The Brain Hack School is dedicated to providing an environment where people are kind and respectful to each other. This could really be the end of that code of conduct, but some forms of harassment and negative behavior are fairly hard to identify at first. Please read carefully through the rest of the document to make sure you avoid them. There is also a section to know what to do and expect if you experience behavior that deviates from this code of conduct.
Participants at the Brain Hack School come from many cultures and backgrounds. We therefore expect participants to be very respectful of different cultural practices, attitudes, and beliefs. This includes being aware of preferred titles and pronouns, as well as using a respectful tone of voice.
While we do not assume participants to know the cultural practices of every ethnic and cultural group, we expect them to recognize and respect differences within our community. This means being open to learning from and educating others, as well as educating yourself.
Harassment includes, but is not limited to:
- Verbal comments that reinforce social structures of domination related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, diet (vegetarian, lactose-free, vegan, etc), disability, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion.
- Sexual images in public spaces
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following
- Harassing photography or recording
- Sustained disruption of work
- Inappropriate physical contact
- Unwelcome sexual attention
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behaviour
Incidents can take the form of “microaggressions,” which is a damaging form of harassment. Microaggressions are the everyday slights or insults which communicate negative messages to target individuals, often based upon their marginalized group membership. The following examples can all be labeled micro-aggressions:
- commenting on a woman’s appearance rather than her work;
- only directing questions at male colleagues when there are female experts in the room;
- telling someone of colour that they “speak such good English”;
- forcefully praising meat to an individual with a vegetarian diet;
- praising alcoholic drinks to an individual who do not consume them.
- Exclusion from a group can be a common nonverbal form of microaggression.
- Microaggressions can be couched in the form of a “compliment,” (e.g. “you’re too attractive to be a scientist”).
Over time, microagressions can take a great toll on mental and emotional health, and the target’s feeling of belonging in science and academia.
Members should seek to pro-actively eliminate behaviors that deviate from our code of conduct. If a participant (or instructor) engages in harassing behaviour, the direction of the Brainhack School will take any actions necessary to keep the school a welcoming environment for all. This includes warning the offender, and potentially expulsion from the school. We expect participants to follow these rules during the school hours, school-related communication channels at all time, and school-related social activities. Participants or instructors asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. We think people should follow these rules outside of BrainHack School too!
If someone makes you or anyone else feel unsafe or unwelcome, please report it as soon as possible in person, or in writing to Pierre Bellec pierre.bellec@criugm.qc.ca, Claude Godbout claude.godbout@criugm.qc.ca or any other of the school instructor. The organizers will follow up with you to understand the problem, and take the necessary actions to resolve it without your direct involvement. Harassment and other code of conduct violations considerably reduce the value of the research environment for everyone, and are taken very seriously. We strive to make the BrainHack School rich and joyful for everyone, at all time.