Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Harassment

The university is committed to providing a learning environment that promotes equity, inclusion, and the opportunity to succeed for all students. As members of the University community, we must all be committed to ensuring that students, staff, and faculty are treated with dignity and respect.

As part of ongoing efforts by California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office, and the State of California, to adopt and promote policies that address harassment, intimidation, bullying, and cyberbullying, we have created the resources on this page to inform CSUF students of their rights and responsibilities around bullying and harassment.

WHAT IS BULLYING AND HARASSMENT?

Bullying is any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a student or group of students that is directed toward one or more students that have or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following (See California Education Code §48900Opens in new window  ):

a. Placing a reasonable student or students in fear of harm to that student's or those students' person or property

b.Causing a reasonable student to experience a substantial interference with the student's physical or mental health

c. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with the student's academic performance

d. Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with the student's ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or priviledges provided by a school 

For information about bullying via electronic means, see Cyberbullying section below. 

WHAT ARE A FEW TYPES OF BULLYING?

Verbal Bullying – using words with the intent to cause emotional distress. This can inculde repeated insults, threatening, or malicious statements to gain power and control over a person. 

Social Bullying – actions that intend to harm someone’s reputation or relationships. This can include intentional exclusion of someone, spreading rumors, or embarrassing someone in public.

Physical Bullying – causing bodily harm or damage to someone’s body or possessions. This can include physical action like hitting, kicking, pinching, spitting, pushing, tripping, or making inappropriate gestures to someone.

Cyberbullying – is an aggressive, intentional act or behavior that is carried out by a group or an individual, using electronic forms of contact. This can include:

  • Posting intentional harmful comments or rumors about somone online
  • Threatening to hurt someone or telling them to kill themselves
  • Pretending to be someone else online in order to solicit or post personal or false information about someone else 
  • Posting harmful or hateful names, comments, or content about any race, religion, ethnicity, or other personal characteristics online
  • Doxing- to threaten and destroy the privacy of indivuduals by making their personal information public, including addresses, social security, credit card and phone numbers, links to social media accounts and other private data 

Please visit HRDI's page on Discrimination, Harrassment, or RetaliationOpens in new window for more information. 

WHAT IS CYBERBULLYING?

Cyberbullying is bullying that take place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets, Cyberbullying can occour through SMS, text, and apps, or online on social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying also includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, or false information about someone else including information that may be private or personal. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior. The most common places where cyberbullying occurs are: 

  • Social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and/or Tiktok 
  • Text messaging and messaging apps on mobile or tablet devices
  • Instant or direct messaging, and online chatting over the internet 
  • Online forums, chat rooms, message boards, such as Reddit or Discord 
  • Email
  • Online gaming communities

HOW DO I COMBAT BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING?

  • Report incidents of bullying/cyberbullying by contacting appropriate campus offices to initiate a complaint.
  • Do not delete or dispose of online communications (threats, comments, postings, etc.) It could be evidence.
  •  Save or make copies of photographs, comments, postings, videos, etc. for reporting purposes.
  •  Do not touch or otherwise remove offensive or unauthorized postings on campus. Report them to the appropriate offices or the University Police Department.
  • Avoid participating on forums or sites that encourage anonymous posts.
  • Update privacy settings on social media to a level you are comfortable with.

WHERE CAN I REPORT BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING?


You can report any concerns of possible bullying and cyberbullying to the Office of Student Conduct. You can submit a report through the Online Reporting Form. You can also contact the Office of Student Conduct by emailing studentconduct@fullerton.edu.

STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

  • All students have the right to participate fully in CSUF programs and activities free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
  • All CSUF students must abide by the campus policies listed below that prohibit harassment, intimidation, and bullying (this also includes cyberbullying). It is the responsibility of all CSUF students to know these policies and abide by them
  • Title 5, Section 41301: Standards for Student ConductPDF File Opens in new window
  • Interim CSU Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Exploitation, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Retaliation
  • Bullying and harassment falls under Title 5, 41301 subsection (7), which can be found in the Standards for Student Conduct and specifically states: “Conduct that threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person within or related to the University community, including physical abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, or sexual misconduct"
  • If a student is alleged to have violated any of the policies listed above, they will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct