Four elements have been added to NIU’s sexual harassment policy, although the policy has not received final approval from President John LaTourette.

Affirmative Action Director Marilyn Monteiro said Monday at a meeting of the Sexual Assault Task Force one change to the policy will be the addition of a statement from LaTourette.

A second change involves definitions of what constitutes sexual harassment, Monteiro said. “Many students, staff and faculty are not clear what constitutes a violation.”

Monteiro said the revised policy will include examples of the types of sexual harassment. Types range from verbal innuendos to physical contact, she said.

A third change involves due process for the accused. With the current policy, due process has been “assumed,” Monteiro said. The revised policy will specifically mention due process, she said.

“Occasionally, people who make a claim may be engaged in a vendetta,” Monteiro said. Due process will protect the accused, she said.

The fourth policy change involves the listing of assistance available to the claimant, Monteiro said. The policy will provide information as to where counseling services can be contacted, she said.

Monteiro said the policy has not been approved. The new policy will be published and included in employee handbooks when approved, she said.

Jon Dalton, vice president for student affairs, said he did not know when the policy will be approved. He said the affirmative action office has received input from other university representatives to be used in revising the policy.

Dalton said the policy has not been formally submitted. “Ultimately, the policy will come to the president for approval and implementation.”

Once the policy is approved, procedural changes also will be recommended, Monteiro said. One possible change would be using the affirmative action office to handle formal complaints of sexual harassment.

Informal complaints are handled in several offices, Monteiro said. “Federal guidelines encourage us (NIU) to allow people to seek help from different locations,” she said.

Monteiro said statistics on the number of informal complaints cannot be obtained because they are received in different offices. She said the affirmative action office is “trying to decide how to monitor informal complaints.”

Sexual Assault Task Force chairman Marti Ruel said the SATF does not deal with sexual harassment. Monteiro was asked to speak to the group for informational purposes, Ruel said.