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Relevant Excerpt

Sexual harassment. “Sexual harassment” means unwelcome conduct which is either of a sexual nature, or which is directed at an individual because of that individual’s sex or gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, when such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work, academic, or extracurricular performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or learning environment, even if the reporting individual is not the intended target of the sexual harassment.

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• Verbal – Conduct such as unwelcome sexually suggestive, demeaning, or graphic comments; unwelcome verbal sexual advances; using slurs to refer to a person; bullying, yelling or name-calling; refusing to use a person’s preferred pronouns or name; or jokes or comments that demean a person on the basis of sex or gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
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• Visual – Conduct such as exposing another person to unwanted pornographic images; creating or displaying pictures, symbols, flags, cartoons, or graffiti that is/are sexually offensive or disparage(s) another person or group based on sex or gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

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A “hostile environment” is created when the offensive behavior interferes with an individual’s ability to participate in the University’s programs (i.e., to work and to learn) when judged against a reasonable person standard. However, Colgate encourages individuals experiencing or witnessing offensive behavior to make a report as early as possible so as to have the situation corrected before it reaches the level of a hostile environment. Individuals with a concern need not worry about whether the behavior is sufficiently serious to constitute a hostile environment. The University reserves the right to remedy sexual harassment pursuant to this policy even if the behavior in question does not rise to the level of legally recognized or actionable harassment.