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Sexual Misconduct and Protected Bias, Discrimination, and Harassment

Graduate School Code of Legislation PDF Document

Summary

The Cornell Office of Civil Rights (COCR) promotes and ensures equal opportunity and access to enable all members of the Cornell community to succeed and thrive. COCR addresses bias incidents, sexual and related misconduct, discrimination, and protected-status harassment through incident response and resolution.

Cornell is committed to upholding the civil rights of all community members and fostering learning, living, and working environments of equal opportunity, fairness, and accessibility. Through Policy 6.4, Cornell prohibits discrimination and harassment based upon race, ethnic or national origin including shared ancestry, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual’s genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, caregiver status, height, weight, and any other legally protected class.

COCR encourages any student, faculty member, staff member, or applicant for employment or programs at Cornell who is concerned about discrimination, harassment, or retaliation to report their concern to COCR.

Report an Incident of Bias, Discrimination, Harassment, or Sexual Misconduct to Cornell Office of Civil Rights

COCR is responsible for responding to reports of bias, discrimination or harassment based upon race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual’s genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, caregiver status, height, weight, and any other legally protected class. They encourage reporting to ensure incidents are documented, and impacted parties receive information about resources and resolution options. With the exception of faculty and staff members who are designated reporters and supervisors and managers who learn of harassment in the workplace, any person may make an anonymous report using this reporting function.

Confidential Resources

The university offers a number of confidential resources for individuals who are looking for support, or an opportunity to consider next steps, who need care or who may be unsure about whether to report incidents to the university or police. Conversations with the university’s confidential resources are kept strictly confidential and, except in rare circumstances, will not be shared (including to faculty, etc.) without explicit permission.

Conversations with these confidential resources are kept private and, except in rare circumstances, will not be shared without your explicit permission. Even those university officials who cannot guarantee confidentiality, such as the Office of Civil Rights, will maintain a person’s privacy to the greatest extent possible.

Resources to Support Those Receiving Threatening Communication or Harassment

Cornell University has resources and procedures in place to support faculty, staff, and students who may experience online harassment in relation to their work as educators, researchers, scholars, or learners. Visit this resource page for guidance if you are actively experiencing or are concerned about the potential for experiencing various forms of online harassment. 

Ask for Help if You Need It

The Mental Health at Cornell website will help you locate offices, services, and organizations in every corner of this campus to offer you assistance, support, connection, intervention, reporting, and advocacy.

For 24/7 confidential consultation with a health care provider or counselor, students may call Cornell Health at 607-255-5155.

Contact

Sara Xayarath Hernández
Associate Dean for Inclusion and Student and Faculty Engagement
sh267@cornell.edu

Janna Lamey
Associate Dean for Graduate Student Life
janna.lamey@cornell.edu