Title IX

Our campus community is committed to creating a safe environment for all faculty, staff and students. 

A critical campus concern is the impact of sexual and relationship violence on members of the University community.. The University strictly prohibits the crimes of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking. Further, these crimes have no place within our University community. The federal Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) placed obligations with colleges and universities under its Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act provision in 2014. These regulations are designed, in part, to help prevent sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, while also raising awareness and providing support at every turn. As required by the provisions of Title IX and 34 CFR part 106, Murray State University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational programs and activities and is required by Title IX and 34 CFR part 106 not to discriminate in such a manner. This non-discrimination in education programs and activities extends to employment and admissions.

To enforce Title IX, the U.S. Department of Education maintains an Office for Civil Rights (OCR), with headquarters in Washington, DC and 12 offices across the United States.

More information about Title IX and the OCR is available at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html

Programs/Educational Sessions offered on campus regarding Title IX, Harassment Prevention, Safety/Security, etc. are available and offered across campus by the Murray State Women's Center, Murray State Police Department and Emergency Management, throughout the Residential College System, etc. Offerings will be posted with a (Title IX) marker to the right of the event/program/session title on the Murray State event calendar. Further, Murray State Employees, faculty, staff and students will participate and earn a 100% score for online harassment prevention training each fall using the Murray State Canvas system. Online harassment prevention training the spring semester will involve only new employees and students to the university. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate in other programs/educational sessions offered on the topic at the university which include but are not limited to self-defense, safety and security, harassment prevention awareness, and healthy relationships.

Commonly asked questions

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What types of programs are covered by Title IX?

Murray State programs and activities covered by Title IX include: admissions, recruitment, financial aid, academic programs, student services, athletics, housing and employment. Also, Murray State may not retaliate against any person because he or she opposed an unlawful educational practice or policy, or made charges, testified or participated in any complaint action under Title IX.

What types of conduct are prohibited by Title IX under the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy?

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in programs and activities which receive certain Federal funding. The discrimination prohibited includes exclusion from or being denied the benefits of any academic, extracurricular, research, occupational training or other educational program or activity on the basis of sex.

Policy Against Sexual Violence and Misconduct, Relationship Violence, and Stalking

What is illegal discrimination?

Illegal Discrimination: Any act or failure to act, impermissibly based in whole or in part on a person's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental handicap, and/or reprisal, that adversely affects privileges, benefits, working conditions, results in disparate treatment, or had a disparate impact on employees or applicants.

Sex Discrimination: Discriminatory or disparate treatment of an individual because of his or her sex.

Murray State University's Non-discrimination statement

Does Title IX extend to sexual harassment and sexual violence?

Yes. Title IX requires that once a college or university knows or reasonably should know of possible sexual harassment of students, it must take "immediate and appropriate steps to investigate or otherwise determine what occurred and take prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to end any harassment, eliminate a hostile environment if one has been created, and prevent harassment from occurring again" regardless of whether the student who has been harassed complains of the harassment or asks the college to act. When a university fails to do so, it becomes subject to legal action, either through a private civil lawsuit or an administrative proceeding through the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

What is sexual harassment?

What are the reporting responsibilities of faculty, staff, and students?

Employees who are likely to witness or receive reports of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, rape, stalking or domestic/relationship violence have a duty to report. This virtually includes all employees at the institution given their likelihood to interact with students throughout the campus. The only exceptions are those licensed counselors who are acting in their role as a counselor. Additionally, the actual knowledge need not be direct knowledge of an incident as reported by the alleged victim. Actual notice can be established by third party reports.

Does location make a difference when incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, rape, stalking or domestic/relationship violence occurs to faculty, staff, and students?

No. Employees who are likely to witness or receive reports of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, rape, stalking or domestic/relationship violence have a duty to report the incident to the Title IX Coordinator. So, even if an incident occurs involving a member of the University community (faculty, staff or student) during a Study Abroad trip, field trip, internship experience, etc., that incident should be reported to the Title IX Coordinator. The first priority to the victim of the incident should be to find out if the individual has any medical or safety needs. Then, report the matter to the Title IX Coordinator.

Who should be told if there is a concern of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, rape, stalking, or domestic/relationship violence?

Murray State University has designated Ms. Camisha Pierce Duffy as the Title IX Coordinator. Any individual with questions or seeking to report an incident related to sexual harassment, or sexual assault may make contact using any of the following methods:

MAIL:
Camisha Pierce Duffy
Title IX Coordinator
103 Wells Hall
Murray, KY 42071
msu.titleix@murraystate.edu
270-809-3155 (Tel)
270-809-6887 (Fax)


AFTER HOURS: Contact Police Department 270-809-2222 (Tel)

How do I address social media messages or images that might violate institutional policy connected to sex discrimination?

When a member of the University community is having experiences on a social media platform that is unwelcome or attacking via post or image, we can appreciate the desire to remove the post(s)/image(s).   

 

As you know, Murray State University hosts its official social media platforms and maintains rules for the posts and images which appear on those various platforms in that the university reserves the right to delete user comments that promote commercial ventures or that do not comply with other University (or platform) policies. Posts that are off-topic, abusive, contain profanity, are threatening in tone, or devolve into personal attacks are subject to deletion.  Murray State University does not have the authority to filter or moderate social media pages other than the official Murray State University social media platforms. To pursue the removal of unwanted postings/images, the following steps may be taken:  

 

  1. Before you begin deleting and/or blocking/unfriending the social media post(s)/image(s), you may want to screen capture/capture how the unwanted content currently appears on your social media platform (including any names, dates, etc. information). Use this information to report to social media sites and internet service providers. 
  2. Contact/navigate to the information page for the particular social media platform to get information regarding how to request removal of the image(s)/post(s). Certain posts/images may violate the terms of service established by social media sites and internet service providers.
  1. If at any point the posts/images threaten bodily harm, please contact your local policing agency (if off-campus) orUniversity Police(if on campus).

Additionally, processing such written comments/images on social media platforms can be tough.  Please know that for employees, the University offers its EAP (Employee Assistance Program) and for students, they have access to University Counseling and/or the MSU Psychological Center to provide assistance.

Does Title IX include Pregnancy and Parenting?