Prevention and Security

Policy Statement

Representatives of the University join together at first year, transfer and employee orientations to provide information on services offered by the University. Presentations include a Campus Safety 101 video, information relative to personal safety on and off campus, the most common crimes that do occur on and around the campus such as thefts, and information on the numerous pamphlets, and security alerts available to the community.

Reason for Policy

Adelphi provides preventative training and education to ensure faculty, staff, and students safety.

Who Is Governed by this Policy

Faculty, Staff and Students

Policy

Throughout the academic year, the University offers several crime prevention programs for students including a residence hall safety offering tips on living safely on campus, commuter safety meeting offering tips on safe commuting, theft prevention, sexual assault preventive measures, hate crimes as well as other crimes. All are encouraged to view more on the public safety website security tips and alerts.

Campus Safety 101 and active shooter training is provided to all students and employees. During orientations they also receive information from Health Services and Student Counseling Services.

Parents are also invited to a first year orientation conducted especially for them that gives them the opportunity to become familiar with the Department of Public Safety and Transportation, Health Services and the Student Counseling Center and to address concerns and questions.

In addition, under the SAVE Act along with the Violence Against Women Act, the University provides training in the areas of SEXUAL ASSAULT (VIOLENCE), DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, and STALKING. Included in the training are the definitions of each, awareness, protective measures to reduce risk, recognizing warning signs of abusive behavior, consent, and how to avoid potential assaults or abusive relationships.

Bystander Intervention

Bystander intervention means safe and positive options that may be carried out by an individual or individuals to intervene when there is a risk of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Bystander intervention includes recognizing situations of potential harm, overcoming barriers to intervening, identifying safe and effective intervention options, and taking action to intervene. Additional areas considered for bystander intervention include the witnessing or having knowledge about hazing, discrimination, medical emergency, and acts of discrimination.

Bystanders are less likely to intervene if more people are present – each assuming someone else may be more qualified to intercede. However, once one person intercedes, the group will likely be more willing to assist.

Bystanders should notice the emergency, interpret it as such, assume personal responsibility for acting, choose a strategy and implement that strategy. A strategy could be as simple as saying something to the potential violator to stop the action, calling someone to help such as public safety, the police or other appropriate authority such a counselors, professors, or if safe to do so step in before the situation escalates.

Bystander training begins at orientation for incoming first-year students, all transfer students, new employee orientation, and continues throughout the year for student organizations, sports teams, faculty training, and administrative positions. Students are also trained to avoid putting themselves in dangerous situations and to call public safety or the police department whenever necessary.

Multiple Actions and Helpful Hints for Being a Proactive Bystander

• Believe that sexual and relationship violence is unacceptable and say it out loud
• Treat people with respect
• Speak up when you hear victim blaming/blaming statements
• Talk with friends about confronting sexual and relationship violence
• Encourage friends to trust their instincts in order to stay safe
• Be a knowledgeable resource for survivors
• Don’t laugh at sexist jokes or comments
• Look out for friends at parties and bars
• Educate yourself and your friends
• Use campus resources
• Attend awareness events
• Empower survivors to tell their stories

Providing a Distraction Sometimes Is All It Takes to Interrupt a Potentially Dangerous Interaction

• Call a friend’s cell repeatedly
• Spill something on purpose
• Tug on your friend’s arm insistently
• Ask where the bathroom is
• Interrupt the conversation
• Turn off the music
• Say, “I think that guy wants to talk to you” to separate those involved
• Tell the potential perpetrator “Your car is being towed!”
• matter-of-factly pull your friend away saying, “We need to leave” – and then go

Sexual Offense Prevention

Tips on how to prevent sexual assault:

Sexual assault is gender neutral and describes all forms of sexual violence. This includes: sexual intercourse (rape), oral or anal contact, penetration with an object or finger and touching of an intimate body part for the purpose of sexual gratification that is committed without consent, or by the use or threat of force, or where the complainant is incapable of giving consent. While you can never completely protect yourself from sexual violence, there are some things you can do to help reduce your risk of being assaulted:

• Always trust your instincts. If you are uncomfortable in a situation, leave or try to change it.
• Be assertive, set limits and stick to them. Communicate your limits, and if they are ignored, act quickly and forcefully and don’t be afraid to “make a scene.”
• Always go out with friends, but be prepared to take care of yourself. Do not assume others will look out for your well-being.
• Understand that “no” means “no”! If the issue is forced, THAT’S RAPE.
• Limit or avoid alcohol consumption; never leave your beverage unattended or out of sight.

Tips to look out for Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Stalking

Domestic/dating violence is also referred to as intimate partner or relationship violence. It is a pattern of behavior that is used to gain or maintain power or control over a partner. Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological acts or threats of action. It includes any behavior that frightens, intimidates, terrorizes, manipulates, hurts, humiliates, coerces, blames or injures someone. You may be in an abusive relationship if your partner:

• Acts jealous when you talk to others, even friends
• Criticizes what you do, what you wear and who your friends are
• Does not listen to what you say or want
• Controls you in small ways, such as by holding you too tightly or pulling you around by your hand
• Always needs to know where you are and whom you are with
• Easily becomes angry or violent
• Tries to force you into sexual activity that you do not want
• Insults you and calls you hurtful names
• Degrades your gender with jokes
• Threatens to hurt you or someone/something you care about
• Emotionally or physically harms you and then shows remorse afterwards

Stalking is a course of unwanted conduct directed at a particular person, designed for no legitimate purpose, and which places the person or a third person in reasonable fear of physical, emotional or mental harm. Stalking can take many forms, including:

• Unwanted visits
• Following
• Driving by your home or place of business
• Threatening or harassing phone calls
• Unwanted digital communication
• Cyberstalking through unlawful video surveillance, posting unwanted pictures or videos, revenge porn, messages and other harassing behavior online

For more information and tips, please visit Safety Resources.

National Campus Safety Awareness Month

Adelphi University observes National Campus Safety Awareness Month in September with weekly events designed to promote safety across the University campus and its centers.

Adelphi is a safe campus and it is important that we continue to raise awareness on relevant issues to keep it that way. National Campus Safety Awareness Month is a perfect opportunity as we start the new academic year to focus on safety and making good decisions.

The Adelphi University Department of Public Safety is partnering with the Garden City Police Department, Adelphi Counseling Center, Residence Life and Housing, Athletics, Health Services and the entire Adelphi community to provide programming on issues including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, the dangers of alcohol and drugs, hostile intruder/active shooter, and pedestrian safety.

The University offers a full schedule of programming and events during the month of September to enhance the safety of our campus. It takes all of us working together to keep Adelphi a safe campus and all are encouraged; students, faculty, and staff to participate in as much programming and events as possible. Theft prevention, hostile intruder/active shooter survival, hazing prevention, sexual assault awareness, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and the dangers of alcohol and drugs are issues that many do not like to talk or think about. But through awareness, we want the Adelphi community to be mindful, not fearful.

Definitions

SEXUAL ASSAULT (VIOLENCE) is sexual activity without consent.

Consent: lacking in circumstances under which, at the time of the act of intercourse, oral sexual conduct, or anal sexual conduct, the victim clearly expressed that he or she did not consent to engage in such act, and a reasonable person in the actor’s situation would have understood such person’s words and acts as an expression of lack of consent to such act under all the circumstances.

• Consent cannot be given when a person is temporarily incapacitated. Temporary incapacitation occurs when an individual is incapable of appraising or controlling his or her conduct owing to the influence of a narcotic or intoxicating substance regardless of whether or not such substance was voluntarily consumed.
• Consent cannot be given when one is physically helpless. Physical helplessness occurs when an individual is unconscious or for any other reason is physically incapable to communicate unwillingness to an act.
• Consent cannot be given when one is physically compelled by force or threat of harm or when involuntarily restrained.
• Consent cannot be given if any of the parties are under the age of seventeen.
• Consent cannot be given when a person suffers from a mental disease or defect, which renders him or her incapable of appraising the nature of his or her conduct. • Consent to any sexual act or prior consensual sexual activity between or with any party does not constitute consent to any other sexual act. When consent is withdrawn at any time, sexual activity must stop. The following are University policy definitions from a compilation of Clery, VAWA, New York State Penal Law (Article 120 & Article 130), and the Code of Federal Regulations (34 CFR 668.41) and are also included in the Awareness and Prevention training programs.

Rape: The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. This definition includes victims or offenders of any gender. This definition also includes instances in which the victim is incapable of 21 giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (including due to the influence of drugs or alcohol) or because of age. Physical resistance is not required on the part of the victim to demonstrate lack of consent.

Fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.

Incest: Non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

Statutory Rape: Non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent. o If the offender used or threatened the use of force or the victim was incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or mental impairment, either temporary or permanent, law enforcement should classify the offense as Rape, not Statutory Rape.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim; by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred; or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred. For the purposes of complying with the requirements of this section and § 668.41, any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting.

DATING VIOLENCE: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. For the purposes of this definition: (A) Dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. (B) Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence. For the purposes of complying with the requirements of this section and § 668.41, any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting.

STALKING: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; suffer substantial emotional distress. For the purposes of this definition: 22 (A) Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property. (B) Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim. (C) Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling. For the purposes of complying with the requirements of this section and section 668.41, any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting.

Risk Reduction: encompasses options designed to decrease perpetration and bystander inaction; increase empowerment for victims in order to promote safety; and to help individuals and communities address conditions that facilitate violence.

For additional and expanded definitions, please visit adelphi.edu/safety-transportation/clery-act/reportable-crimes-and-locations/

Procedures

Security Awareness, Crime Prevention and Reporting

Forms

adelphi.edu/safety-transportation/training/

adelphi.edu/hr/title-ix-training/

Related Information

Health Services

Student Counseling Center

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report

Document History

• Policy Origination Date: Not known
• Last Reviewed Date: July 30,2024
• Policy Reviewed by: Policy Owner and Policy Experts
• Last Revised Date: July 30,2024

Who Approved This Policy

John Siderakis, Vice President of Administration and Executive Leadership