Similarly, Northwestern University also follows state and federal laws while also adding specific auxiliaries to their sexual harassment policy. Northwestern states that their "policy on sexual harassment is clear and explicit; sexual harassment in any form is unacceptable [and] is not only repugnant, [but also] a criminal offence subject to prosecution under law" ("President's"). Northwestern, like the University of Southern California, clearly state that they do not tolerate sexual harassment not only because it is "unacceptable" and inappropriate, but also because the greater law prohibits it. The policy also remains gender neutral in that Northwestern University does not use gender when referring to offenders, but rather generally states that sexual harassment, as a whole, is unacceptable. In this way, both policies include state law to their own regulations to make sure that they not only follow the greater law but also add supplementary regulations that pertain specifically to college campuses. Moreover, both colleges are sure to use gender neutral words that do not imply any specific group of individuals; by doing this, the policies remain ambiguous enough to pertain to either gender but specific enough to get their points across.
In a similar way, the University of Maryland cites specific laws and amendments to emphasize their own policy in addition to their policy's gender neutrality. First, the University of Maryland states that "sexual harassment is an illegal form of sex discrimination. It is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the federal law prohibiting employment discrimination" ("Sexual"). The University of Maryland therefore incorporates federal law into their sexual harassment policy; by adding the Civil Rights Act to their guidelines, they not only make it so that sexual harassment is a misdemeanor but also so that it is a possible form of discrimination.
