McNeese State University defines bullying as "engaging in actions which cause another person to experience a reasonable fear that he or she will experience unauthorized social exclusion, humiliation, intimidation, or the unlawful use of physical force." Such behavior violates the McNeese State University Code of Ethics which clearly states that all employees will be treated with dignity and respect.
Date enacted or revised:
March 24, 2014
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. Employee violation will be governed by the faculty/staff handbook. Disciplinary action 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 McNeese Student Code of Conduct.
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:
- 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 Cyber-bullying): 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.