3.6.2.3 - Rights of the Reporting Party
A student, who registers a complaint and acts as the Reporting Party within the Student Conduct Process against another student (the Responding Party) for an alleged action that personally adversely affected the Reporting Party, has the following rights:
- The Reporting Party has the right to be present throughout the hearing but not during the deliberation of the Hearing Officer or Hearing Panel.
- In matters involving allegations of Interpersonal Violence, the Reporting Party has the right to request to be separated from the Responding Party during the hearing. The Reporting Party's request will be accommodated unless to do so would result in some fundamental unfairness (such as where, for example only, the Reporting Party's identity is an issue) and so long as the student's rights to hear all information presented are preserved. This will be done so that the Hearing Officer or Hearing Panel can see and communicate with both the Reporting Party and the Responding Party. For example, the Reporting Party and Responding Party may be separated from one another by a barrier wall. Any other requests for adjustments to the process will be considered at the sole discretion of the Dean of Students, or designee. The Dean of Students or designee will assess the request and may approve process adjustments as long as the adjustments will not infringe on the rights of the Responding Party for the Hearing Panel's access to information.
- The Reporting Party has the right to review the information presented and, in certain circumstances, may question the Responding Party and any witnesses who present information at the hearing.
a. In cases of Interpersonal Violence, the Reporting Party will not be permitted to directly question the responding party. Parties have two options for how questions will be posed; (1) questions are posted by the Reporting Party to a member of the Hearing Panel or the Hearing Officer and then transmitted to the Responding Party unless deemed inappropriate or irrelevant by such officer or (2) questions are posed by the Advisor of Choice directly to the Responding party and witnesses. Both parties must agree on the method of questioning prior to the hearing. If no agreement is made, the default will be option 1 above. The Dean of Students or designee will consider the parties option preference, but reserves the right to determine the appropriate option for a given case. If option 2 is selected, the advisor’s participation in the hearing is limited to only asking questions of witnesses and/or the other party.
3. The Reporting Party has the right to present pertinent information and witnesses to substantiate their position. Witnesses must be present at the hearing and their lack of attendance is not cause for appeal. If a witness has a conflict, the Dean of Students may, in their sole discretion, approve submission of a written statement in advance of the hearing to be introduced at the hearing.
4. The Reporting Party has the right to be assisted in all matters within the Student Conduct Process by a current member of the Xavier community (student, faculty, or staff member) (the "Advisor"). The Advisor may help a Reporting Party prepare their position, but may not to present it or speak for or on behalf of the Reporting Party at the hearing. The Advisor may attend the hearing. The Advisor may not be an individual who has specialized legal training, including someone possessing a Juris Doctor degree, or other legal degree, even if such person is a member of the Xavier community and does not currently practice law. Independent legal counsel may be retained or consulted by the Reporting Party, but may not attend the hearing or represent the Reporting Party at any stage of the Student Conduct Process. See Section 1.3.5.6 ("Independent Legal Counsel") of this Handbook. The Advisor may not be the Reporting Party's parent, even if the parent is a member of the Xavier community.
a. In matters involving allegations of Interpersonal Violence, Reporting Parties have the opportunity to be accompanied to any related meeting or proceeding by the advisor of their choice. The Advisor may help a Reporting Party prepare their position but may not present it or speak for or on behalf of the Reporting Party at the meeting or proceeding. In matters of Interpersonal Violence, the Reporting Party may have both an external, non-Xavier advisor of choice (e.g. lawyer, family member) and an internal Xavier support person (e.g. Xavier’s Campus Advocacy Coordinator).
In matters involving allegations of Interpersonal Violence, a Reporting Party may choose how much they want to participate in the investigation and conduct hearing process.
- A Reporting Party may fully participate in the investigation and the conduct process as described in this Student Handbook. Under this option, the Reporting Party will be afforded all rights enumerated in Section 3.4.2.4 Reporting Party’s Participation Options in Interpersonal Violence Investigation and Student Conduct Process and discontinue participation. The Title IX Office will assess under Xavier's Interpersonal Violence policies whether there is reasonable cause to believe the accused individual may have violated the Interpersonal Violence policies. If the Title IX Office assesses there is reasonable cause and the Reporting Party is no longer participating, it will determine need for and nature of further investigation under the University's obligations under Xavier's policies. If the Title IX Office does not find reasonable cause, it has authority to terminate the investigation and end complaint resolution proceedings. The Reporting Party (and Responding Party if applicable) will be notified of this decision.
- A Reporting Party has the right not to participate in Xavier's investigation and student conduct process at any time and will not be compelled to do so. It should be understood that this will limit Xavier's ability to fully address the potential policy violations. If a Reporting Party notifies Xavier Officials that they will not be participating, the Title IX Office and/or Dean of Students will determine under Xavier's Interpersonal Violence policies whether the University will proceed with the complaint resolution process without the Reporting Party's participation.