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June 5, 2019—The SAA Council seeks member comment on proposed revisions to the SAA Code of Conduct and the Equal Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Policy. These statements establish SAA's commitment to providing a safe and inclusive environment in both physical and virtual spaces for all SAA members and participants.
The Council began review of the statements this winter, per the established three-year review cycle; the documents were last reviewed in 2016. The Council proposes revisions (primarily to the Code of Conduct) as noted to standardize and clarify the appropriate channels for reporting a violation of the Code of Conduct. Additional resources have been added to empower individuals to—when safe and appropriate—interrupt situations in which someone is being targeted for harassment.
Proposed Revisions to the Code of Conduct and Equal Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Policy (pdf) | Word
Current Versions (for reference)
Code of Conduct | Equal Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Policy
To comment on these proposed revisions: Follow the hyperlinks above to review the proposed revisions in pdf or Word format. Log in to post comments publicly on this webpage or send an email message containing your comments to saahq@archivists.org. The deadline for final comments on this revised draft is 5:00 pm CT on Friday, June 21, 2019.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| 0619_CodeofConduct_EqualOpportunity Statements_ForMemberComment.pdf | 211.7 KB |
| 0619_CodeofConduct_EqualOpportunity Statements_ForMemberComment.docx | 30 KB |
I think there are a couple places where accountability can be clearer for who will address the grievance. It seems like a lot of weight will fall onto the executive director, which could create a bottleneck. If I were about to file a grievance, I would want to know who (generally) has access to saahq@archivists.org, one of the proposed methods of reporting. I also worry about distributing the responsibility to take in the grievance based on space - i.e., contact the instructor/administrator/etc.: will these people be trained to deal with these responses or are they just triaging them to someone who is; and if triaging, who is that?
I would like to see a path of restorative justice in this policy, and right now the only path forward for reconciliation I see is punitive in nature.
I have a request for clarification regarding the following section:
In SAA Online Spaces: Contact the administrator or submit an anonymous Code of Conduct violation form online at [hyperlink forthcoming], contact the SAA Headquarters office at saahq@archivists.org, write to the SAA Executive Director privately, or call our 24-hour voicemail line at [number forthcoming].
First of all, can a list be provided of what constitutes "SAA Online Spaces"? I would assume this would mean official SAA Facebook/Twitter pages, but does it include all component section listservs and affiliated media?
Second, who is the administrator in this case? For example, if it's a section blog, would it be the chair of the section? If so, it would be good to make this clear so that section leaders are trained and informed on their responsibilities and obligations in this matter.