1. Introduction

In order to prevent and remedy incidents of Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence, and Stalking, East Carolina University has adopted the following regulation regarding these issues. In accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and subsequent Violence Against Women Amendments (the "Clery Act as Amended by VAWA"), East Carolina University is required to adopt policies that prohibit Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence, and Stalking and enact procedures that ensure proper handling of reports these incidents from campus community members.

2. Statement of Policy.

2.1 Members of the ECU community, including faculty, staff, students, volunteers, and visitors, are prohibited from engaging in Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence and Stalking.

2.2 This Regulation establishes conduct requirements in addition to those stated in the Student Code of Conduct, the ECU Faculty Manual, the SPA and CSS Employee Handbooks, the Interim Regulation on Responding to Complaints of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and/or Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, and other conduct regulations at ECU as they may be adopted and/or revised. Students, faculty and staff are required to comply with this Regulation in addition to all other policies that may be adopted by ECU.

2.3 The reporting options regarding complaints about Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence and Stalking are stated in this Regulation.

2.4 The disciplinary proceedings that will be used by the ECU for addressing Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence and Stalking, including the anticipated timeline and decision-making process, are summarized below.

2.5 Training and education for all members of the University community related to Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence, and Stalking shall be made available by the University as outlined in this Regulation.

2.6 The ECU Police Department, on behalf of the University, shall collect statistics for inclusion in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report as described in this Regulation.

3. Jurisdiction: This Regulation applies to all members of the East Carolina University community, including but not limited to faculty, staff, students, and visitors. This Regulation will apply to on-campus and off-campus conduct of which the University is made aware and significantly impacts the educational and employment environments of the University. This Regulation extends to employment with and admission to the University.

3.1 Under this Regulation individuals are deemed to be students subject to the Student Code of Conduct and related policies from the time they accept admission until they graduate from the University. This means that conduct occurring before classes begin, including New Student Orientation, or after classes end, during the academic year, and during periods between terms of enrollment is governed by this Code.

3.2 Employees of the University are considered to be employees for the purpose of this regulation from their first day of work at the University until the date of termination.

4. Definitions for Enforcement and Disciplinary Actions

The definitions provided in this section are utilized in disciplinary proceedings for both students and employees for the purpose of determining whether this Regulation for Addressing Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence or Stalking has been violated.

4.1 Advisor: Any individual who provides the accuser or accused support, guidance, or advice. This person may or may not be a licensed attorney, who is retained at an individual's own expense.

4.2 Complainant: A Complainant is an individual alleging conduct prohibited under this regulation.

4.3 Consent: Consent is explicit approval and permission to engage in sexual activity demonstrated by clear actions, words, or writings. Consent is informed, freely given and mutually understood by all parties involved. If coercion, intimidation, threats, and/or physical force are used, there is no consent. If the Complainant was mentally or physically incapacitated or impaired so that the Complainant could not understand the fact, nature, or extent of the sexual situation, there is no consent; this includes conditions due to alcohol or drug consumption, or being asleep or unconscious, or under the age of legal consent, or unable to give consent under current law. Silence does not necessarily constitute consent, and past consent of sexual activities does not imply ongoing future consent. Whether the Respondent has taken advantage of a position of influence over the Complainant may be a factor in determining whether consent was freely given. Consent to some form of sexual activity cannot be automatically taken as consent to any other form of sexual activity. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.

4.4 Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. It includes, but is not limited to sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.

4.4.1 The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based upon the reporting party's statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of the relationship and the frequency of the interaction between the persons involved

4.4.2 Under North Carolina law, a dating relationship is one wherein the parties are romantically involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary fraternization between persons in a business or social context is not a dating relationship.

4.5 Domestic Violence: As defined by North Carolina General Statutes 50B-1, domestic violence means the commission of one or more of the following acts upon an aggrieved party or upon a minor child residing with of in the custody of the aggrieved party by a person with whom the aggrieved party has or has had a personal relationship, but does not include acts of self-defense. Acts of domestic violence include (A) Attempting to cause bodily injury, or intentionally causing bodily injury; or (B) Placing the aggrieved party or a member of the aggrieved party's family or household in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or continued harassment, as defined North Carolina General Statute section 14-277.3A (stalking) that rises to such a level as to inflict substantial emotional distress; or (C) Committing any act defined as a rape or other sex offenses in North Carolina General Statute sections 14-27.2 through 14-27.7.

4.5.1 For the purpose of seeking a protective order under section 50B-1 of the N.C. General Statutes and its definition of domestic violence, the term "personal relationship" means a relationship wherein the parties involved: (A) Are current or former spouses; (B) Are persons of opposite sex who live together or have lived together; (C) Are related as parents and children, including others acting in loco parentis to a minor child, or as grandparents and grandchildren. (Note: an aggrieved party may not obtain an order of protection against a child or grandchild under the age of 16) (D) Have a child in common; (E) Are current or former household members; (F) Are persons of the opposite sex who are in a dating relationship or have been in a dating relationship.

4.5.2 Persons in same sex domestic relationships are protected from violent behavior under other statutes, and the University will investigate and address allegations of domestic violence by individuals who have cohabitated as spouses or intimate partners.

4.6 Proceeding: As provided by federal law, all activities related to a non-criminal resolution of an institutional disciplinary complaint, including, but not limited to, fact finding investigations, formal or informal meeting, and hearings. Proceeding does not include communications and meetings between officials and victims concerning accommodations or protective measures to be provided to a victim.

4.7 Respondent: A Respondent is an individual accused of violation under this regulation.

4.8 Result: As provided by federal law, any initial, interim, and/or final decision by any official or entity authorized to resolve disciplinary matters within the institution. The result must include any sanctions imposed by the institution.

4.9 Sexual Assault: The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. North Carolina law defines these crimes in its General Statutes sections 14-27.1 through 14-27.10 and 14-178.

4.10 Stalking: As defined by North Carolina section 14-277.3A, stalking includes but is not limited to, a pattern of following, observing, or monitoring the victim, or committing violent or intimidating acts against the victim regardless of the means. If the respondent willfully on more than one occasion harasses another person without legal purpose or willfully engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person without legal purpose and the respondent knows or should know that the harassment or the course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to (A) Fear for the person's safety or the safety of the person's immediate family or close personal associates; or (B) Suffer substantial emotional distress by placing that person in fear of death, bodily injury, or continued harassment.

4.10.1 North Carolina General Statute 14-277.3A also includes the following definitions, which differs slightly from the definition listed in Section 8.4 of this regulation.

4.10.1.1 Course of conduct. - Two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, is in the presence of, or follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person's property.

4.10.1.2 Harasses or harassment. - Knowing conduct, including written or printed communication or transmission, telephone, cellular, or other wireless telephonic communication, facsimile transmission, pager messages or transmissions, answering machine or voice mail messages or transmissions, and electronic mail messages or other computerized or electronic transmissions directed at a specific person that torments, terrorizes, or terrifies that person and that serves no legitimate purpose.

4.10.1.3 Reasonable person. - A reasonable person in the victim's circumstances.

4.10.1.4 Substantial emotional distress. - Significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

5. Reporting Options for Victims of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, or Stalking

5.1 If you are a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking or otherwise become aware of such behavior, please report the incident to at least one of the following offices so that the University can assist you and take measures to address the behavior:

5.1.1 Call 911 or the ECU police at 252.328.6787;

5.1.2 Report to ECUCARES at 252.737.5555;

5.1.3 Report to LaKesha Alston Forbes, the Title IX Coordinator at 252.328.6804; or

5.1.4 Report to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities at 252.328.6824.

5.2 Please take every step possible to preserve evidence:

5.2.1 Whenever possible, individuals should (1) not wash their face or hands; (2) not shower or bathe; (3) not brush their teeth; (4) not change clothes; (5) not straighten up the area where the assault took place; (6) not dispose of clothes or other items that were present during the assault; (7) not use the restroom or douche; and (7) should seek a medical exam immediately.

5.2.2 Please report the crime and seek medical attention and counseling even if evidence has not been preserved.

5.3 Options Regarding Notifying Law Enforcement

5.3.1 Individuals may choose to notify law enforcement of relevant jurisdiction (ECUPD, Greenville PD, Pitt County Sheriff, etc.) and will be provided the assistance of an ECU administrator in contacting these authorities if the individuals wishes.

5.3.2 Individuals may also decline to notify law enforcement of incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

5.3.3 ECUPD will enforce lawfully issued orders of protection provided by members of the ECU community.

5.4 Confidentiality and Privacy. East Carolina University offers options for individuals who wish to speak with someone confidentially.

5.4.1 Confidential Resources: These resources adhere to strict standards of confidentiality, without sharing what a victim has told them other than in limited circumstances. These resources can provide information and other wellness services.

5.4.2 Private Resources: These resources will keep a victim's information as private as possible, meaning that they will only share it with those who have a need to know. For example, they may need to disclose what is told to them to the appropriate individual or office that is responsible for addressing sexual misconduct within the East Carolina University community. The Title IX Coordinator is a private resource who handles information carefully, maintaining as much privacy as possible.

5.4.3 In the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report produced by the University, statistics regarding reports of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking will be provided. These statistics will not include identifying information about the victim. As noted above, these statistics are collected so that the University can stay informed about trends, areas of concern or the need for education.

5.4.4 All accommodations or protective measures provided to the victim shall be kept confidential, to the extent that maintaining such confidentiality does not impair the ability of ECU to provide the accommodations or protective measures.

6. University Actions Upon Receipt of Report (Disciplinary Proceedings):

6.1 When the University receives a report of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/ or stalking, victims and respondents will be provided with written notification about accommodations and protective measures such as existing counseling, health, mental health, victim advocacy, legal assistance, visa and immigration assistance, financial aid, and other services, including changes to academic, work and transportation schedules, which will be available to both parties.

6.2 Accommodations and protective measures are provided if requested and reasonably available, regardless of whether or not the event is reported to ECU Police or other law enforcement agencies and regardless of whether the victim desires to participate in University disciplinary proceedings or seek criminal charges.

6.3 When a victim reports an incident of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, the victim will be provided a written explanation of the rights and options available to him or her by the University. This will be provided regardless of whether the incident occurred on or off campus.

6.4 Victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, may request assistance for the following situations from the corresponding offices:

6.4.1 The ECU Police Department can assist with protective orders and coordination of protective measures with the Offices of the Dean of Students and Human Resources.

6.4.2 For academic accommodations, the Dean of Students Office offers assistance.

6.4.3 For on-campus living accommodations, the office of Campus Living offers assistance.

6.4.4 For transportation accommodations, Student Transit, SafeRide, and ECU Police offer assistance.

6.4.5 For employment accommodations, faculty and staff employees can contact Human Resources.

6.4.6 For student employment accommodations, student employees can contact the Dean of Students Office

6.5 When the University, through any of the offices identified in Section 5, herein above, a Campus Security Authority, the supervisor of any employee, or the coordinator of any internship, clinical education, practicum, or study abroad experience, receives a report of Sexual Assault, Domestic or Dating Violence, or Stalking under this regulation, a multi-disciplinary team will review the report to determine if there is additional assistance to be provided, and will receive periodic updates about the status of the investigation regarding the report.

6.6 If disciplinary action is pursued, the University will determine which disciplinary proceedings should apply based on the status of the Respondent (faculty member, staff employee, employee not subject to the state personnel act, student) at the time the incident occurred.

6.6.1 The University endeavors, in and through each of the listed disciplinary proceeding it conducts, to provide a prompt, fair and impartial process and to complete the process of investigation and determination of responsibility within a reasonable time frame, typically sixty days. This timeline may be extended by the University with notice to the parties. A University official will explain to involved individuals the steps and timelines of the applicable disciplinary process.

6.6.2 Both individuals will have equal opportunities to have others present, including an advisor of his/her choice; be given timely notice of meetings and will be given access to the pertinent information that will be used in the proceedings

6.7 Depending upon the applicable process, a hearing may be conducted by an individual university administrator, a faculty panel, an employee grievance board, or the student conduct board. Complainants and Respondents may elect or decline to participate in any relevant process, but the University must reserve the right to proceed regardless of victim or respondent participation if it determines that is in the best interest of the ECU community.

6.7.1 All hearing officials receive training related to sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, dating and domestic violence and stalking.

6.7.2 All hearing officials will not decide matters where they have a conflict of interest or bias against a party.

6.8 The following processes describe the additional steps, anticipated timeline and decision- making process in more detail:

6.1.1When the respondent is a student, Student Conduct Process, REG 11.30.01, Section 5;

6.1.2 When the respondent is a faculty member, ECU Faculty Manual, Part XII, Section IV, and Part IX, Section I includes detailed timelines regarding these proceedings;

6.1.3 When the grievant or respondent is an SPA employee, Mediation and Grievance Procedure for SPA Employees, REG 06.35.02;

6.1.4 When the respondent is an EPA non-faculty employee, Review Process and Procedures for EPA Non-Faculty Employees, POL 06.35.01; and

6.1.5 When the respondent is a Clinical Support Staff employee, Clinical Support Services Employee Handbook.

6.9 Standard of Proof: In every investigation of a case of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, the University will utilize the preponderance of the evidence standard to determine whether or not such misconduct occurred; after the determination has been made, the standard for determining an appropriate sanction will be as provided below:

6.9.1 In disciplinary proceedings to determine the appropriate sanctions for a student, a preponderance of the evidence is required to determine that the student has violated the Student Code of Conduct.

6.9.2 In disciplinary proceedings to determine the appropriate sanction for a member of the tenured faculty, clear and convincing evidence is required that the misconduct warrants a serious sanction, as outlined in the ECU Faculty Manual Part IX, Section I, section VI.

6.9.3 In disciplinary proceedings to determine the appropriate sanction regarding misconduct by employees not holding a faculty appointment, the standard is whether there is just cause for the recommended action.

6.10 Disciplinary Results. Subject to any overriding provision of law, the Result, as defined in Section 4 of this Regulation, of any institutional disciplinary proceeding that arises from an allegation of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking will be provided in writing to both parties at the same time, to include:

6.10.1 Any initial, interim, and final decision by any official or entity authorized to resolve disciplinary matters within the institution;

6.10.2 A brief rationale and any sanctions imposed;

6.10.3 The University's procedures for either party to appeal the result of the institutional disciplinary proceeding; and

6.10.4 Notice of any change to the result and a statement explaining when said result becomes final.

7. Education and Prevention Measures: The University is committed to enhancing the campus climate through education and awareness programs, which address and prevent Sexual Assault, Dating and Domestic Violence and Stalking.

7.1 The University offers prevention and educational programs and campaigns to promote awareness of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. These programs include information on healthy relationships, bystander intervention, risk reduction tips, and how to report incidents should they occur.

7.1.1 Students ECU will offer Sexual Misconduct prevention and bystander awareness training to all students. In addition Resident Advisors will complete mandated training in reporting and identifying Prohibited Misconduct and Bystander intervention training.

7.1.2 Employees All employees are responsible for completing educational modules about Prohibited Misconduct every five years. New employees must complete these required trainings within ninety (90) days of their hire date. The modules are accessible for all permanent faculty and staff via Cornerstone at: https://ecu.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1409/Portal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=31601 and via Blackboard for temporary or short-term faculty and staff as well as student employees at: blackboard.ecu.edu.

7.1.3 Supervisors The State of North Carolina mandates that all state government employees who were hired, promoted, or appointed to the position of supervisor or manager on or after July 1, 1991 attend the Equal Employment Opportunity Institute ("EEOI") at least once while holding a managerial or supervisory position. The EEOI should be completed within one year of appointment. The EEOI is an in person course designed to help managers and supervisors understand federal and state equal employment opportunity laws and how they apply to daily work situations, as well as how to work with a diverse workforce and build an inclusive work environment free from Prohibited Misconduct.

7.2 The following definitions apply to these Education and Prevention Measures:

7.2.1 Awareness Programs: Community-wide or audience specific programming, initiatives, and strategies that increase audience knowledge and share information and resources to prevent violence, promote safety, and reduce perpetration.

7.2.2 Bystander Intervention: Safe and positive options that may be carried out by an individual or individuals to prevent harm or intervene when there is a risk of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Bystander intervention includes: a.) recognizing situations of potential harm; b.) understanding institutional structures and cultural conditions that facilitate violence, overcoming barriers to intervening, identifying safe and effective intervention options, and taking actions to intervene.

7.2.3 Ongoing Prevention & Awareness Campaigns: Programming, initiatives, and strategies that are sustained over time and focus on increasing understanding of topics relevant to and skills for addressing dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, using a range of strategies with audiences throughout the institution.

7.2.4 Primary Prevention Programs: Programming, initiatives, and strategies informed by research or assessed for value, effectiveness, or outcome that are intended to stop dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking before they occur through the promotion of positive and healthy behaviors that foster healthy, mutually respectful relationships and sexuality, encourage safe bystander intervention, and seek to change behavior and social norms in healthy and safe direction.

7.2.5 Risk Reduction: Options designed to decrease perpetration and bystander inaction, and to increase empowerment for victims in order to promote safety and to help individuals and communities address conditions that facilitate violence.

8. Collecting Statistics for the Annual Security Report: Each year East Carolina University releases an Annual Security Report in compliance with Clery Act as Amended by VAWA.

8.1 The East Carolina University Police Department (ECUPD) maintains the campus crime log and is responsible for collecting and analyzing the statistics that are reported in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

8.1.1 The jurisdiction and enforcement authority of the ECUPD is established by N.C. General Statute 116-40.5A, which provides that the territorial jurisdiction of ECU police officers includes all property owned or leased by East Carolina University and that portion of any public road or highway that passes through and immediately adjoins such property, wherever located.

8.1.2 The ECUPD is a full-service, 24-hour a day law enforcement organization with responsibilities identical to a municipal police department. The department is nationally accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. ECU police are sworn with full powers of arrest and are charged with the responsibility of protecting life and property, preventing and detecting crime on campus, and providing essential services to the university community. These officers enforce the laws of the state of North Carolina.

8.1.3 Other law enforcement agencies share concurrent jurisdiction with the ECUPD: the Pitt County Sherriff's Department investigates violations of the law within the county's territorial jurisdiction; the Greenville Police Department investigates violations of the law within the city's jurisdiction. Other law enforcement agents have statewide jurisdiction for investigations which are limited by North Carolina law (for example, the State Highway Patrol, State Bureau of Investigation, Alcohol and Law Enforcement Agents, Wildlife Enforcement Officers, Marine Fisheries Enforcement Officers, Local Alcohol Beverage Control Officers, and Probation and Patrol Officers).

8.1.4 The ECUPD participates in the Pitt County Multi-Jurisdictional Mutual Aid Agreement, and the Greenville Extended Jurisdiction agreement, and. has mutual assistance agreements with numerous local law enforcement agencies and UNC institutions, as outlined in the Annual Security Report and General Order 200-10.

8.2 Campus Security Authorities: ECU officials who have significant responsibility for student and campus activities are designated as Campus Security Authorities. They are listed in the annual security report, which is accessible on the ECUPD website. These individuals include but are not limited to officials in the Office for Equity and Diversity, the ECUPD, Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, the Campus Living Conduct Office, any Campus Living coordinator or resident advisor, an advisor of a registered student organization and coaches for athletic teams.

8.2.1 Each CSA must ensure that the Anonymous Crime Reporting Form is completed and submitted to the Clery Coordinator in the ECU PD upon notification of a crime outlined in the Clery Act as Amended by VAWA in order for the report to be included in the crime statistics as reported in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Completion of this form does not require the reporter to initiate an investigation or disclose any personally identifying information about the victim. Rather it is collected so that the University can stay informed about trends, areas of particular concern and targeted educational needs.

8.3 The ECU Police Department will record and report on the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, reports of sex offense, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The definitions of these offenses for the purpose of reporting statistics is located below.

8.3.1 If a sex offense occurs in the same incident as a murder, the institution will record both the sex offense and the murder in its statistics.

8.3.2 In incidents related to stalking, the institution will record crime statistics for each year in which the course of conduct is reported to a local police agency or ECU police or Campus Security Authority. Also, the institution will record each report of stalking as occurring only at the first location within the institution's Clery geography in which a perpetrator engaged in the stalking course of conduct or a victim first became aware of the stalking.

8.4 Reporting Definitions: For the purpose of documenting, reporting and conducting statistical analysis for the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking the ECUPD will use the following definitions. For the purpose of disciplinary proceedings ECU will use the definitions in located in Section 3.

8.4.1 Sexual Assault: An offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape as used in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program.

8.4.1.1 Rape: The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.

8.4.1.2 Fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.

8.4.1.3 Incest: Sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law. Under North Carolina law, incest is intercourse between a (1) grandparent or grandchild; (2) parent or child, stepchild, or legally adopted child; (3) brother or sister of the half or whole blood; or (4) uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.

8.4.1.4 Statutory Rape: Sexual intercourse with a person under the statutory age of consent.

8.4.2 Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party's statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. For the purposes of this definition, dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse of the threat of such abuse. Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence. Any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting. Additional information specific to North Carolina law can be found in Section 4, herein above.

8.4.3 Domestic Violence: A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed: (A) by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim; (B) by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; (C) by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; (D) by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred; (E) by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred. Additional information specific to North Carolina law can be found in Section 4.

8.5 Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: (A) fear for the person's safety or the safety of others; or (B) suffer substantial emotional distress. For the purposes of defining stalking for inclusion of the crime in the statistics reported in the annual security report:

8.5.1 Course of Conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person's property.

8.5.2 Reasonable person means a "reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim."

8.5.3 Substantial Emotional Distress means any significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

8.5.4 Any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting. Additional information specific to North Carolina law can be found in Section 4, herein above.

8.6 Hate Crimes: East Carolina University will identify the category of bias that motivated each hate crime recorded and reported in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. These categories of bias include the victims actual or perceived

8.6.1 Race;

8.6.2 Gender;

8.6.3 Gender identity;

8.6.4 Religion;

8.6.5 Sexual orientation;

8.6.6 Ethnicity;

8.6.7 National origin; and

8.6.8 Disability.

8.7 Unfounded Reports: East Carolina University will report to the Department of Education in its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report the statistics for the total number of crime reports that were "unfounded" and subsequently withheld from the crime statistics reported in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.

8.7.1 Unfounded reports are those that have been fully investigated by sworn law enforcement personnel and, based on the results of this full investigation and evidence, have made formal determination that the crime report is false or baseless. Recovery of stolen property, stolen property that is of low value, the refusal of a victim to cooperate with law enforcement or the failure to make an arrest do not justify classifying a report as "unfounded."