[Ansteorra] From the Pennsic Mayor, regarding childres and Pennsic University.

SoldierGrrrl soldier.grrrl at gmail.com
Mon Jul 12 13:14:18 PDT 2010


For those good folk going to Pennsic this year, perhaps with minor children:

Greetings to all from the Mayor of Pennsic 39!

Let me first say that the war is coming together very well and we are
looking forward to many great activities and wonderful memories.

I am writing to clear some air and to take direct charge of the minor
policies at the University. Please note as I continue this letter that
all relevant youth policies dealing with young children are still in
full effect.  (See Rule 11 of the Pennsic Site Rules) I do want to
review with everyone the current policy in the University dealing with
the teens (and twelves J ). Where do we stand today? As of the last
update, Minors (12-17) were allowed to attend Adult A&S Classes if
they were escorted by a responsible adult appointed by their parent or
legal guardian. Each escort was allowed to be responsible for more
than one child, but the escort did have to remain in the class while
the minor was there.

The question has come up many times demanding to know why this change
is being made. Well, there are many reasons a few of which I will
share here (mostly to try and keep this letter under the length of my
dissertation J).

On March 25, 2010, a post went out from the SCA Board of Directors as follows:
Announcement from the Board of Directors, SCA, Inc.
The directors and corporate staff have the unfortunate obligation to
inform the membership that the SCA, Inc. has been named in a civil
suit seeking damages as a result of sexual misconduct of an adult
toward minors.
Unfortunately, at the time the activities occurred, the individual was
a member and officer of the SCA. The SCA clearly did not sanction the
alleged misconduct, had no prior knowledge of the misconduct, and had
never received any complaints concerning the adult involved prior to
his arrest.

This suit originated in Pennsylvania, USA, and was filed in January of
2010. Complete information regarding this suit is not yet known, as it
is still in the preliminary stages.

The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. intends to take all
appropriate actions available to defend itself against the allegations
in these suits.  As we are able, we will continue to update our
membership.
Board of Directors
SCA, Inc
As any responsible autocrat of Pennsic might do, I went to my senior
staff and requested that they review all of their policies and
procedures to make sure that we were in complete compliance with ALL
youth policies. They did an amazing job to review ALL Pennsic policy,
rules, procedures and activities in two months in a herculean effort.
They could not have made me any more humble to know how hard they were
willing to work. At the May Staff Meeting held during Aethelmearc War
Practice (a GREAT event, FYI), we put our pieces on the table and
created solutions to any problems or grey areas found. The Division of
Cultural Affairs’ policies were found to be grossly out of compliance,
and the staff began working on a fix for them.

As we began to overhaul these youth procedures and policies, we began
to get feedback from a wide variety of sources: Society, teachers,
students, past staff. We discovered that we had grabbed the proverbial
tiger by the tail. We had much larger issues that we had thought at
first. Many issues began to be brought forth. Minors received
materials through teachers at the University that they legally were
not allowed to posses. Minors were attending classes that were not
appropriate for their age, and teachers were unsure of the mundane
laws dealing with their topics and Minors (brewing for an example).
Issues were raised about the uncomfortable situation of going up to a
minor and requesting their age (think man in 40’s and girl in teens…
creepy much?). Many, many discipline issues were raised dealing with
the behavior of some teens during classes in the past (I will not
innumerate these to protect the children from embarrassment). With all
of these issues raised and many discussions held, the staff created
the only policy they felt they could legitimately execute with the
resources they had. There were many potential policies put forth, but
time and time again the staff ran into the wall of resources,
background checks, and volunteers.

The great thing about SCA people is that when there is a dire need to
help children, people are eager to step forward. We are not a Society
of Complainers, but a Society of Doers. Since our most recent postings
we have had many wonderful people step forward and offer their time to
help. These people (many of whom have SCA background checks) are
willing to give up parts of their vacations to help try to give our
University more resources. So with these new resources, we are able to
set a new policy and add a new service to facilitate our solutions.

New Pennsic University Teen Minor Policy (12-17): (Established 7/12/2010)
Minors are welcome to attend Pennsic University classes. Individual
teachers and classes may have restrictions due to topic, materials,
request of instructor and such. Unruly or disruptive youth will be
asked to leave the class as per Society Seneschal Handbook Policy.
Classes specifically geared for minors are handled through Youth Point
and will adhere to all relevant policies for youth activities. No
classes through the University and Youth Point specifically for minors
will be permitted in private camps or merchant booths. Further, any
minor who wishes to attend regular University class in a private
encampment or in a merchant booth must be escorted by a responsible
adult appointed by their parent or legal guardian.

New Pennsic University Service:
The Pennsic University Ambassadors are a group of volunteers organized
through A&S Point to aid teachers and students. They will roam through
the University areas prepared to help teachers if the “Two Deep
Leadership Model” is necessary, aid with basic classroom discipline if
required, and assist all members of the populous to find class times
and locations as desired. Our Ambassadors are there to help with quick
easy questions. For more in depth questions and normal University
business, please visit A&S Point in the middle of the University.

Again, please let me thank all of the staff and volunteers who are
making this new addition possible. If you would like to volunteer to
help with the ambassadors, please come past A&S Point and sign up!
Further, if you are SCA background checked and would like to lend a
hand we are in desperate need of you. Please come past A&S Point and
speak to us.

Please note that the Pennsic Book went to press almost a month ago and
the material dealing with this issue will be incorrect. We will make
available at Troll an insert updating this policy, but please know
that on this issue the original published text will be incorrect J.

Sincerely,
Master John von der Velde
Mayor, Pennsic 39


-- 
I've asked forgiveness from the Lord, now take my soul, and bring my sword.



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