The Clery Act

The Executive Vice President prepares this report to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act. The full text of this report can be located at ope.ed.gov/security. This report is prepared in cooperation with the local law enforcement agencies surrounding our main campus and alternate sites and residence life. Each entity provides updated information on their educational efforts and programs to comply with the Act. Campus crime, arrest and referral statistics include those reported to the designated campus officials (including but not limited to directors, deans, department heads, advisors of students/student organizations, athletic coaches), and local law enforcement agencies. Staff members at the Counseling and Wellness Office inform their clients of the procedures to report crime to the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Dean of the College on a voluntary or confidential basis, should they feel it is in the best interest of the client. A procedure is in place to anonymously capture crime statistics disclosed confidentially during such a session. Each year, an e-mail notification is made to all enrolled students that provides the access to this report. Faculty and staff receive similar email notifications. Copies of the report may also be obtained at the Library, Welcome Desk, Facilities, Admissions and Student Affairs. All prospective employees may obtain a copy from Admissions or Human Resources.

To report a crime: Contact dial 911 (for emergencies only) or Portland Police Department at 207.874.8479. Any suspicious activity or person seen in parking lots or loitering around motor vehicles, inside the residence halls, art galleries, inside buildings, or around College premises should be reported to Portland Police Department at 207.874.8479. The MECA&D contact for reporting crimes is the Director of Residential Education & Housing at 207.699.5067. In addition, you may report a crime and/or incident to the following campus personnel: Don Tuski, President; Beth Elicker, Executive Vice President; Ian Anderson, Vice President of Academic Affairs/Dean of the College; Rebecca Conrad, Vice President for Institutional Advancement; Adrea Jaehnig, Director of Student Affairs; Leeanna Morris, Coordinator of Student Involvement; Donna Wermenchuk, Human Resources Coordinator or Doug Doering, Director of Facilities Management. Each department augments with the other within their jurisdictions during mutual investigations, arrest, and prosecutions.

Community members, students, faculty, staff, and guests are encouraged to report all crimes and public safety related incidents to Portland Police Department, Facilities Management, Student Affairs, MECA&D Security, faculty and/or staff in a timely manner. To report a crime, non emergency, security or public safety related matter on campus call 207.775.3052 or 207.699.5067. To report an emergency dial 911. To report a crime off-campus call the Portland Police Department at 207.874.8479 or 911. Dispatchers are available at the Portland Police Department 24 hours a day to answer your call. All security incident reports involving residential and/or off campus students are forwarded to the Director Residential Education & Housing for review. If a sexual assault or rape should occur, staff on the scene, including Portland Police, will offer the victim a wide variety of services. Sexual Assault Response Services in Portland are available by dialing 207.774.3613 or 1.800.313-9900. The information about “resources” is not provided to infer that those resources are “reporting entities” for MECA&D. Crimes should be reported to the Executive Vice President to ensure inclusion in the annual crime statistics and to aid in providing timely warning notices to the community, when appropriate. For example, a crime that was reported only to the Sexual Assault Response Services would not be included in the MECA&D crime statistics.

If you are the victim of a crime and do not want to pursue action within the MECA&D judicial system or the criminal justice system, you may still want to consider making a confidential report. With your permission, the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Dean of the College can file a report on the details of the incident without revealing your identity. The purpose of a confidential report is to help take steps to ensure the future safety of you and others. With such information, the College can keep an accurate records of the number of incidents involving students, determine where there is a pattern of crime with regard to a particular location, method, or assailant, and alert the campus community to potential danger. Reports filed in this manner are counted and disclosed in the annual crimes statistics for the institution.

Any victims of any incidents, including assaults, sex offenses or sex assaults should immediately contact the Portland Police Department, which will immediately respond to assist the victims in getting medical attention, then investigate the crime. At all times, the victim’s rights will be protected and the victim will have input into the course of the investigation. Counseling services will be provided if the victim is receptive to such services.

Any victims of any incidents, including assaults, sex offenses or sexual assaults have the right to request a change in living areas or academic situations. If an immediate threat is perceived by a person, they can be reassigned a different room or building until the threat is removed or eliminated.

Any person found to have committed any sex offense or sexual assault by the Maine College of Art & Design Conduct Committee and/or the Maine Criminal Justice System will be subject to severe disciplinary sanctions to include immediate suspension or dismissal.

Most MECA&D buildings and facilities are accessible to the campus community, guests, and visitors during normal business hours 8:00am–5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Access is granted to residents via an electronic access control system. Guests may gain access by calling a resident living in the hall and being escorted in by that resident. Exterior doors to the residence halls are locked 24 hours a day. Emergencies may necessitate changes or alterations to any posted schedules. Areas that are revealed as problematic have security surveys conducted of them. Administrators from the Vice President’s Office, Facilities Management, Student Affairs, and other concerned areas review these results. These surveys examine security issues such as landscaping, locks, alarms, lighting, and communications. Additionally, during the academic year, the Director of Facilities Management and Residential Education & Housing meet to discuss issues of pressing concern.

In accordance to the “Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act” of 2000, Maine College of Art & Design provides a link to the Maine Sex Offender Registry. This act requires institutions of higher education to issue a statement advising the campus community where law enforcement information provided by a State concerning registered sex offenders may be obtained. It also requires sex offenders already required to register in a State to provide notice of each institution of higher education in the State at which the person is employed, carries a vocation, or is a student. The Maine State Police Department of Public Safety maintains the Maine Sex Offender Registry.

During orientation in August students are informed of services offered by Maine College of Art & Design. Students are told about crime on-campus and in surrounding neighborhoods. Similar information is presented to new employees. Crime Prevention Programs and Sexual Assault Prevention Programs are offered on a continual basis. Periodically during the academic year the College organizations and departments, present crime prevention awareness sessions on sexual assault (rape and acquaintance rape), theft, and vandalism, as well as educational sessions on personal safety and residence hall security. A common theme of all awareness and crime prevention programs is to encourage students and employees to be aware of their responsibility for their own security and the security of others. In addition to seminars, information is disseminated to students and employees through security alert posters, bulletin boards, and articles. When time is of the essence, information is released to the College community through security alerts posted prominently throughout campus, through memos sent over the College’s electronic mail system and physical means such as posters. The following is a listing of the crime prevention programs and projects in use at Maine College of Art & Design.

Crime prevention, safety, and security programs are presented in each residence hall at the beginning of the fall semester.

The Department of Student Affairs prints and distributes numerous brochures and handouts relating to rape prevention, crime prevention, residence hall safety tips, and emergency reporting procedures. These handouts are also posted on residence hall bulletin boards and additional handouts are found here. These handouts are sponsored by Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine.

In the event that a situation arises, either on or off campus, that, in the judgment of the Executive Vice President or Vice President of Academic Affairs/Dean constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat, a campus wide “timely warning” will be issued. The warning will be issued through the College's e-mail system, posting on all entrances, in the MECA&D Café, and residence halls. Depending on the particular circumstances of the crime, especially in all situations that could pose an immediate threat to the community and individuals, notices will be posted on the campus-wide bulletin boards providing the College community with more immediate notification. Anyone with information warranting a timely warning should report the circumstances to Facilities Management or the Residential Education & Housing offices, by phone at 207.699.5341 or 207.699.5067 or in person at the Departments located in the Porteous Building, 522 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101.

For individual assistance in the area of sex offense or sexual assault prevention, students may consult any of the sex offense or sexual assault victim advocates, Counseling and Wellness counselors or members of local Portland Area counselors. Students believed to be in violation of Maine College of Art & Design and/or the Residence Life Department policies meet with the Director of Residential Education & Housing. Students found responsible for violating policy can be sanction with the following: warning, probation, termination of housing contract, and/or suspension. Other education sanction can also be imposed.

Counseling services are provided on campus, free of charge, to any student, victim of rape or sexual assault who desires this service.

As a result of the negotiated rule-making process which followed the signing into law, the 1998 amendments to 20 U.S.C. Section 1092 (f), clarification was given to those considered to be campus security authorities. Campus “Professional Counselors”, when acting as such, are not considered to be a campus security authority and are not required to report crimes for inclusion into the annual disclosure of crime statistics. As a matter of policy, they are encouraged; if and when they deem it appropriate, to inform persons being counseled of the procedures to report crimes on a voluntary basis for inclusion into the annual crime statistics. Professional Counselor: An employee of an institution whose official responsibilities include providing psychological counseling to members of the institution’s community within the scope of his or her license or certification.