Scholarship & Safety: A Guide for 精品SM在线影片

The 精品SM在线影片 is committed to academic freedom and supporting the rights of its faculty, staff and students in their pursuit of knowledge and truth, free from harassment and intimidation.

This webpage is intended to provide general information as discretionary guidance to help those at 精品SM在线影片 who believe they may have been harassed by an unaffiliated individual because of their research, scholarship, creative work, teaching, service or public engagement.

Harassment can come from both affiliated and unaffiliated individuals. If you experience harassment or intimidation by an affiliated individual, there are several campus resources that can assist you. For protected class harassment, report the concern to the ). For nonidentity-based harassment, contact the Office of Faculty Affairs, the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, or Employee Relations.

Circumstances can and do vary, and there is not a one size fits all solution. Any questions not covered by this page should be directed to the Office of Victim Assistance.

This webpage is not intended to create a contract between the University of Colorado and community members. Academic Affairs reserves the right to change or eliminate any of the language at its discretion and without notice.

Additional advice on engaging with the media may be found on the Strategic Relations and Communications website. You can also learn more about the difference between criticism and potential or actual threats on this page.

 

More information about 精品SM在线影片鈥檚 commitment to academic freedom is available on the Academic Affairs website.

 

What to do if you, or someone you know, is targeted

Find your position below. For additional guidance, an online harassment action checklist is also available.

The targeted individual

If you feel your physical safety is at risk or you are in immediate need of help, contact 911, the University of Colorado Police Department (CUPD) and/or your local law enforcement, depending on your location.

  • Preserve emails by downloading them as PDFs, and preserve social media and other online comments by taking screenshots that show the message, sender/poster, online location and date and time.
  • Ask someone else to help you preserve evidence if it is too difficult to do this yourself.
  • Keep the PDFs and screenshots in a safe location such as a secure cloud storage service or external hard drive and consider organizing them in a log.
  • If harassment or unwelcome behavior is coming via a particular channel, you might consider whether you would benefit from 鈥渕uting鈥 that channel. For example, you might ask someone else to vet your voicemail messages, set up an automatic rule to send all emails from a particular sender or containing a particular term to a special folder, unfollow someone on social media or disengage from social media altogether.
  • Take steps to protect your cyberidentity. .
  • If you are responsible for a unit鈥檚 social media account and are receiving harassment via that account, do not disable the account, delete comments or turn the account to private. Reach out to Strategic Relations and Communications and the Threat Assessment team about your options.
  • Do not disable or turn private any other accounts without first addressing how to collect and preserve evidence (see above).
  • If you believe you are being targeted on the basis of race, color, national origin, pregnancy, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran (military service) status, marital status, political affiliation or political philosophy, consider speaking with 精品SM在线影片鈥檚 Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance to learn about your options.
  • You might consider paying an outside service to remove all personal information from the internet, including, but not limited to, name, physical addresses, date of birth, phone numbers and/or email addresses. This can help reduce the likelihood of escalation resulting from doxxing (see provided definition) or attempts by outside groups to make your communication channels unusable.
    • You can work with  to remove personal information from University of Colorado websites.
  • Whether to respond (including how and when) is unique to each situation, but it is generally recommended that you do not engage.
    • Any language in a communication that contains actual or implied threats of harm should be reported immediately to the Department of Threat Assessment (Behavioral Intervention Team). If you believe that you are in imminent danger, please call 911.
    • A threat is defined as an expression of intent to do harm or act out violently against someone (including self), something or someplace. A threat can be spoken, written, or symbolic. Not all threats, nor those who threaten, are equal in their potential for harm, but all threats that are brought to the attention of the Behavioral Intervention Team will be taken seriously and evaluated.
  • You should generally not respond to any communication that resembles a threat, as this could escalate a situation.
  • If you have been a victim of harassment or intimidation that isn't covered by this page, please visit the Office of Victim Assistance to learn more about support and resources available to you.

The targeted individual鈥檚 supervisor, unit lead, or principal investigator (PI)

  • Reach Out: Contact the targeted individual as soon as possible to offer support. At this point, you should not invite third parties, such as counselors, fellow department members, or other staff, to join. It can be helpful to take notes, but it鈥檚 more important to listen carefully and compassionately to understand the targeted individual鈥檚 state of mind, learn more about the nature of the harassment, find out what support they need and offer support.
    • Supervisors (along with all other employees who are not confidential employees or responsible employees) are required to promptly report any concerns involving protected class discrimination or harassment to the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance as well as provide information about how to make a complaint of prohibited conduct to the targeted individual.
  • Assess & Understand:
    • Involvement:
      • Consider whether the individual wishes for your continued involvement and whether continued involvement will create a conflict of interest or interfere with other campus processes.
    • Communication:
      • Use nonjudgmental language and validate their feelings throughout your discussion.
  • Warm Hand-Off & Warm-Around Support
    • Give Options: Ask open-ended questions to encourage dialogue, such as:
      • "Is there anyone else you鈥檝e spoken to about this situation?"
      • "What steps have you already taken to address the issue?"
      • "Would you like to brainstorm some potential solutions together?"
      • "Can I share some resources that might be helpful for you?"
      • "Do you feel safe right now?"
    • Limitations and strengths of your role: You are not the judge, adjudicator, police or counselor. You are someone they trust and the potential link to getting support. Many offices may rely on your leverage to boost their credibility
  • Work through the provided checklist with the targeted individual.
  • Take careful action to consider whether, and if so how, to inform the department, consulting with the dean, department/unit communicators, and police on appropriate language and approach to create awareness but not panic.
  • Others in the department, unit or lab (e.g., administrative staff who answer the phone) could also receive harassing messages. Inform those who need to know what to expect and how to respond by providing a script for phone calls or a template for emails and instructions about keeping phone logs and preserving documents.
  • Consider whether others in the department, unit or lab could benefit from talking about what is happening. The Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) or Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) (for students) can help you decide and facilitate these resources.
  • Others who share aspects of the targeted individual鈥檚 demographic identity may need or want support depending on the nature of the harassment. CAPS counselors and the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance can facilitate this support.
  • Report a threat as soon as possible to Threat Assessment unless the immediate safety of the targeted individual is in question. If it is, call 911, CUPD or local law enforcement.
  • Consider whether others in the unit (e.g., administrative staff who answer the phone) may also receive harassing messages. To coordinate that response, work with your college/school/unit communicator, the dean or other unit leadership, Strategic Relations and Communications, the Behavioral Intervention Team & Threat Assessment or Student Support & Case Management (if the person of concern is a student). It is then suggested that you inform those who need to know what to expect and how to respond by providing a script for phone calls or a template for emails and instructions about keeping phone logs and preserving documents.
    • This will also be helpful for planning and implementing a coordinated response, overall.
  • Communicate, generally and in the midst of crises, the centrality of and rationale for academic freedom consistent with university policies and the importance of safety and civil dialogue. This could include faculty meetings, newsletters/websites and discussions with faculty, students and staff.

If you also become a targeted individual or suffer effects, consider taking advantage of the same resources you offer the targeted individual, including mental health support through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the FSAP and other resources listed here.


The dean

  • For harassment from unaffiliated individuals, coordinate your overall response with the unit lead, , and strategic communications.
  • For harassment from affiliated individuals, please follow the guidance of the appropriate campus response office rather than individually notifying other units.
  • Contact the targeted individual to offer support and to discuss possible responses.
  • Contact the department chair/unit lead to offer support and resources.
  • Work with the chair and police to determine whether to inform the targeted individual鈥檚 department (this may or may not be advisable); get a copy of the police report.
  • Reach out to the college鈥檚 or school鈥檚 communicator and the campus issues management team and inform them of the harassment (news travels fast and could quickly escape the university environment, which often results in remarkably fast news coverage). These media professionals can work with law enforcement, the targeted individual, and the academic department in managing communications around the threat.
  • Report the harassment as soon as possible to , sharing as much information as possible.
  • Communicate with the Office of Strategic Relations and Communications so that you plan and implement a coordinated response.
  • Communicate, generally and in the midst of crises, the centrality of and rationale for academic freedom and the importance of safety and civil dialogue. This could include faculty meetings, newsletters/websites and discussions with faculty, students and staff.
  • Consider whether others in the dean鈥檚 office (e.g., administrative staff who answer the phone) may also receive harassing messages. To coordinate that response, work with your college/school/unit communicator, Strategic Relations and Communications, and the Behavioral Intervention Team & Threat Assessment. It is then suggested that you inform those who need to know what to expect and how to respond by providing a script for phone calls or a template for emails and instructions about keeping phone logs and preserving documents.
  • Consider whether others in the school (e.g., faculty, staff or students) could benefit from talking about what is happening. FSAP and CAPS counselors can help you decide and can facilitate these resources.
  • Others who share aspects of the targeted individual鈥檚 demographic identity may need or want particular support depending on the nature of the harassment. FSAP and CAPS counselors and the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance can facilitate this support.

Strategic communications staff

Timely inform the targeted individual and the targeted individual鈥檚 chair and/or unit lead and dean after you learn of the harassment.

Help to ensure the targeted individual and the targeted individual鈥檚 chair and/or unit lead and dean are kept current as the situation unfolds and consult with them about what response you are advising.

Coordinate messaging with the targeted individual, chair and/or unit lead, dean and senior leadership.

Offer advice on social media best practices.

Offer media training and advice to anyone who may be contacted by the media about the harassment.


Senior administrators

Get a sense of the threat from the dean and provide support to the targeted individual and the targeted individual鈥檚 community (e.g., department/unit, lab/institute or college/school).

  • Provide leadership in messaging the centrality of academic freedom to the university鈥檚 mission and 精品SM在线影片鈥檚 commitment to supporting the targeted individuals.
  • Inform the chancellor, if appropriate.

Provide a sense of the threat and provide support to the targeted individual and the targeted individual鈥檚 community (e.g., department/unit, lab/institute or college/school).

  • Provide leadership in messaging the centrality of academic freedom to the university鈥檚 mission and 精品SM在线影片鈥檚 commitment to supporting the targeted individuals.
  • Inform the president, if appropriate, who would then inform the regents.

Provide legal advice to university administration, such as the provost鈥檚 office, the chancellor鈥檚 office, supervisors and deans, related to matters that may arise because of harassment.

Offer support, guidance and resources to individuals targeted on the basis of  (e.g., race, color, national origin, pregnancy, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran or military service status, marital status, political affiliation or political philosophy) and sexual misconduct.


Related topics


Support Resources for Faculty, Staff & Students

 

Safety, Wellness, & Accommodations Resources

 

Compliance, Community, & Teaching Resources

Helpful Links & Articles for Scholars on Responding to Attacks

These links are meant to be useful resources and are not necessarily endorsed by the 精品SM在线影片.

  • (Field Manual). PEN America.
  • . PEN America.
  • . The American Psychological Association.
  • , American Association of University Professors.
  • . The Union of Concerned Scientists.
  • Inside Higher Education.
  • The University of Illinois.
  • . Discard Studies.
  • . Harvard Business Review.
  • . Data & Society.
  • . American Council on Education.

By definition,  typically refers to words or behavior that threatens, intimidates or demeans a person. Harassment is unwanted, uninvited, and unwelcome and causes nuisance, alarm, or substantial emotional distress without any legitimate purpose.

Harassment, generally speaking, can take a variety of forms online, including (but not limited to):

  • Trolling: when individuals deliberately follow and provoke others online, often with offensive content. While some trolling is merely a nuisance, it can escalate to threats or to the point where numerous individuals are engaged in harassing the target and/or target鈥檚 organization.
  • Doxxing: when private identifying information that is not otherwise publicly available is published online. This information can include sharing an individual鈥檚 private email, personal phone number, home address, etc. on various platforms to frighten the individual and encourage additional harassment.
  • Cyberbullying: when willful and repeated harm is inflicted through using computers, cell phones, online platforms (e.g., social media), and other electronic devices.

An official determination of harassment is always established on a case by case basis and takes into account context, free speech and other considerations.