Just because something doesn’t fit into a specific definition of sexual misconduct doesn’t mean that your response is unwarranted. It is always okay to be upset about anything that happened to you that made you feel bad. You can always speak to your RA, a trusted faculty or staff member, or a friend or family member. You can also contact the Title IX Coordinator if you have questions about Centre's Sexual Misconduct Policy. Speaking to the Title IX Coordinator or filing a report does not require you to pursue an investigation. You can contact the Title IX Coordinator at titleix@centre.edu if you wish to speak to someone from the office.

If you want to talk to someone confidentially, you can email Centre counseling at counseling@centre.edu.

If someone discloses information about an incidence of sexual misconduct to a mandatory reporter, they are required to share everything they know about it with John Perrin, Centre’s Title IX coordinator. John will reach out to the person to provide information about resources and accommodations and to see if they would like to talk, but that person does not have to respond.

At Centre, all faculty, staff, and administrators are mandatory reporters. This includes athletics staff as well as Residence Directors and Resident Assistants.

Counseling, the College Chaplain, Student Health staff, and off-campus service providers (like the Ampersand drop-in space) are confidential resources who do not have to report information to the Title IX coordinator.

The Sexual Misconduct & Assault Reporting Tool (SMART) is an online form that a person can fill out to report sexual misconduct to the Title IX Office. This tool allows for anonymous reporting. Once a report is sent and if there is identifying information included, the Title IX Office will reach out to the person who was indicated as the victim within 48 business hours to see if they would like to meet.

If someone who is not directly involved in an incident makes a report, they will not be contacted by the Title IX Office in order to preserve the confidentiality of the involved parties.

Ampersand is an off-campus organization that works to support survivors through services such as medical and legal advocacy, counseling, and a 24-hour crisis line (1-800-656-HOPE). Because this organization is not run by Centre, it is completely confidential for students to access.

Ampersand has an office in Danville and they offer a drop-in space in the presentation room in Centre’s library. The list of drop-in hours can be found here. 

Students can file a complaint or report online here.

You may also contact a member of the Title IX Team by phone, email, or in-person:

John Perrin, Title IX Coordinator Director of Equal Opportunity & Title IX Compliance Campus Center, Second Floor 859-238-5881 john.perrin@centre.edu	Kay L. Drake, Title IX Team Member Vice President for Human Resources and Administrative Services Horky House, first floor 859-238-5467 kay.drake@centre.edu
Kevin Milby, Title IX Team Member Director of Public Safety Public Safety Office, West Walnut Street 859-238-5534 kevin.milby@centre.edu	Melinda Weathers, Title IX Team Member Director of Diversity and Inclusion Office of Diversity & Inclusion 859-238-5398 ashley.oliver@centre.edu
Gina Nicoletti-Bellinger, Title IX Team Member Associate Athletic Director Sutcliffe Hall, Athletics administration office 859-238-5493 gina.nicoletti@centre.edu	Dr. Mary Gulley, Title IX Team Member Asst. Dean for Advising, Asst. Professor of Psychology Old Centre, Dean’s Office 859-238-5223 mary.gulley@centre.edu

If you would like to talk through the option of reporting, Centre Counselors are available to meet by appointment to support you in your decision whether to report. Centre Counseling can be reached at 859-238-5740 or counseling@centre.edu.

After hours, in the case of an emergency, a counselor can be reached through DPS or your RA. You only need to convey that it is an emergency to speak with Counseling. DPS and RAs are mandatory reporters, but you do not need to tell them why you need to speak with Counseling.

Students participating in off-campus academic activities such as internships and study abroad are protected by and subject to Title IX policies.

If you experience sexual violence while you are away from the Danville-Boyle County area, you are encouraged to contact local similar resources and/or seek guidance from a member of the Title IX Team. Making a SMART report online is one way to get in touch. Participants in Centre programs abroad should contact, if appropriate, their onsite faculty director or, in the case of the Merida or Strasbourg programs, the local staff coordinator. You should also follow the guidance provided in the “Sexual Misconduct Policy Away from Campus Resources for Complainants and Respondents Traveling Abroad,” which is included in the Study Abroad Handbook, and available on this CentreNet page.

Pathways to Safety provides services to people who experience sexual misconduct abroad. You can email them and they will respond within 72 hours.

Get help in an emergency by locating the nearest Embassy or Consulate. You can also call the State Department’s emergency numbers:

• From the U.S. & Canada 1.888.407.4747
• From Overseas +1 202.501.4444

No.

No, your report does not go to the police. We encourage you to also make a report with the police. Please let us know if you would like assistance contacting the police. We can provide transport, escort, or information to make a police report or to help you with a restraining order. 

Centre College will not share your information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

No. Bystanders, witnesses, and reporting parties will not get in trouble for drinking or drug use.

No.

Yes, unfortunately dating and domestic violence are realities and considered sexual misconduct. For more resources on dating violence, including red flags to watch out for and confidential hotlines, visit Love Is Respect and One Love.

Consent must be granted even within a dating relationship. Consent:

• Is mutually understandable when a reasonable person would consider the words or actions of the parties to have manifested an understandable agreement between them to do the same thing, in the same way, at the same time and with one another;
• Is not merely the absence of a verbally stated “no”, silence without actions demonstrating permission, cannot be assumed to show consent;
• Is never final or irrevocable;
• Is time-limited and situation-specific; even if someone obtained consent from a partner(s) in the past, this does not mean that consent is automatically granted again;
• Can only be given by someone who is free from verbal or physical pressure, coercion, intimidation, threat, or force; and
• Can only be given by someone in an unimpaired state of mind who is able to understand what is happening.

Making a report feels right to you. 

For a survivor, reporting sexual misconduct to the college or to the police will not change the past, but for some, a report can help survivors seek justice and begin the healing process.

We can help. Title IX is designed to ensure that no one is prevented from their education. We want you to feel safe and thrive in the place where you work, live, and study, and sexual violence can have long-term effects. John Perrin, the Title IX Coordinator, can provide assistance with interim measures such as changes in coursework, housing, or work-study assignments. We can also help connect you with support services. However, Centre Counseling is also a confidential way to seek accommodations.

If an anonymous report is made through the online reporting tool, SMART (Sexual Misconduct Assault Reporting Tool), an incident will be captured as a statistic for the Department of Public Safety Reports if applicable. This assists Centre in better understanding the incidence of sexual violence in our community and helps us in our education, prevention, and response. Sometimes a survivor might want to stand up and be counted but not be known. An anonymous report might be a good option in this case.

Yes, with a few exceptions. We want survivors to have control over the process. However, in determining whether a student’s request for a report of sexual misconduct cannot be acted upon, Centre College will consider multiple factors, including:

• whether the incident involved the use of a weapon;
• if there have been other reports of misconduct committed by the accused student;
• whether the incident involved multiple perpetrators;
• whether the incident suggests a pattern of misconduct at a particular location or by a particular organization or person;
• risk of harm to self or others
• survivor’s willingness to pursue a complaint.

There is no time limit for making a report. We encourage reporting an incident as soon as possible so we can respond the most effectively, but there is no limit.

John Perrin, as Centre's Title IX Coordinator, oversees the Title IX process to ensure that timely and thorough investigations are conducted. Investigations are conducted by external parties trained and specializing in the Title IX process.

The Title IX team is a group of Centre College administrators that work to promote prevention efforts and initiatives on campus. Centre’s Title IX Coordinator and other members are on this team, but this is a separate group that does not receive confidential information. At most, some members will help with accommodations by virtue of their positions on campus. For instance, Dean Mary Gulley may be asked to make changes to a student’s course schedule, but she will not receive any details of a Title IX case.

If you would like to know more about the Title IX team, access their section of this Centrenet page.

This standard of evidence means that the Appropriate Administrative Officer must determine whether a complaint of sex discrimination is “more likely than not” to have occurred. This standard applies for all complaints of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and violence, because Title IX outlines standards for school disciplinary processes, not criminal complaints (which require the highest standard of evidence, “beyond a reasonable doubt”).

Responding parties can expect to be treated fairly throughout the process.

The College offers assistance and non-judgmental support to any party involved in an incident of sexual misconduct. The College understands that individuals involved in an incident of sexual misconduct will have questions and may need the support of on-campus services. 

Any member of the College community involved in an incident of sexual misconduct can expect:

• The opportunity to meet with the Title IX Coordinator or (in the case of absence or conflict of interest) other employees designated by the Title IX Coordinator to answer questions regarding the College’s Sexual Misconduct Policy and/or complaint procedures for students and employees.
• Immediate measures by the College to prevent unnecessary or unwelcomed contact with or proximity to the other party. Such measures may include housing relocation, the imposition of no-contact orders, and adjustments to course or work schedules to prevent contact, as determined appropriate by the Title IX Coordinator or an official designated by the Title IX Coordinator.
• The right to be free from retaliation. Any retaliatory behavior should be immediately reported to the Department of Public Safety at 859-236-4357 or by dialing for “HELP” (4357) on a campus phone. The Department of Public Safety is available for assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You may also report retaliatory behavior to a member of the Title IX Team.

We care about your health and well-being. If you have experienced sexual violence, the College advises you to:

• Go to a safe place.
• Call someone that you trust - a good friend, your family, a counselor, or a chaplain. Centre Counseling can be reached at 859-238-5740 or counseling@centre.edu. After hours, in the case of an emergency, a counselor can be reached through DPS or your RA. You do not need to tell them why you need to speak with a counselor.
• Seek medical care as soon as possible at any emergency medical facility, such as Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Room or the University of Kentucky Emergency Room. To preserve your legal options, it is important to have a medical exam to assess for physical injuries and to collect evidence. You may have the exam and then decide not to pursue legal action. The medical provider will address the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Prophylactic medications will be offered. The medical examination is free. A sexual assault forensic exam should be available at no out of pocket cost to you. To preserve evidence and to assist the examination:
• Be sure NOT to bathe, douche, urinate, or defecate prior to arriving at the Emergency Room.
• Be sure NOT to change clothes. If you have already removed clothing, place it in a paper bag and bring it with you.
• Take extra clothes with you, as clothing will likely be held as evidence.
• Please ask for someone you trust or a member of the Faculty or Staff to go with you.
• Report the assault to campus authorities, local law enforcement and/or to one of the members of the Title IX Team. Individuals are strongly encouraged to come forward to report an assault and to receive appropriate professional counseling.

A “rape kit” is a slang term for a sexual assault forensic evidence kit. This is a box containing items needed for the specimen collection that takes place during a forensic exam for sexual assault. Associated forms for documentation are also in the box. That box arrives sealed prior to use to ensure the contents are undisturbed from the time the package was put together until the time of the exam. The seal is broken at the time of the forensic exam and a different/new seal is placed once samples for DNA evidence and supporting documentation are complete and placed in the box. Kits are usually used if the assault occurred less than 96 hours prior to the examination. Possession of or handling of this box or its contents follows a chain of custody. Medical personnel are responsible for initiating the chain of custody of all samples, beginning at the time of collection. Each person or entity who takes physical possession of the samples becomes part of the chain of custody and may be called to testify in court. Clear documentation is kept for chain of custody.

If a patient decides to report to law enforcement, then the kit is transferred to the appropriate law enforcement officials as soon as possible. Chain of custody documentation must be maintained, and a copy must accompany the kit at all times.

If a patient decides not to report to law enforcement, the evidence kit must be stored for at least 90 days in order to give the victim time to consider filing a delayed report.

A sexual assault forensic exam (SAFE) may be conducted by either the Emergency Department physician or by a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE). If a SANE performs the exam, that nurse is dedicated to the patient throughout the entire process without having other patients assigned to their care. The exam can take several hours. A SANE can conduct even the pelvic exam portion of the forensic exam. Availability of a SANE varies by facility. If a SANE is not available then a physician will conduct the exam, assisted by an ER nurse. Either way, evidence can be collected, a kit completed, a rape crisis advocate called to go through this process with the patient, STI treatment offered, emergency contraceptives offered, and education/follow up information provided.

If you request a SAFE/SANE exam and you do not want your health insurance billed you must say: "Do not bill my insurance." You do not have to provide your insurance for a SANE/SAFE exam. If you have been to Ephraim Medical before and they have your insurance on record you can still say, "Do not bill my insurance."

When you are an ER patient, someone from registration will speak with you and ask you to sign papers for consent to receive treatment, will give you information on patient rights and responsibilities, and will verify your address, insurance, and emergency contact information. If you are on your parent’s health insurance plan and do not want home contact (through a bill or explanation of benefits) then let them know that you do not want your insurance billed. If you have never been there, do not give insurance information. If you have been there before, your insurance information may be in the system. If you do not want insurance billed, say so and be very clear. If you are ok with home contact then the hospital will bill your insurance company. Whatever costs are not covered by your insurance will be submitted to the Kentucky Claims Commission, formerly the Crime Victims Compensation Program. If you do not want insurance billed, ask them to bill the entire amount to the Kentucky Claims Commission. http://cvcb.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx 

Annual statistics for reports made to the Title IX Office and data about the outcomes of those reports can be found here.

Sexual misconduct is an umbrella term which encompasses all forms of sexual violence, sexual harassment, differential treatment based on sex, and gender-based harassment.

Sexual assault, rape, sexual battery, and sexual coercion are all acts of sexual violence.

While some people use these terms interchangeably, they have specific meanings and are used intentionally throughout the sexual misconduct policy and this CentreNet page.

SPEAC (Students for Prevention Education & Advocacy in the Community) is a student organization that provides guidance about how Title IX impacts students and ways policy could be clearer or stronger. They are ambassadors to the student body and are excellent resources to talk through the Title IX process with if you are uncertain about reporting or want more information. SPEAC students are voices for the prevention of sexual violence on campus, and run awareness campaigns in addition to hosting programming and educational events. 

All incoming first-year students, First Year Mentors, student-athletes, and Resident Advisors receive Title IX and Sexual Misconduct training. The Title IX Office is in the process of expanding training to all students, and additional training can be scheduled by contacting the Title IX Coordinator. 

Students are encouraged to participate in bystander training, offered throughout the semester.

If you see something, say something! Filing a report with the Title IX Office will not force a victim to start or participate in an investigation, but it will ensure that the Office can provide resources to that person, as well as identify problem areas to improve prevention methods. 

If you are looking for other ways to get involved, contact John Perrin at john.perrin@centre.edu. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal law that states: 

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." 

Although Title IX has had much visibility related to athletics, the law applies to every single aspect of education. Check out this fact sheet from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center: Ten Things You Should Know About Title IX.