Proposed CoC/Membership Agreement Additions

hello i am proposing two additions to the CoC/agreement for the board to vote on. we’ve had a lot of discussion via Slack but this is the official announcement.

  • Hive13 is a smoke-free environment. Please smoke outside.
  • Physical violence/credible threats of violence towards members or guests is up for immediate expulsion.

the smoke-free environment should be a given but stating it explicitly helps keep things clear. On the physical violence/credible threats, this should also be given but our CoC/MA does not state it and we should be explicit in our expectations for behavior. both of these can be expanded/specified more in the future but getting them in our framework as it stands would be beneficial.

kthxbyeeee

The lawyer who advised us on the rewrite of bylaws, member agreement and code of conduct counseled; don’t duplicate existing laws, rely on them to keep your governance simple.
For this reason, I urge that we simply rely on Ohio Smoking Laws:

“Smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated tobacco product or plant product intended for inhalation in any manner or in any form. “Smoking” includes the use of an electronic smoking device and a vapor product. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3794.01

Smoking Prohibitions. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3794.02

Declaration of establishment as nonsmoking. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3794.05

Posting of signs; prohibition of ashtrays; responsibilities of proprietors. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3794.06

The whole of 2701SG is a Public Space and is also a Place of Employment. By Ohio Law, All of 2701SG is No Smoking. Hive13 may post signs compliant with ORC 3794.06 to further reinforce this requirement.

First let me agree, violence and threats are unacceptable behavior. Please correct me if I am wrong, this change is being suggested as the result of observing a physically violent parent child interaction by a potential member. Does this revision achieve the desired result? At the time this parent child interaction was observed, we agreed that if the parent followed through with an application, their membership would not be approved. Fortunately, this person did not follow through with an application.

What does this proposed statement bind Hive13 governance to do as it is worded? Does it comply with the existing suspension and termination policy? Does it literally bind Hive13 to terminate a member who physically resists assault?

Where does Hive13 already prohibit violence and threats?

o Ohio law: “No person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another.” https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-2903

o No insults, no belittling or personally criticizing; no name-calling or even a back-handed compliments. All forms of harassment, including sexual harassment, are unacceptable here. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, ethnic group, race, religion, political stance or other protected class status; sexual images in public spaces; deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following; harassing photography or recording; repeated interruption; repeated violation of an individual’s stated boundaries; inappropriate physical contact, unwanted intrusion into an individual’s personal items or computer systems; and unwelcome sexual attention of any form. Individuals asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.

Perhaps adding the word violence to the Zero Tolerance Harassment Policy would achieve the desired result.

Zero Tolerance Harassment Policy

Hive13 will not tolerate violence, harassment or bullying of people at our events or within our space or in our online communications in any form, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. All visitors and members are expected to be aware of federal safety and harassment free workplace guidelines,

If you wish to report violence, harassment or bullying anonymously or privately, you can fill out an incident form available online and at the front desk, or send a confidential message explaining the situation to Leadership@hive13.org.

If you cannot be civil, Hive13 Leadership will take appropriate action, including:

· A warning. Good people sometimes go wrong. When informed, they own it and apologize.

· Membership Suspension and Expulsion from Hive13.

· Membership Termination. Do something bad enough and we jump right to this step.

To report an incident of harassment that you experienced, please use the Incident Report form (save a copy of the form and return it to Leadership@hive13.org)