Clery Act Information

St. John Fisher University is fully committed to compliance with the federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, known as the Clery Act.

Under the act, colleges and universities participating in federal student aid programs must disclose campus safety information. Accordingly, Fisher provides the following details regarding University safety policies and procedures, as well as on-campus and off-campus crime statistics.

Campus Sexual Assault Program

St. John Fisher University fully supports and enforces all University policies as well as federal, state, and local laws governing rape and sexual assault.

Sexual misconduct in any setting is prohibited at St. John Fisher University. For the purposes of this policy, sexual misconduct includes sex discrimination, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation.

Please Note: St. John Fisher University recognizes that sexual misconduct affects individuals of all genders, gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations and does not discriminate by racial, social, or economic background.

Alleged violations of University policy will be subject to the Student Conduct Process for situations involving students or the process and procedures applicable to University employees for situations involving University employees. All St. John Fisher University students, faculty, staff, visitors, and guests are expected to comply with federal, state, or local laws.

The University recognizes its responsibility to develop and implement educational programs to help its students and employees recognize and address sexual misconduct and/or remedy the effects of sexual misconduct and is committed to the prevention and/or reoccurrence of sexual misconduct in the University community.

Confidential Support After a Sexual Assault

For more information regarding support after a sexual assault, visit the Health and Wellness Center's Sexual Assault page.

Reporting Sexual Misconduct

For more information, please visit the Reporting Sexual Misconduct section of the Student Conduct Policy.

The Wetterling Act

The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act set the requirements for sexual offender registration and community notification. The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act of 2000 provides for the tracking of convicted sex offenders, already required to register in a state, to provide notice of each institution of higher education in the state at which that person is employed, carries on a vocation, or is a student. This registration is to be made available to law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction where the institutions of higher education are located. Institutions of higher education are required to issue a statement advising the campus community where law enforcement agency information provided by the state concerning registered sex offenders, may be obtained.

Persons seeking to obtain sex offender registration information may contact the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office website (click on the Neighborhoods link and choose Obtaining Information About Sex Offenders in NYS).

Information about offenders of all risk levels, including those whose risk levels are pending, is available by calling (518) 457-5837 or 1 (800) 262-3257.

Bias Related Crime

Bias related crime, also known as a hate crime, is a serious matter and bias related misconduct is a violation of St. John Fisher University policy. Both state and federal laws specially define hate crimes.

New York State's Hate Crimes Act of 2000 (Penal Law, Section 485) significantly increases the criminal penalties for most significant crimes, including criminal mischief, criminal trespass, harassment, stalking, assault, arson, robbery, burglary, stalking, rape, criminal sexual assault, and others, if the crime was also a hate crime. A hate crime occurs where the victim was selected on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, old age, disability, or sexual orientation.

Other New York laws define specific crimes with respect to bias. In particular, under the New York Civil Rights Law (Section 40-c) a person or entity that commits the crime of ordinary harassment is guilty of a class A misdemeanor (punishable by up to one year in jail), if the victim was harassed because of his or her race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability.

Similarly, the crimes of aggravated harassment in the first and second degrees (Penal Law, Section 240) are committed when the harassment occurred because of a belief or perception about the victim's race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation. First degree aggravated harassment is a felony, punishable with imprisonment for a year, even for the first offense.

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines (18 USC Appendix 3A1.1), applicable to those who commit federal crimes, also provide for significantly increased prison terms for crimes if they are perpetrated on people or their property because of the victim's race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

Congress has also defined special hate-based crimes in the Federal criminal code (18 USC Sections 245, 247). It is a federal offense to use force or the threat of force to willfully injure, intimidate, or interfere with someone (or class of people) from exercising or enjoying certain federal rights, such as voting, running for office, or applying for a federal job. Those rights include enjoying the benefits of any program or activity receiving federal assistance. St. John Fisher University is a recipient of federal financial assistance. It is also a federal offense to intimidate someone from participating in or deny someone the benefits of participation in federally funded programs on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. Federal law also makes it a crime to deface, damage, or destroy religious places because of their religious character or because of the race, color, or ethnic characteristics of anyone associated with that property. These hate-based federal crimes can all result in fines and up to a year of imprisonment, and if dangerous weapons, injuries, sexual abuse, kidnapping, death, or other violent elements are involved, prison sentences can be much longer, and punishment can even include the federal death penalty.