Community Standards
Each student, faculty, staff, vendor and guest are expected to comply with all policies, standards, and expectations set by Manhattanville College. These policies, standards, and expectations exist to ensure the safety and well-being of the campus community.
These standards are announced in writing to give students general notice of the expectations of Manhattanville College. These standards should be read broadly and are not designed to define all prohibited behaviors in exhaustive terms.
- Alcohol and Controlled Substance Policy: Please review the Alcohol and Controlled Substance Policy
- Campus Visitation Policy: Please review the Campus Visitation Policy.
- Climbing on Structures Climbing on Structures is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to: Climbing, rappelling, entering or exiting a building through a non-designated opening, or related activities on campus buildings or structures
- Complicity is prohibited. This includes assisting another student, student organization or any other person in any violation(s) of the Student Code of Conduct either through act or omission. Students who are present in-person or virtually, or who are otherwise aware of a violation of the Student Code of Conduct may be held responsible, even if they are not directly involved in the violation itself. Community members who have knowledge that another individual has committed a violation are required to report the violation to a Manhattanville College official within 24 hours.
- Damage to or Misuse of Property/Documents is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to:
- Damage to property or property belonging to another person(s)
- The theft of another’s property or Manhattanville property, or unauthorized possession of another’s property or Manhattanville property
- Damage, defacement, and/or vandalism to another’s property or Manhattanville property
- Tampering with locks and/or duplication or unauthorized use of Manhattanville keys or access cards
- Accessing campus building roofs, electrical or mechanical rooms, and any other premises of the campus where access is designated as prohibited.
- Propping or tampering with doors to prevent them from closing or locking
- Creating messes and littering on campus or any university-owned property
- Throwing, launching, or propelling objects
- Failure to report damage
- Forgery, alteration, distribution, or unauthorizes possession of Manhattanville documents, records, or instruments of identification
- Unauthorized use of Manhattanville’s name or logo inconsistent with the College mission.
- Dishonesty: All forms of dishonesty are prohibited. This includes but is not limited to:
- Cheating on student employment records, Admissions applications, Financial Aid documents
- Supplying false information to any College official
- In the course of a College judicial investigation
- Forgery or use of College documents or instruments of identification including college transcripts and letters of recommendation with intent to defraud.
- Disorderly Conduct & Disruptive Behavior is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to any behavior which disrupts the regular or normal functions of the Manhattanville College community and all communities where Manhattanville students are carrying out educational activities, including behavior which endangers the health and safety of others, breaches the peace and/or violates the rights of others. Lewd, obscene or indecent behavior is prohibited.
- Electronic Use Policy: Please review the Electronic Use Policy.
- Failure to Comply: Failure to comply with the directions of College officials, Residence Life staff, or those appointed or elected to act on behalf of the College, acting under provisions of the Code of Conduct or in the performance of their duties, is prohibited. This shall include, but is not limited to, failing to produce identification to College officials when directed, failing to respond to personal directives, failing to evacuate a building during an emergency alarm, hiding or fleeing from a College official, and failing to comply with a disciplinary sanction.
- Misuse of or Tampering with Fire Equipment is prohibited. This includes:
- Tampering, damaging, removing or improper use of fire safety equipment (e.g. smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, exit signs, emergency exits, etc.)
- Causing a false fire alarm
- Failure to evacuate during fire alarm or emergency
- The setting of fires, arson or adding any material to any unauthorized fire
- Failure to Evacuate During a Fire Alarm is Prohibited. When a fire alarm sounds in a College building, all persons must immediately evacuate the building, exiting by the most direct safe route. Occupants must evacuate the building to points sufficient to ensure their personal safety. In the case of Residence Hall evacuations, all residents must report to their designated evacuation points.
- Fire Hazards & Electrical Safety: Electrical appliances and other items, which constitute fire hazards, are prohibited. Click here for a list of items. The College also prohibits the use of any other objects that may be utilized in a dangerous manner. The College, Office of Residence Life, and their designees reserve the right to deem any item banned at any time.
- Gambling iss prohibited except at College sanctioned events.
- Harassment is prohibited. Harassment is defined as unwelcome conduct or any unwelcome behavior that has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment; or unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or educational performance; or otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment or educational opportunities. Examples include but are not limited to: vulgar or offensive conversation or jokes; unwelcome comments about an employee’s physical characteristics, religious beliefs, ethnic background, medical condition, or disability; teasing, slurs, threats, derogatory comments, or other similar verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct directed toward a person, which is sufficiently severe or pervasive to create an unprofessional and hostile working or educational environment.
- Hate Crime: “A crime reported to local police agencies or to a campus security authority that manifests evidence that the victim was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator's bias against the victim. For the purposes of this section, the categories of bias include the victim’s actual or perceived race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, and disability.” 34 C.F.R. § 668.46.
- Hazing: is prohibited. Hazing is defined as any action or situation that recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or emotional or physical health or safety of another person for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in an organization or team whose members, mentors, sponsors or coaches are or included students of Manhattanville College. In addition, any requirement by a member or pledge which compels another member or pledge to participate in any activity that is against College policy or New York State Law is defined as hazing. Hazing behaviors include but are not limited to the following:
- Forcing or requiring an individual to drink alcohol or use other substances or consume unreasonable amounts of food;
- Engaging in activities that compel an individual or group to remain at a certain place, or transporting anyone anywhere without their knowledge and/or consent (road trips, kidnaps, etc.);
- Creating excessive fatigue or distress through the deprivation of privacy, sufficient sleep or decent and edible meals;
- Participating in morally degrading or humiliating games and activities (Shaving, tattooing, piercing or branding);
- Participation in or creation of situations that cause physical harm or emotional strain, such as causing a member or non-member to be the object of malicious amusement or ridicule;
- Using brutality or force.
- Engaging in or simulating sexual acts, nudity
- Throwing substances or objects at individuals
- Assigning unreasonable chores or acts of servitude
- Forcing or coercing consumption or use of any substance
- Interfering with adequate time for study
- Requiring the wearing of apparel or acting in a way that is conspicuous and not within community norms
Any of these activities, if a condition, either directly or indirectly, of membership, advancement, or good standing in a College-recognized organization, shall be presumed to be a forced activity, the willingness of an individual to participate in such activity notwithstanding. The College may treat the action of even one member of a group as constituting hazing by the entire group. Executive leaders of an organization found responsible for hazing are also subject to disciplinary action. Hazing is a violation of the New York State Law when such action by a group or organization recklessly or intentionally endangers mental or physical health or involves the forced consumption of liquor or drugs for the purpose of initiation or affiliation with any organization.
- Noise: Excessive noise is prohibited as defined by local town ordnances and the Residence Hall quiet hour policy.
- Pet Policy: Pets are prohibited in the Residence Halls, with the exception of non-dangerous fish, service animals, and assistance animals. Fish must be kept in the aquariums that do not exceed ten gallons in size. Students who would benefit from an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) must be approved for an ESA through the College’s Medical Housing Accommodation Process prior to the ESA’s arrival on campus.
- Physical Assault or threat of physical assault is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to:
- Inflicting bodily harm upon any person (student or non-student)
- Taking any action for the purpose of inflicting harm upon any person.
- Threatening use of force upon any person
- subjecting another person to unwanted physical contact.
- Reckless Endangerment is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to taking any action that creates a substantial risk such that bodily harm could result to any person, objects or people on windows ledges, use of weapons of any kind for any purpose, throwing objects (i.e. snowballs), use of fireworks, and/or jeopardizing the physical or emotional safety of oneself or another.
- Sales and Solicitation is prohibited. Students are not permitted to run a business out of any College facility. Unauthorized sales, canvassing, peddling, soliciting, distribution or posting of any written or printed material by non-college individuals or organizations is not permitted on college-owned or controlled property without the written permission of the Office of Student Affairs or their designee. This includes the use of electronic mail and web page solicitations.
- Smoking/Vaping: In accordance with New York State Law, "vape/vaping" or smoking is not permitted inside any building on campus. Smoking is not permitted in or within 30 feet outside of any building.
- Threatening or Intimidating Behavior is prohibited. Behavior that involves an expressed or implied threat, which includes, but is not limited to the use of words verbal, written or electronic (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.) inherently likely to provide an immediate violent reaction when directed toward a specific individual, or any behavior that has the purpose or reasonably foreseeable effect of creating a hostile environment by, but not limited to, interfering with another individual’s personal safety, safety of property, academic efforts, employment or participation in College-sponsored activities.
- UAVs (Drones and Model Aircraft) on Campus are prohibited. Please refer to Manhattanville College’s full UAV policy
- Violations of Criminal Law: Violations of federal, state or local criminal law or actions that adversely affect the College and/or pursuit of its objectives are prohibited on campus or elsewhere and may be subject to disciplinary proceedings here. The criminal case burden of proof, obviously, does not apply to Manhattanville College cases.
- Weapons or Dangerous Objects: Students are prohibited from possessing or implying possession of a firearm, dangerous device, or dangerous or deadly weapon anywhere on property owned, leased, or controlled by Manhattanville College. It is illegal to possess weapons, even if legally possessed, in a manner that harms, threatens, or causes fear to self or others. Examples of weapons or dangerous objects include, but are not limited to:
Any type of firearm, devices which resemble weapons, dangerous chemicals, fireworks, explosive materials or explosives, accelerants, dangerous devices capable of casting a projectile, crossbows, knives (including switchblades), martial arts tools, paintball and air soft guns, or ammunition. The College also prohibits the use of any object, which is utilized in a dangerous manner – an example of this would be matches used to set fire to or damage any object. Violation of this policy will result in interim suspension.