional activities or facilities may be restricted. There are three categories of activity to which the Active Avoidance Policy may apply:

Activities related to the performance of academic duties, e.g., attending classes, conducting research for a course, membership on committees or student groups, graduation exercises, etc.
Use of common University facilities, e.g., Wilson Commons, dining facilities, parking areas, libraries, computing facilities, copy centers, access to health care facilities, etc.
Voluntary or optional use of University facilities not related to academic performance, e.g., athletic facilities, attendance at sporting events, public events such as (non-required) lectures, concerts, or rallies, etc.

Responsibility for Adherence to the Policy

In all instances when the Active Avoidance Policy is implemented, it is the University's goal that all parties be allowed to continue to function within the environment.

It is the accused party's primary responsibility to initiate leaving the area should both parties find themselves occupying the same space. This responsibility remains in effect unless leaving an area would constitute interference with the accused party's ability to fulfill his or her academic or work responsibilities. The following guidelines may be used as examples of instances when contact may potentially occur and the accused would be responsible for initiating an appropriate response. This list is not exhaustive or intended to limit application of this pollicy to other situations not described here.

In all instances that involve an inadvertent one-to-one encounter (e.g., in the parking lots, in a hallway or stairwell, walking to or from one area to another), the accused is instructed to leave the area immediately.
In instances in which attendance at an event or function which involves a group of people is required by both parties (e.g., a required seminar or workship, etc.) the accused is instructed to delay entry to that area for as long as possible. If both parties must attend the same event or function, the accused must take steps to avoid contact with the other party, such as positioning him or her self far away and not in the other party's direct line of vision.
In instances in which attendance by the accused is not required (e.g., at sporting events, public events, concerts, rallies, etc.), once the accused becomes aware of the other party's presence, he or she is instructed to leave the area immediately or to delay entry until the other party has left.

Violations of the Active Avoidance Policy

If either party violates the Active Avoidance Policy, the other party should contact the dean, the department head, or Human Resources representative. If it is determined that the Active Avoidance Policy has been violated by any party, further sanctions, up to and including removal from the University, may be invoked.

The right to appeal the imposition of the Active Avoidance Policy is the same as it would be with respect to any other form of discipline (e.g., suspension, termination, removal from housing), depending on the context in which it is imposed.