Campus Safety and Planning

A felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed by: (1) a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the reporting party; (2) a person with whom the reporting party shares a child in common; (3) a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the reporting party as a spouse or intimate partner; (4) a person similarly situated to a spouse of the reporting party under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred; or (5) any other person against an adult or youth survivor who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.

An act of violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. For this purpose, the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. Dating violence includes without limitation sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse, but excludes acts covered under the definition of ‘domestic violence'.

Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person, including without limitation by means of following, monitoring, observing, surveilling, threatening, or communicating to or about a person or interfering with a person’s property, that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others or suffer significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily require, medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

TAMUS Regulation 08.01.01, Civil Rights Compliance.

A clear, voluntary and ongoing agreement to engage in a specific sexual act. Persons need not verbalize their consent to engage in a sexual act for there to be permission. Permission to engage in a sexual act may be indicated through physical actions rather than words. A person who was asleep or mentally or physically incapacitated, either through the effect of drugs or alcohol or for any other reason, or whose agreement was made under duress or by threat, coercion, or force, cannot give consent.

The institutional definition of consent is used for any cases related to Title IX and VAWA offenses.

Preponderance of the Evidence

To support transparency and fairness across all of the member schools and agencies, The Texas A&M University System requires members to follow the standard of Preponderance of the Evidence - meaning more likely than not to have occurred.

Consent is defined in the Texas Penal Code, Section 1.07(11) as assent in fact, whether express or apparent.

Without consent is also defined in the Texas Penal Code, Section 22.011(b) within the definition of sexual assault.

The State of Texas defines sexual assault as follows:

1. A person commits an offense if the person:
   1. Intentionally or knowingly causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of another person by any means, without that person’s consent; causes the penetration of the mouth of another person by the sexual organ of the actor, without that person’s consent; or causes the sexual organ of another person, without that person’s consent, to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; or
   2. Intentionally or knowingly: causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of a child by any means; causes the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual organ of the actor; causes the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; causes the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; or causes the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ of another person, including the actor.

Without Consent Texas Penal Code section 22.011(b)

2. A sexual assault under Subsection (a)(1) is without the consent of the other person if:
   1. The actor compels the other person to submit or participate by the use of physical force or violence;
   2. The actor compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against the other person, and the other person believes that the actor has the present ability to execute the threat;
   3. The other person has not consented and the actor knows the other person is unconscious or physically unable to resist;
   4. The actor knows that as a result of mental disease or defect the other person is at the time of the sexual assault incapable either of appraising the nature of the act or of resisting it;
   5. The other person has not consented and the actor knows the other person is unaware that the sexual assault is occurring;
   6. The actor has intentionally impaired the other person’s power to appraise or control the other person’s conduct by administering any substance without the other person’s knowledge;
   7. The actor compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against any person, and the other person believes that the actor has the ability to execute the threat;
   8. The actor is a public servant who coerces the other person to submit or participate;
   9. The actor is a mental health services provider or a health care services provider who causes the other person, who is a patient or former patient of the actor, to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the actor;
   10. The actor is a clergyman who causes the other person to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman’s professional character as spiritual adviser; or
   11. The actor is an employee of a facility where the other person is a resident, unless the employee and resident are formally or informally married to each other under Chapter 2, Family Code.
3. In this section:
   1. “Child” means a person younger than 17 years of age.
   2. “Spouse” means a person who is legally married to another.
   3. “Health care services provider” means:
      1. a physician licensed under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;
      2. a chiropractor licensed under Chapter 201, Occupations Code;
      3. a physical therapist licensed under Chapter 453, Occupations Code;
      4. a physician assistant licensed under Chapter 204, Occupations Code; or
      5. a registered nurse, a vocational nurse, or an advanced practice nurse licensed under Chapter 301, Occupations Code.
   4. “Mental health services provider” means an individual, licensed or unlicensed, who performs or purports to perform mental health services, including a:
      1. licensed social worker as defined by Section 505.002, Occupations Code;
      2. chemical dependency counselor as defined by Section 504.001, Occupations Code;
      3. licensed professional counselor as defined by Section 503.002, Occupations Code;
      4. licensed marriage and family therapist as defined by Section 502.002, Occupations Code;
      5. member of the clergy;
      6. psychologist offering psychological services as defined by Section 501.003, Occupations Code; or
      7. special officer for mental health assignment certified under Section 1701.404, Occupations Code.
   5. “Employee of a facility” means a person who is an employee of a facility defined by Section 250.001, Health and Safety Code, or any other person who provides services for a facility for compensation, including a contract laborer.
4. It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2) that the conduct consisted of medical care for the child and did not include any contact between the anus or sexual organ of the child and the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of the actor or a third party.
5. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2):
   1. That the actor was the spouse of the child at the time of the offense; or
   2. That: the actor was not more than three years older than the victim and at the time of the offense: was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to register for life as a sex offender; or was not a person who under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, had a reportable conviction or adjudication for an offense under this section; and the victim: Was a child of 14 years of age or older; and was not a person whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the actor was prohibited from living under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.
6. An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree, except that an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree if the victim was a person whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the actor was prohibited from living under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.

Referred to as: Domestic Violence

The State of Texas defines domestic violence as follows: An act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself.

The State of Texas defines dating violence as follows:

1. “Dating violence” means an act, other than a defensive measure to protect oneself, by an actor that:
   1. is committed against a victim or applicant for a protective order:
      1. With whom the actor has or has had a dating relationship; or
      2. Because of the victim’s or applicant’s marriage to or dating relationship with an individual with whom the actor is or has been in a dating relationship or marriage; and
   2. is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat that reasonably places the victim or applicant in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault.
2. For purposes of this title, “dating relationship” means a relationship between individuals who have or have had a continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The existence of such a relationship shall be
   determined based on consideration of:
   1. The length of the relationship;
   2. The nature of the relationship; and
   3. The frequency and type of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
3. A casual acquaintanceship or ordinary fraternization in a business or social context does not constitute a “dating relationship” under Subsection (b).

The State of Texas defines stalking as follows:

1. A person commits an offense if the person, on more than one occasion and pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct that is directed specifically at another person, knowingly engages in conduct that:
   1. constitutes an offense under Section 42.07, or that the actor knows or reasonably should know the other person will regard as threatening: Bodily injury or death for the other person; bodily injury or death for a member of the other person’s family or household or for an individual with whom the other person has a dating relationship; or that an offense will be committed against the other person’s property;
   2. causes the other person, a member of the other person’s family or household, or an individual with whom the other person has a dating relationship to be placed in fear of bodily injury or death or in fear that an offense will be committed against the other person’s property, or to feel harassed, annoyed, alarmed, abused, tormented, embarrassed, or offended; and
   3. would cause a reasonable person to:
      1. Fear bodily injury or death for himself or herself;
      2. Fear bodily injury or death for a member of the person’s family or household or for an individual with whom the person has a dating relationship;
      3. Fear that an offense will be committed against the person’s property; or
      4. Feel harassed, annoyed, alarmed, abused, tormented, embarrassed, or offended.
2. An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the actor has previously been convicted of an offense under this section or of an offense under any of the following laws that contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense under this section:
   1. The laws of another state;
   2. The laws of a federally recognized Indian tribe;
   3. The laws of a territory of the United States; or
   4. Federal law.
3. For purposes of this section, a trier of fact may find that different types of conduct described by Subsection (a), if engaged in on more than one occasion, constitute conduct that is engaged in pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct.
4. In this section:
   1. “Dating relationship,” “family,” “household,” and “member of a household” have the meanings assigned by Chapter 71, Family Code.
   2. “Property” includes a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal, as defined by Section 121.002, Human Resources Code.
5. For Clery Act reporting purposes, Harassment as defined by State Law, may meet the elements of Stalking.

Sec. 42.07. Harassment.

1. A person commits an offense if, with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person:
   1. initiates communication and in the course of the communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal that is obscene;
   2. threatens, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of the person’s family or household, or the person’s property;
   3. conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or serious bodily injury;
   4. causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend another;
   5. makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to hang up or disengage the connection;
   6. knowingly permits a telephone under the person’s control to be used by another to commit an offense under this section; or
   7. sends repeated electronic communications in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend another.
2. In this section:
   1. “Electronic communication” means a transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photooptical system. The term includes:
      1. a communication initiated through the use of electronic mail, instant message, network call, a cellular or other type of telephone, a computer, a camera, text message, a social media platform or application, an Internet website, any other Internet-based communication tool, or facsimile machine; and
      2. a communication made to a pager.
   2. “Family” and “household” have the meaning assigned by Chapter 71, Family Code.
   3. “Obscene” means containing a patently offensive description of or a solicitation to commit an ultimate sex act, including sexual intercourse, masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anilingus, or a description of an excretory function.
3. An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has previously been convicted under this section.