Reporting to the College

What does Reporting to the College Mean?

The College strongly encourages members of the Scripps Community (students, faculty, staff) who believe they have been subjected to sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, stalking, or sexual harassment (interpersonal violence), or who have witnessed such behavior, to obtain help, including learning about support resources and reporting options. Reporting to the College, when one is ready to do so, is one source of such help. (Click here for confidential support options.)

It’s important to understand what reporting does and doesn’t mean in this context. A report is a notification of an incident of interpersonal violence to the Title IX coordinator by any reporting person. When someone comes forward, they don’t have to know how they want to proceed or even how to label what happened. Sometimes reporting parties request support resources; ask for no further action; wish to engage in safety planning; or wish to initiate a formal college grievance process.

When the Title IX Coordinator receives a report, the reporting party’s identity is not automatically shared with the accused or the accused’s college. A formal grievance process does not automatically go forward. In fact, except in the very limited circumstance in which there is an ongoing threat to the reporting party or to the Scripps or Claremont Colleges community, it is the reporting party that decides whether or not to talk to the other school and/or launch a grievance process. In the limited circumstances when the College must take steps even if the reporting party does not want to, the Title IX Coordinator will inform the reporting party before moving ahead.

The Title IX Coordinator’s aim is to help reporting parties make decisions that are best for them. This could include connecting the person to resources and support, engaging in safety planning, discussing what a grievance process looks like, or moving a formal process forward if the person is ready. Sometimes it can take multiple meetings with the Title IX Coordinator before the reporting party decides how they want to proceed.

How to Report Interpersonal Violence to the College

There are a number of ways you can report a situation involving sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or sexual harassment to the College. Keep in mind that all reports will ultimately be communicated to the Title IX Coordinator, who is responsible for responding to the situation on behalf of the College.  In a law-enforcement emergency, call Campus Safety at (909) 607-2000 or 911.

• Direct Report to the Title IX Coordinator: You may set up a time to meet with the Title IX Coordinator, Sally Steffen, via email or by calling (909) 607-7142. You may also contact one of the Deputy Title IX Coordinators. The Title IX Coordinator has private offices located in the lower level of McAlister, 919 North Columbia Ave. (See information on getting to the Title IX Office below.) To safeguard privacy, the Title IX Coordinator meets by appointment only. (In a matter involving an accused at one of the other colleges, we recommend you start by contacting the Scripps Title IX Coordinator rather than the coordinator at that school.)
• Student Affairs staff, faculty, RA, or other “Responsible Employee”: Sometimes it is helpful for people to first disclose what happened to someone they know well and trust, for example, their primary contact dean, RA, a trusted faculty member, or other responsible employee. They can also report to the on-call dean by calling Campus Safety at (909) 621-8170 and asking to speak with the dean. These individuals can also help start to connect the reporting person to support resources. The employee who received the report will then inform the Title IX Coordinator of what they learned.
• Campus Safety: In a law-enforcement emergency, call Campus Safety at (909) 607-2000 or 911. Non-emergency reports of interpersonal violence can be made to CS by calling the non-emergency line at (909) 621-8170; emailing dispatch at dispatch@cuc.claremont.edu; or visiting the Pendleton Office Building. CS is open 24/7. Reporting students have the option of having their on-call dean present at the meeting with CS and, in any event, CS will generally contact the on-call deal to let them know a report is being made. Unless the reporting student requests otherwise, the on-call dean will typically follow-up with the student to offer care and support. The Scripps Title IX Coordinator will receive a copy of the CS report, speak with the on-call dean, and follow-up via email with the reporting person to invite them in for a meeting to discuss the situation. If the reporting person discloses the name of the accused person, CS will also send the report to that person’s school.
• In Writing: Submit a written incident report. This may be done anonymously. Depending on the extent of information provided, the College’s ability to respond to an anonymous report may be limited. The Title IX Coordinator will receive the anonymous report and will determine any appropriate next steps. If the report is not anonymous, the Title IX Coordinator will email the person who made the report to set up a time to meet to discuss the situation.

Title IX Coordinator’s Response to Report

Following the report, the Scripps Title IX Coordinator (or possibly one of the Deputy Title IX Coordinators) will email the reporting party to invite them in for a meeting. If the reporting party decides to meet with the Title IX Coordinator, they do not have to disclose anything about the incident (or anything more than they have already shared), including the name of the accused, to the Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX Coordinator’s goal is to help the reporting person make the decisions about support and reporting that are best for them, recognizing that every person impacted by interpersonal violence is different. Understanding that sometimes one meeting is not enough, the Title IX Coordinator is happy to meet with reporting parties as often as they need to. Among the topics the Coordinator and the reporting party may discuss are:

• Safety concerns, measures, and planning
• Emotional support resources
• Academic support resources
• Options under the relevant school’s sexual misconduct policy — if the school of the accused is disclosed
• Investigation process, including the parties’ right to identify witnesses for possible interview
• Overview of how adjudication processes work if the school of the accused is not disclosed
• How cross-campus cases are administered
• Right to a support person of choosing in college process/role of support person
• Availability of no-contact orders or other remedial measures
• Evidence preservation
• Reporting to the police

Getting to the Title IX Office.

The Title IX Coordinator has private offices located in the lower level of McAlister, 919 North Columbia Ave. You may enter McAlister through the main entrance and follow signs to the offices via the elevators or stairs. When you get to the door, please knock, as it is kept locked for privacy purposes. If you’d prefer to enter the offices more privately, from the McAlister parking lot, walk south on the sidewalk, make a right at 9th Street, then make the first right down a sidewalk. Go down the first set of stairs and ring the doorbell. Again, the offices are kept locked for privacy purposes.

Clery Reporting 

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, enacted in 1990, requires those colleges and universities that participate in the federal financial aid program to make an annual disclosure of “statistics concerning the occurrence of certain criminal offenses reported to local law enforcement agencies or any official of the institution who is defined as a ‘Campus Security Authority'” on campus-owned or -controlled property. Among the crimes that must be reported in the Annual Fire Safety and Security Report (AFSSR) are: rape, fondling, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Reports are made in the aggregate; anonymous; and devoid of any other identifying details. The Title IX Coordinator is one of Scripps College’s Campus Security Authorities. When she receives a report of sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, or stalking, she records it for inclusion in the Scripps AFSSR if the incident occurred at Scripps or communicates the information to the school where the incident occurred for inclusion in their AFSSR. The AFSSR is published on October 1 and reflects information collected in the prior annual year. For example, the 2016 AFSSR, published on October 1,2016, reports the statistics for January 1 – December 31, 2015.  The 2016 AFSSRs for all 7 of the Claremont Colleges are available here.