If you are accused of sexual misconduct as a student of Calvin College, you need to be prepared for what you are going to be facing. A person who is part of the Safer Spaces Committee, assigned by the Safer Spaces Administrator and the SSA is the person who serves as the Title IX Coordinator. Members of the Safer Spaces Committee are all Calvin College faculty and staff.
If you are found to be guilty of sexual misconduct, you will face discipline. The discipline will be imposed by the Calvin Hearing Panel. This hearing panel is made up of members who are part of the safer spaces committee.
Below we are going to give you a description of what to expect if you are facing these charges.
A Complaint Against You Is Made
A sexual misconduct investigation begins when a person files a complaint to the Safer Spaces Administrator. A complaint can be filed by the person who claims to be the victim or by anyone else in the college community, a guest or even a visitor to the college.
Complaints can start out by being made to the Safer Spaces Administrator. Another way a complaint can be made is by contacting a faculty member. Anyone who works at Calvin College has a duty to report all allegations to the SSA. Any employee who learns of a complaint regarding sexual misconduct is obligated to report those allegations to the Safer Spaces Administrator.
The Safer Spaces Coordinator Then Sits Down With The Compliant
After a report of misconduct is made, a Safer Spaces coordinators will meet with the person who filed the complaint. During this stage, the coordinator will explain to the person who filed the complaint how the investigation and discipline process goes. This will include explaining the options, sources, support, and remedies that are available to the person who filed the complaint.
Are Interem Remedies Called For?
After the meeting with the Safer Spaces Coordinator has to decide if interim remedies need to be imposed. Interm remedies are things such as counseling, changing housing, changing work assignments and providing campus escorts, and suspension of student organizations and security arrangements.
Assignment Of An Investigator
After meeting with the complainant and potentially imposing interim remedies, the report will be given to one or more Safer Spaces Committee members. These members are trained to conduct things kinds of investigations. At this point and time, the investigator notifies the accused student they are under investigation.
Beginning Their Investigation
The Safer Spaces investigator, after completing an interview with the accused student and interviewing with the complainant, the investigator will interview all other witnesses.as well as any other witnesses they wish to interview. The investigator will also attempt to gather other types of evidence such as social media, photos, videos, text messages and interviews with the police if there is a criminal investigation going on. The investigator will try to have everything completed in 60 days. However, it may take longer to complete the investigation. If this is the case, they will notify the accused and the complainant.
If you are accused of sexual misconduct, you do not have to agree to be interviewed. You have to be very careful about what you say if you are being interviewed. What you say during this interview could be used against you in a criminal case. When it comes to charges dealing with Criminal Sexual Conduct, you could be facing up to life in prison. Your words could be twisted against you even if you deny doing anything wrong.
During this process, the accused has the right to choose and consult with an advisor. This advisor can be an attorney. This is also a tough situation to be in. On one hand, you want to up show the school you are innocent and try to avoid serious academic consequences. However, you don’t want to say anything that will make you look guilty or get twisted around to put you in a bad light.
The Investigator Creates A Report Of The Investigation
When the investigation is finished, the Safer Spaces investigator reports the results of the investigation.
The Safer Spaces Coordinator Reviews The Report And Chooses A Resolution.
The Safer Spaces Coordinator will now look over the report and determine if the investigation has been thorough, fair and objective. If the report is found to be fair etc, a resolution process will begin. The resolution process can be no further action, additional investigation, informal resolutions, resolution without a hearing and a hearing.
After review of the RRI, the Safer Spaces Coordinator will choose the Report Resolution Process (RRP) that they believe is appropriate based upon the results of the investigation.
The only time a resolution is done without a hearing is when the accused admits responsibility for a policy violation and agrees with the proposed sanctions.
Where the facts or findings are disputed, a hearing will then take place.
Three Members Of The Safer Spaces Committee Will Serve On The Panel
The hearing takes place in front of the Calvin Hearing Panel (CHP). The CHP is made up of three members of the Safer Spaces Committee. There will be a chair of the hearing and two other members. These members will not have involved with the investigation so far.
The Hearing
The Calvin Panel will conduct a meeting and will look over the evidence. The evidence will include the report of the results of the prior investigation. The accused student will have a chance to respond to the evidence and given a chance to review it. The accused student will also have the right to have an advisor present during the hearing.
The Panel Will Have Deliberations And Issue Recommended Findings And Sanctions
After the hearing, the panel will deliberate in private and decide on the findings and potential sanctions. There will be a written report. The will determine if it is more likely than not that a policy violation has taken place.
The President Of Calvin Reviews The Report And Can Make Changes To It
The President will review the RFS, and can change the findings or sanctions. Once this is done, the process moves along towards the implementation of sanctions. These sanctions could be something as simple as counseling, suspension for awhile or expulsion from school.
The Accused Student Or Complainant May Appeal The Finding And Sanctions.
The accused student and the complainant can potentially file an appeal on limited grounds. The only grounds available for appeal are based on a procedural error that could have impacted the outcome, new evidence has come to light or the sanctions imposed were too harsh given the violation.
This hearing will be heard by a three-person panel made up for members of the safer spaces committee that have not had any prior involvement in the case. An appeal must be delivered in writing by either party within 14 days. Appeal decisions are issued within seven days and are final.