Title IX and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy

Appendix: Rules of Decorum for Title IX & Gender-Based Misconduct Hearings

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The College’s resolution processes are designed to be educational. Hearing participants are expected to act in accordance with their role as it is described in the Policy and in accordance with the Rules of Decorum set out here.

The hearing chair is responsible for conducting the hearing and maintaining decorum so that the hearing takes place fairly and effectively. If the hearing chair determines that decorum is broken and the hearing has become disorderly, the hearing chair may recess or pause proceedings to address the behavior. Misconduct during the hearing can take many forms, both minor and egregious. It is within the hearing chair’s discretion to discourage or penalize parties, witnesses, or advisers who demonstrate a lack of decorum.

The following rules apply equally to all hearing participants, including parties, witnesses and advisers regardless of sex, gender or other protected class, and regardless of whether they are in the role of complainant, respondent, or witness.

Rules of Decorum

If an adviser, party, or witness is referencing another person, including the hearing participants, as much as possible the person’s name or role (i.e., complainant, respondent) should be used.

Anyone referring to another person should refer to that person by their gender as they identify it. No participant may intentionally mis-gender another person.

During cross-examination, the hearing chair must approve all questions before the party or witness responds. As much as possible, the hearing chair and any panelists and advisers are expected to restrict the use of irrelevant questions (e.g., questions that are redundant, compound, or do not seek relevant information).

Hearing participants are prohibited from:

Interrupting other participants.
Using profanity directed toward another participant.
Using objectively offensive or aggressive gestures.
Harassing another participant.
Yelling, screaming, badgering.
Physically “leaning in” to the personal space of another participant.
Approaching a participant without the express permission of the hearing chair.
Taking any action that a reasonable person would see as intended to intimidate a participant or to meaningfully modify someone’s participation in the process.
Engaging in any other behavior to deliberately disrupt the hearing.

The hearing chair has sole discretion to pause or interject during the process and all hearing participants are expected to comply with any direction provided. If a hearing participant violates the Rules of Decorum or otherwise becomes disorderly, the hearing chair may recess or pause proceedings to address the behavior.

If a hearing participant violates the Rules of Decorum, the hearing chair may issue a penalty to that hearing participant. Specifically, the hearing chair may give a verbal warning, pause the hearing process, or remove a hearing participant. If an adviser is removed for egregious or repeated violations of the Rules of Decorum, the respective party may have the opportunity to immediately replace the adviser or the Title IX Coordinator will assign an adviser to the party for the purpose of completing cross-examination. Reasonable delays, including the temporary adjournment of the hearing, may be anticipated should an adviser be removed. A party cannot pose cross-examination questions themselves in such a circumstance.

If the hearing chair determines that an adviser violated the Rules of Decorum in the course of asking a relevant question, the violation will not affect the question’s relevancy. The hearing chair will notify the adviser of the violation and permit the question to be re-asked (or permit a replacement adviser to ask the question in cases where the adviser has been removed for the violation of the Rules of Decorum).

B. Notification of Rules of Decorum Violation and Removal Process

If the hearing chair determines that a participant has violated the Rules of Decorum, the hearing chair will first notify the offending person of the violation. Upon a second or further violation, the hearing chair has the discretion to remove the offending participant. The hearing chair will document any decision to remove a participant as part of the written determination regarding responsibility.