Anti-Bullying Policy

McNeese State University defines bullying as “engaging in repeated actions which cause another person to experience intimidation, the unlawful use of physical force or harassment that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it denies the victim equal access to the University’s resources or opportunities.”

The purpose of this policy is to communicate to all supervisors, employees, and students, that McNeese State University will not tolerate bullying behavior. Should it be determined that there is a violation of this policy, the individual in question faces possible disciplinary action, which can range from a letter of reprimand up to and including termination. Students found in violation of this policy will be disciplined under applicable procedures established under the Code of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.

Bullying may be intentional or unintentional. However, it must be noted that where an allegation of bullying is made, the intention of the alleged bully is irrelevant and will not be given consideration when appropriate disciplinary action is needed. As in sexual harassment, it is the effect of the behavior upon the individual-especially the establishment of fear that a reasonable person would experience-which is important. McNeese State University considers the following types of behavior examples of bullying when they are part of a pattern of conduct that rises to the standard set forth above:

• Verbal Bullying: slandering, ridiculing, or maligning a person or his/her family; persistent name calling which is hurtful, insulting, or humiliating; using a person as the butt of jokes; remarks that would be viewed by others in the community as abusive and offensive; persistently interrupting another person or otherwise preventing another person’s legitimate attempts to speak; use of nicknames after being warned that the nickname is considered by the victim to be offensive; constant criticism on matters unrelated to a person’s job performance or description or on matters that cannot be documented;
• Physical Bullying: pushing; shoving; kicking; poking; tripping; assault, or threat of physical assault; damage to a person’s work area or property.
• Gesture Bullying: non-verbal threatening gestures such as, but not limited to, the following: approaching another person with fists clinched or with one or more other fighting gestures which could reasonably be interpreted as threatening; brandishing a weapon; making gestures that would reasonably be interpreted as amorous or sexual in nature.
• Social Bullying (which may include cyberbullying): engaging in verbal bullying via mail, email, text message, phone, or voicemail; deliberately interfering with mail, email, text messages, phone, voicemail, or other communication; spreading malicious rumors or gossip about another person; manipulating the workload of another person in a manner designed to cause that person to fail to perform his or her legitimate functions; inflicting menial tasks on an employee not in keeping with the employee’s normal responsibilities.

Concern, Grievance, or Complaint

Individuals who believe they may have experienced bullying in any form but are uncertain as to whether a complaint is justified or whether they wish to initiate a formal written complaint may discuss their concerns confidentially and informally with the director of the Office of Inclusive Excellence (Burton Business Center, Room 404; voice (337) 475-5428; fax (337) 475-5960; TDD/TTY, hearing impaired (337) 562-4227; or cdo@mcneese.edu).

Individuals wishing to initiate a formal written complaint may do so via the Office of Inclusive Excellence Complaint/Reporting Form.

Communication

This policy is distributed via the University Policies webpage.