[Sca-cooks] Peers, Pressuring the BoD

[Harris Mark.S-rsve60]

Kiri said:
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I was told much of what you were told.  When I
wrote back, asking that they reconsider, I signed the letter with my full
alphabet soup...I was a peer at the time.  Wonder of wonders...they fell all
over themselves to get me the spot I wanted!  I was really upset then.
Something like this shouldn't depend on your rank in the Society.
---------

Yes, but it does all the time. I've seem innumerable examples of
it and gotten disliked when I complained about it. The most
memorable being when the baron thought the twenty or so folks
waiting for site cleanup to being were told that since the King
wanted to hold a Circle, nothing was to be done about taking down
any of the tents or other stuff no matter if they were close
to the Circle or not until the King was through. Why? Because the
King was the King. No matter that these twenty were just supposed
to sit around and twiddle their fingers for the two or three hours
left in the Circle. Oh yes, when the Circle finally ended and
we had closing Court, we had about half a dozen folks left to
shut things down. The baron was uh, "less than happy" that I
had spoke up with my complaints. Unfortunately, he also happens
to be a Pelican with a fair amount of political pull. I now
think I probably should have kept my mouth shut and simply
left the site. But I had signed up to help clean things up.

I can see both sides to the issue of giving preferential
treatment to Peers. On the plus side, I've often thought
that such power could be useful in getting things done at times.

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What do the rest of you think?  Can we?  Can we, as a rather large group
from all over the SCA, start a campaign to force the BoD to make
handicapped-accessible sites a requirement for events?
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And here I have to object. What would you expect the BoD to do?

If they simply try to lay down the law and say all SCA events
must be at accessible sites, just how is that likely to go
over? I think it would just stir up a bunch of anti-BoD
feeling about the BoD trying to force things down the throats
of the kingdoms, again. How the BoD is not the voice of the
People, etc, etc.

Among other things, the question is accessible to who? How
severe a disability? In some areas accessible sites may be
easy to come by. In others, very difficult. Is an accessible
site one where every square foot is accessible? Or just the
main event area? Or just some of the site? Pennsic and the
Gulf Wars site don't meet some of those requirements. Are
you going to require that the only porta-johns used at
camping sites be the larger disability accessible ones?
If not, how do you determine how many is enough and make
it as an enforceable rule?

Kiri, you are in nomination for a position on the BoD.
What would you expect them to do? With luck you may get
that chance.

Don't get me wrong. I think the SCA and those organising
SCA events should make every effort to choose and or/make
sites accessible. But I would much prefer a series of
grass-roots movements to do this, rather than just throwing
it on the BoD to do. That doesn't mean the BoD can't put
their reputation behind encouraging the Kingdoms and local
groups to do this.

If my experience with the web side of things is any indication,
the BoD IS already doing some of this. There is a Corporate
mandate that official SCA sites meet various disabilities
access levels.

Unfortunately my own site, the Florilegium, is well behind
where it should be in converting to a more accessible site.
Of course if someone would like to help me with this effort,
I'm always looking for helpers for the Florilegium.

The other thing I have offered to do is put on the Florilegium
any articles on choosing or making sites more accessible. I
have explicitly made this requirement to Gorgeous Muiredach
in the past and it still stands. Admantius mentioned that
there was an East Kingdom Officer in charge of Accessiblity,
and I hope other disability issues. If that officer would
like to write an article about what his office covers, what
he has managed to accomplish and what didn't work or an
article on what other similar offices could do, I'd certainly
consider that for the DISABILITIES section in the Florilegium.

I do have a little information on the silent heraldry that
someone mentioned:
SCA-SL-art        (14K)  9/ 8/94    SCA specific sign language.
sign-lang-msg     (18K)  7/31/01    Sign language in the SCA and in period.

I can also understand Gorgeous' being upset. A similar situation
having to do with my eyesight and combat archery currently has
me reconsidering how active I wish to be in the SCA. It often
does seem to be easier to say this is just one person with a
disability. Just tell him he can't do that activity. And then
when the same issue comes up involving non-handicaped folks
to ignore the previous decision.

THLord Stefan li Rous
Ansteorra
stefan at texas.net