A couple of years ago, a certain evanescent character gained notoriety for removing his clothing and parading through Stephenson Towers.

The aptly-named Stephenson Streaker struck often enough that hall staff would stay up into the wee hours of the morning trying to catch him, since the incidences tended to happen around 4 a.m., Director of Residence Life Edwin Hamada said.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to catch that person,” Hamada said. “But whenever (we hear about) an allegation of assault or sexual misconduct, safety is our number one concern.”

Numerous departments on and off campus join forces to combat sexual misconduct. Students who are found guilty of sex offenses can face suspension or expulsion from the university, or even legal consequences like probation or jail time, depending on the offense.

Pranks with real consequences

In some instances, offenders fail to give sufficient consideration to the potential legal ramifications of their actions.

Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, streaking was seen as funny and, therefore, was not taken seriously, Hamada said.

“But today, if you get arrested for streaking … it’s a sex offense,” Hamada said. “You could have to report as a registered sex offender.”

A couple years ago, the Pullman transit system had an incident where a male was flashing his genitalia, Pullman Police Officer Shane Emerson said.

“Every now and then we get streakers,” Emerson added. He said indecent exposure can result in probation. If someone is a repeat offender, though, they could get jail time.

Streaking or flashing people aren’t the only ways to inadvertently end up registering as a sex offender, though.

The world is not necessarily your bathroom

As the saying goes, “When you gotta go, you gotta go.” Where exactly one chooses to go can present a problem, though.

“Don’t pee outside. If you’re going to, go to a super dark area where you aren’t in view of the public,” Emerson said. “If someone walks by and sees your genitalia hanging out, that’s indecent exposure.”

If passersby see and get offended, it could go to court and the unfortunate individual who had to go could end up on a sex offender list, he added.

Sharing private photos versus harassment

Once a nude photo is shared, it’s out there. There’s no specific crime against re-sharing a photo with others, said Cpl. Matthew Kuhrt of the WSU Police Department. However, it is unlawful to try to extort someone with the threat of distributing the picture(s).

Threatening to share a potentially damaging photo could also fall in the gray area of harassment, Kuhrt said.

According to the Revised Code of Washington, a person is guilty of harassment if they threaten to carry out an act “intended to substantially harm the person threatened or another with respect to his or her physical or mental health or safety.”

Peeping is wrong

Voyeurism is the act of watching (unsuspecting) individuals who are naked, partly undressed, and/or carrying out sexual acts.

Police generally find out about incidences of voyeurism by a witness calling it in to say they saw someone looking in windows, Emerson said.

Additional, legal problems can arise when a voyeur uses a phone or camera to record someone without their knowledge, especially when it comes to how someone got a camera where it was, Kuhrt said. 

Within the residence halls, Hamada said requiring Cougar Card access to shower facilities has helped residents feel more secure. 

Other nonconsensual conduct and university and legal action

The Office for Equal Opportunity (OEO) deals with any form of nonconsensual conduct, OEO director Kim Anderson said. Such conduct can range from intimate partner violence or assault to grabbing a person’s shirt and lifting it up, Anderson said.

The latter example would be in violation of WSU policy prohibiting sexual exploitation, defined by the university as taking sexual advantage of someone else. Examples can include “exposing one’s intimate parts in nonconsensual circumstances,” stalking and/or bullying, and invading someone else’s sexual privacy.

Sexual misconduct, any unwanted, nonconsensual activity, is also prohibited by the university. The handout titled WSU’s Response to Sex and Gender Based Violence and Discrimination states, “The use of alcohol or other drugs is not a valid defense to a violation of this policy.”

“Make sure you get consent,” Emerson said. “Make sure the other person is sober and … the right age. I tell the guys especially, ‘If you’re even thinking twice about it, get her phone number and call her later. It’s not worth it.’”

The OEO often learns about incidences through RAs, students and local police, Anderson said.

“Usually (a staff member sees) a resident that appears to be very upset, or a roommate tells a staff member, ‘I think this happened to my roommate,’” Hamada said.

RAs can refer residents to confidential resources like Health and Wellness, Counseling and Testing Services, and Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse if they would rather not report the offense.

“We want all of our residents to know that, in spite of the fact that if you say something we have to report up, we’re more concerned with making sure they’re taken care of,” Hamada said. “We don’t want a situation where someone is left without any knowledge or resources.”

If we’ve learned about the incident, we reach out to the victim, Anderson said. We might refer them to student services, but “if there’s an ongoing threat, we may have to report to police,” she said.

Anderson emphasized that, when it comes to reporting sexual misconduct, there is no normal. For some victims, it can be helpful to confront the person accused and seek justice. Others might feel more comfortable talking to confidential resources about their experience.

“(We) emphasize the importance of caring for themselves,” she said. “We want people to be comfortable with the process.”

Preventative education programs like Green Dot have been helpful, Anderson said, but there is still room for improvement.

“(We need to) change the culture that allows this to happen,” she said. “We as a society have a history of not speaking up. We need to recognize the value of each person … and treat people with respect without regard to sex or gender.”