Title IX - Non-Discrimination

SUNY Orange does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any Education Program or Activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and its regulations, including in admission and employment.

Inquiries about Title IX may be referred to SUNY Orange’s Title IX Coordinator, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or both. SUNY Orange’s Title IX Coordinator is Iris Martinez-Davis, Orange Hall (Room 11), Middletown, NY 10940, (845) 341-4662, iris.martinezdavis@sunyorange.edu.

SUNY Orange’s nondiscrimination policy and grievance procedures are available on the SUNY Orange website. To report information about conduct that may constitute sex discrimination or make a complaint of sex discrimination under Title IX, please refer to the Title IX Grievance Procedure page.

Notice of Non-Discrimination

Orange County Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim status, criminal conviction or any other category protected by law. The College adheres to all federal and state civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination in public institutions of higher education.

Inquiries regarding this non-discrimination policy may be directed to:

Iris Martinez-Davis
Civil Rights Compliance Officer
115 South Street, Middletown NY 10940
(845) 341-4662
iris.martinezdavis@sunyorange.edu

If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking:

Get to a safe place as soon as you can.
Try to preserve all physical evidence; do not bathe, douche, or change your clothes.
Contact SUNY Orange Department of Safety and Security:
- Middletown - dial 77 from a campus phone or call 341-4710
- Newburgh dial 9533 from a campus phone or call 341-9533
- You may also use one of the Blue Light emergency phones, or any of the red or yellow phones located throughout both campuses.

Call the Campus Sexual Assault Victims Hotline 844-845-7269. Reports made to the hotline will result in a response and investigation by the New York State Police Campus Sexual Assault Victims Unit.

For further help and resources, please visit our Sexual Assault Prevention and Reporting page on the Wellness Center website.

Sexual Violence Prevention Campus Climate Survey

Background

In Spring 2023, SUNY Orange students and employees participated in the SUNY System’s bi-annual Sexual Violence Prevalence Survey (SVP) Survey. The goal of this online survey is to gather information about the rate of incidents of sexual violence and about the knowledge of policies and resources among students and employees.

Instrument & Implementation: Online survey developed by SUNY and administered to all SUNY students, faculty, and staff.

Executive Summary

SUNY Orange is committed to providing an environment that respects and encourages the development and growth of all students, faculty and staff. In order to better understand our campus and make informed decisions regarding providing a safe environment for all in April 2023 SUNY Orange began an online administration of the Sexual Violence Prevalence (SVP) Campus Climate Survey. This survey was administered to students and employees and is required to address, at minimum, student and employee knowledge about:

The Title IX Coordinator’s role;
Campus policies and procedures addressing sexual assault;
How and where to report sexual violence as a victim/survivor or witness;
The availability of resources on and off campus, such as counseling, health, academic assistance;
The prevalence of victimization and perpetration of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on and off campus during a set time period (for example, the last two years);
Bystander attitudes and behavior;
Whether victims/survivors reported to the College/University and/or police, and reasons why they did or did not report.
The general awareness of the difference, if any, between the institution’s policies and the penal law; and
The general awareness of the definition of affirmative consent.

In reviewing the results, the survey indicated 92.5% of the employees who are aware that SUNY Orange has policies and procedures specifically to address sexual assault as compared to 71.3% of students. Students are slightly aware of the campus and community support services available to them. More information, outreach and follow-up are needed to ensure up to date information to students regarding resources.

When asked if students and employees knew how to contact the Title IX Coordinator, 66% of employees and only 25.7% of students responded in the affirmative. However, when asked if the campus had policies and procedures to address sexual assault, 71% of students and 93% of employees responding, indicated yes, they were aware.

SUNY Orange takes great pride in providing a safe and healthy learning environment for all and is committed to continued participation in the Sexual Violence Prevention Survey. The College will use the findings of the survey to continue to improve training, prevention, and support as part of our ongoing effort to achieve a campus environment free of sexual harassment, including sexual violence and related crimes. To view the SUNY Orange Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment in full please visit: https://sunyorange.edu/titleix/. If you need to report an issue or have questions regarding Title IX, sexual violence prevention or upcoming campus trainings, please contact: Iris Martinez-Davis, Civil Rights Compliance Officer at iris.martinezdavis@sunyorange.edu or at (845) 341-4662. If you have any questions regarding the survey administration and results, please contact: Christine Work, Inst. Planning, Assessment & Research Officer at christine.work@sunyorange.edu or (845) 341-4763.

For additional information regarding SUNY Policies please go to:

SUNY Policies on Sexual Violence Prevention and Response SUNY Policies on Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Policies - SUNY

Campus Resources and Best Practices http://system.suny.edu/university-life/sexual-assault-prevention/

Sexual Assault and Violence Response Resources https://www.suny.edu/violence-response/ with resources on or off campus by location, campus, city.

Background

The SVP survey is administered every other year by all SUNY campuses, who work closely with SUNY System Administration to coordinate the survey administration itself. An effort is made to keep the questions from one administration to the next as consistent as possible to allow for reliable and meaningful longitudinal data. System-wide IRB review takes place for each survey administration.

Our campus administered the student survey between April 10, 2023, to April 28, 2023 and the employee survey between the same dates. Excluded in the survey populations were individuals under 18 years of age, all incarcerated individuals regardless of age, and all students concurrently enrolled in high school regardless of age. Survey links were announced at college meetings, published in our bi-weekly Grapevine for employees and students as well as emailed directly to all eligible employees and students. No incentives were given.

Results

The participation rate for employees was 21% [252 completed surveys]. There were 167 students who completed the SVP survey; this is a 5.3% rate. While the rate of completion for both employees and students is lower than ideal, the responses are valued and reviewed in order to ensure the safety and awareness of all college employees and students. Additionally, the responses assist the Title IX Coordinator and Human Resources in reviewing processes, policies and best practices in regard to communication and support.

Campus Policies and Procedures:

Nearly 71.3% of students who responded, are aware SUNY Orange has policies and procedures to specifically address sexual assault. Over 92% of employees report they are aware that SUNY Orange has policies and procedures specifically addressing sexual assault.

43% of students responding report they know about SUNY’s alcohol and/or drug use amnesty policy in reporting sexual violence. 39.8% of employees report they know about SUNY’s alcohol and/or drug use amnesty policy in reporting sexual violence.

Title IX Coordinator’s Role:

Less than 30% of students know how to contact the Title IX Coordinator. However, 72% of employees report they know how to contact the college’s Title IX Coordinator.

Availability of Resources on and off Campus:

Students generally report they have received written and/or verbal information from anyone at campus about the following: definition of sexual assault [57%], how to report assault [46%], where to go to get help in event of sexual assault [50.7%] and whom they can speak to confidentially about assault [44%]. Employees report higher percentages of having received written information about: definition of sexual assault [87.1%], how to report assault [87.9%], where to go to get help in event of sexual assault [84.5%] and whom they can speak to confidentially about assault [79.7%].

Nearly 85% of reporting employees knew where to go to help someone self/student who has been sexually assaulted. 50% of responding students indicated they knew where to go if self/someone was sexually assaulted.

Reporting of Sexual Violence [Victim, Survivor, Witness]:

When asked if students know to whom a formal complaint can be made, students most identified: Wellness Center/Counseling Center [75.5%] and campus security [83.9%]. 87% of employees responding understand the definition of assault and nearly 88% report they know how to report an assault.

Of the following incidents, the percentage of students reporting they know how to report to the college: sexual assault [47%], sexual harassment [48.6%], domestic/dating violence [39.3%] and stalking [37.1%]. Employees reporting to the survey indicate they are aware of how to report the following incidents: sexual assault [90%], sexual harassment [90.5%], domestic/dating violence [76.6%] and stalking [77.5%].

Discussion and next steps

The results indicate that faculty and staff possess a general awareness of campus policies, laws, and resources, including the roles and responsibilities of the Title IX coordinators. However, there is a need for increased information dissemination, outreach, and follow-up to keep students, faculty, and staff informed about local resources, such as crisis and advocacy centers. Many students are unaware of the SUNY Alcohol and/or Drug Use Amnesty policy in sexual violence cases. Despite a lower-than-desired response rate, the findings unequivocally point to the necessity for enhanced information, outreach, and training on sexual violence response and prevention for students.

In response to these findings, representatives from Campus Safety and Security, Behavioral Intervention Team, Student Services, Wellness Center, and Human Resources will collaborate to offer additional educational opportunities to the College community. This initiative will commence during the student onboarding process and New Employee Orientation, where attendees will receive education on Title IX, personal safety, and relevant College

policies. Throughout the year, various programs and activities will be organized to educate the College community on sexual violence prevention and how to provide support to victims. Our objective is to raise awareness on campus through these outreach efforts.

To assess the impact of these initiatives, we will evaluate satisfaction and effectiveness. We anticipate observing increased awareness when the survey is administered in the future.

The following is a list of the types of questions asked of our students and employees.

The prevalence of victimization and perpetration of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on and off campus during a set time period (for example, the last two years)

During the last year, have you experience any of the following…

During the last year, has someone….

Domestic Partner
In the last year, has an intimate partner…

Stalking
In the past year, has anyone-from stranger to a friend or current or ex-partner- repeatedly followed you, watched you, texted, called, written, e-mailed, or communicated with you in ways that seemed obsessive and made you afraid or concerned for your safety?

Student Incidents
During the last year, have any students disclosed to you that they were a victim of an unwanted sexual experience, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, regardless of where such incident is reported to have occurred?

Unwanted Sexual Comments
During the last year, have you experienced unwanted sexual comments, sexual slurs, or demeaning jokes?

Unwanted Digital Communications
During the last year, have you received unwanted sexually suggestive digital communications, either words or images or both, including emails, texts, social medial communications, or in letters or written communications?