Complaints of Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Offences
Respectful Educational and Working Environment - Discrimination and Other Harassment
OCCC is committed to providing students, employees, and visitors and educational and
working environment free from discrimination and harassment on the basis of race,
color, national origin, religion, gender, gender stereotyping, disability, age, military
and veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ancestry,
disability, genetic information. OCCC does not tolerate prohibited discrimination
or harassment in any form. Employees, students, or visitors who believe they have
been subjected to prohibited discrimination or harassment in violation of OCCC policy
must report the incident to the Director of Equal Opportunity.
Respectful Educational and Working Environment - Sexual misconduct, Discrimination,
and Harassment
The College is committed to creating and maintaining a community where all persons
who participate in College programs and activities can work and learn together in
an atmosphere free from all forms of harassment, exploitation, or intimidation. The
College condemns discrimination based on sex or gender, sexual harassment, sexual
assault, sexual orientation discrimination, discrimination based on gender identity
or expression, and sexual misconduct. Persons who have complaints alleging discrimination/harassment
in violation of OCCC policy may file their complaints in writing with the College’s
Director of Equal Opportunity/Title IX Coordinator or any Deputy Title IX Coordinator.
All students are required to complete Sexual Violence Prevention (Title IX) training
annually.
The complete policies, including complete definitions, reporting requirements, and
investigation and appeal procedures can be found online at http://www.occc.edu/policy/index.html. The Title IX Coordinator, Deputy Title IX Coordinators, and Title IX Advocates are
identified here.
If you would like more information than is contained in this Handbook regarding any
process or procedure, or if you’d like to make a report, ask questions about the Sexual
Misconduct Policy, or need to request an accommodation to your class(es) or working
arrangements regardless of whether or not you chose to report the crime to law enforcement
or campus police, contact the Title IX Coordinator, Regina Switzer, J.D., 7777 S.
May Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73159, 405-682- 7540.
Rights of Complainants and Respondents
Throughout a Title IX Complaint process, both the complainant and the respondent have
the following rights to:
- Appropriate support from the College.
- Privacy to the extent possible consistent with applicable law and College policy.
- Information about and receipt of the College's Sexual Misconduct Policy.
- The presence of an advisor throughout the process
- Participate or decline to participate in the investigation or any appeal process.
However, a decision to refrain from participating in the process either wholly or
in part will not prevent the process from proceeding with the information available. - Prompt and thorough investigation of the allegations.
- Adequate time to review documents in the office of the Title IX Coordinator following
the investigation. - Adequate time to prepare
- An opportunity to challenge an investigator or hearing panel member for possible conflicts
of interest. - Refrain from making incriminating statements
- Be free from retaliation for filing or participating in the investigation of a complaint
- Appeal the decision made by the Title IX Coordinator
- Notification in writing of the case resolution, including the outcome of any appeal
- Report the incident to law enforcement at any time
- To understand that information collected in the process may be subpoenaed in criminal
or civil proceedings
RELEVANT DEFINITIONS
Consent: Under Oklahoma State law, Title 21 §113, The term “consent” means the affirmative,
unambiguous and voluntary agreement to engage in a specific sexual activity during
a sexual encounter which can be revoked at any time. Consent cannot be given by an
individual who is asleep or is mentally or physically incapacitated either through
the effect of drugs or alcohol or for any other reason, or is under duress, threat,
coercion or force; or inferred under circumstances in which consent is not clear including,
but not limited to the absence of an individual saying “no” or “stop”, or the existence
of a prior or current relationship or sexual activity.
Therefore, Consent is defined as the act of willingly agreeing to engage in sexual
contact or conduct. Individuals who consent to sex must be able to understand what
they are doing. Under the OCCC Policy No. 1012, “No” always means “No,” and the absence of “No” may not mean “Yes.”
Consent is informed, knowing and voluntary. Consent is active, not passive. Silence,
in and of itself, cannot be interpreted as consent. Consent can be given by words
or actions, as long as those words or actions create mutually understandable permission
regarding the conditions of sexual activity.
For a more thorough explanation of Consent, see College Policy No. 1012, Section 3.17.
Sexual Assault: Means an offense classified as forcible or non- forcible sex offence under the uniform
crime reporting system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sexual Assault is defined
as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent
of the recipient. Sexual activities that fall under this definition include forced
sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted
rape.
Domestic Violence: Defined as 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; - 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.
Dating Violence: Defined as 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 Complainant’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, dating violence includes, but is not limited
to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. - Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.
- Any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery
Act reporting
Under Oklahoma State law, Title 21§644, Domestic/Dating Violence is defined as domestic
and dating violence as any person who commits an assault and battery against
- a current or former spouse,
- a present spouse of a former spouse,
- a former spouse of a present spouse,
- parents,
- a foster parent,
- a child,
- a person otherwise related by blood or marriage,
- a person with whom the defendant is or was in a dating relationship as defined by
Section 60.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes, - an individual with whom the defendant has had a child,
- a person who formerly lived in the same household as the defendant, or
- a person living in the same household as the defendant.
Stalking: Stalking is defined as 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; or
- Suffer substantial emotional distress.
- For the purposes of this definition:
- 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. - Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar
identities to the victim. - Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that
may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or
counseling. - Any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery
Act reporting.
Under Oklahoma State law, the definition of Stalking is: Any person who willfully,
maliciously and repeatedly follows or harasses another person in a manner that:
- Would cause a reasonable person or a member of the immediate family of that person
to feel frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested; and - Actually causes the person being followed or harassed to feel terrorized, frightened,
intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.
Bystander Intervention: A bystander is someone other than the victim who is present when an act of dating
violence, domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault is occurring or when a situation
is occurring in which a reasonable person feels as though some protective action is
required to prevent sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking.
Bystanders, if active, can prevent harm or intervene before a situation gets worse.
Examples of active bystander intervention include: not leaving an overly intoxicated
person in a bar/party alone, walking a classmate to his/her car after class, calling
police when a potentially violent situation is unfolding, not leaving an unconscious
person alone (alerting an Advisor, Advocate, campus police, etc.), or intervening
when someone is being belittled, degraded or emotionally abused (walking victim away
from abuser, contacting others for help, like Counseling Center, Student Life, Dean).
What to do if you have been the victim of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic
violence or stalking.
After an incident of sexual assault and domestic violence, the victim should consider
seeking medical attention as soon as possible at the designated hospital offering
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE RECOVERY KIT COLLECTION/ACCESS TO FORENSIC NURSE EXAMINERS/ SEXUAL
ASSAULT NURSE PRACTITIONERS. In Oklahoma City, information about the designated hospital
offering these services may be obtained from the YWCA Sexual Assault Hotline, 405-943-RAPE
(7273). In Oklahoma, evidence may be collected even if you chose not to make a report
to law enforcement.
The Oklahoma City YWCA and OCCC have partnered to provide crisis assistance to our
students. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. YWCA Sexual Assault
Advocates are available to meet with you, in person, on or off-campus. Call (405)
943-7273. These Advocates and Sexual Assault Nurse Practitioners (SANE) nurses are
specially trained to collect, preserve properly, and document evidence without re-traumatizing
a victim during the process.
It is important that a victim of sexual assault not bathe, douche, smoke, change clothing
or clean the bed/linen/area where they were assaulted if the offense occurred within
the past 96 hours so that evidence, as may be necessary to the proof of criminal activity,
may be preserved. In circumstances of sexual assault, if victims do not opt for forensic
evidence collection, health care providers can still treat injuries and take steps
to address concerns of pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted disease.
Victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and dating violence are encouraged
to also preserve evidence by saving text messages, instant messages, social networking
pages, other communications, and keeping pictures, logs or other copies of documents,
if they have any, that would be useful to any OCCC investigators or Campus or local
police. Although the College strongly encourages all members of its community to report
violations of this policy to law enforcement, it is the victim’s choice whether or
not to make such a report and victims have the right to decline involvement with the
police.
To report a crime involving a sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and/or
dating violence, contact the OCCC Campus Police Department at 405-682-7872. If you
are not sure and need to talk to someone about what you are experiencing, you may
contact the Title IX Coordinator, Regina Switzer, at 405-682-7540. The Title IX Coordinator
or a Deputy Title IX Coordinator will discuss options and will assist any victim with
notifying campus or local police if they so desire. The Oklahoma City Police Department
may be reached by calling 911 for emergencies, or (405) 231-2121 for non-emergencies.
Additional information about the OCCC Police department, including the College’s Annual
Security Report may be found online at: http://www.occc.edu/police/.
DESIGNATION OF TITLE IX COORDINATORS
Any complaint of Sexual Misconduct or other Gender-based Misconduct, including sexual
assault, may be directed to the Vice President of Human Resources/Title IX Coordinator:
Regina Switzer, J.D., Vice President for Human Resources
Oklahoma City Community College (107-JMC)
7777 S. May Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73159
regina.a.switzer@occc.edu | (405) 682-7540
Any complaint of Sexual Misconduct or other Gender-based Misconduct, including sexual
assault, may be directed to the Director Equity and Compliance/Senior Deputy Title
IX Coordinator:
Kimberly Rundell, Equity and Compliance Coordinator
Oklahoma City Community College (117-JMC)
7777 S. May Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73159
kimberly.m.rundell@occc.edu | (405) 682-7850
OCCC’s Employment and Graduation Coordinator has been designated as a Deputy Title
IX Coordinator for complaints against credit students:
Christina Atencio, M.H.R., Employment and Graduation Coordinator
Oklahoma City Community College (1I2C)
7777 S. May Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73159
christina.l.atencio@occc.edu | (405) 682-7813
OCCC’s Director of the Capitol Hill Center has been designated as a Deputy Title IX
Coordinator for complaints related to the Capitol Hill Center Campus:
Gregory Myles, Director of the Capitol Hill Center
123 SW 25th Street, Suite 100
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73109
gregory.myles@occc.edu | (405) 682-1611 ext. 7606
OCCC’s Director of Community Outreach and Education has been designated as a Deputy
Title IX Coordinator for complaints related to the Family and Community Education
(FACE) Center Campus:
Doralicia Sandoval, M.M. Director of Community Outreach and Education
6500 S. Land Ave
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73159
dsandoval@occc.edu | (405) 682-1611 ext. 7121
PREGNANT AND PARENTING STUDENTS
Oklahoma City Community College does not discriminate against any student on the basis
of pregnancy, parenting, or related conditions. Pregnant or parenting students seeking
accommodations should notify your professor immediately. For purposes of this notification,
“parenting student” means a student who is pregnant or has recently been pregnant,
or another student in a parenting role (regardless of gender), who is participating
in a pregnancy-related or birth process.
Pregnancy-Related Absences: When a doctor determines absence is necessary, absences will be excused for students
who are pregnant or parenting for as long as the student’s doctor determines. Reasonable
time will be given to make up missed work.
Title IX Coordinators: OCCC has designated a Title IX coordinator, Regina Switzer (405-682-7540), and a
Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Christina Atencio, (405) 682-7813. Either may be contacted
when a pregnant or parenting student needs assistance in understanding or protecting
the students’ rights under Title IX.
Way Around.
