Student Engagement & Leadership Youth Protection Policy

The Office of Student Engagement and Leadership and Amherst College are deeply committed to providing a safe environment for everyone at the College. Each year, the College invites hundreds of minors to campus to participate in our camps, programs, research, and other activities. Some of our students and staff also work with minors in College-sponsored activities off-campus.

To ensure that our commitment to the care and safety of the minors who join us through these programs is as strong as possible, the College recently approved a new Youth Protection Policy.

This policy provides important mechanisms and processes to support the protection of minors, including enhancing the screening of and training for our community members who work with minors; providing reporting protocols for behavior that is suspected to violate the policy; and creating specific standards by which Amherst staff will need to register all programs involving minors. Critically, and consistent with our commitment to the protection of minors, the policy sets formal expectations for community members, including requiring reporting of suspected abuse.

If your organization could potentially include potential interactions with minors, please work with the Office of Student Activities to appropriately navigate the processes and protocols outlined within the policy. Much of this will be captured during your organizations' re-registration or new organization proposal process but if you ever have questions about how your organization's activities might intersect with these protocols, please reach out to Student Engagement and Leadership (sel@amherst.edu).

Please read the policy and view this introductory video created by Five College Risk Management. Our office is here to help student leaders appropriately follow these guidelines so please never hesitate to reach out.