Code of Student Conduct: Proscribed Conduct
Rice University
Relevant Excerpt
a. Mental or Bodily Harm, Reckless Action or Disregard: Intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict mental or bodily harm on any person, including on the charged student; taking any reckless action, or showing reckless disregard, from which mental or bodily harm could result to any person, including to the charged student. This includes, but is not limited to, actual or attempted behavior that includes:
a. Physical abuse of all types, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, coercion,
b. Sexual misconduct (non-Title IX): Unwelcome conduct that is based on sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation, but that is not explicitly prohibited under Title IX, as defined in the Sexual Misconduct Policy for Faculty, Staff and Students (Policy 828). This includes any conduct that is reasonably regarded as offensive and has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with the educational opportunities of students, or creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment. Specifically, Sexual Misconduct (non-Title IX) includes:
- Continued unwelcome contact, advances, or requests that are sexual in nature;
- Unwelcome verbal or physical behavior that is sexual in nature;
- Non-consensual touching or kissing;
- Sexual exploitation;
- Lewd or inappropriate sexual verbal comments, or online postings;
- Sexual harassment that does not meet the definition under Title IX in the Sexual Misconduct Policy because it occurred outside the United States, off campus, or did not arise from an educational program or activity of Rice University.
c. Harassment or bullying: Bullying is a single significant act or a pattern of acts of harassing behavior that is severe or pervasive enough to create a work or educational environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive or has the effect of physically harming an individual, damaging an individual’s property or placing the individual in reasonable fear of harm to the individual’s person or damage to the individual’s property. It includes cyberbullying, which is bullying done through an electronic communication device, including through the use of e-mail, text messaging, social media or the Internet.