Member Code of Conduct

Southern Graphics Council International established this Code of Conduct to provide guidelines for its membership. All SGCI members, including board members, are subject to this code of conduct upon registering for membership.

This Code of Conduct is reinforced by Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policies in our Handbook. SGCI believes strongly that its members must uphold the highest standards of ethical, professional behavior, and to

• hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of professional duties
• act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance personal and professional honor, integrity, and dignity of the profession of printmaking
• treat with respect and consideration all persons, regardless of race, religion, gender, abilities, age, or national origin
• engage in carrying out SGCI’s mission in a professional manner
• collaborate with and support other professionals in carrying out SGCI’s mission
• build professional reputations on the merit of services and refrain from competing unfairly with others

While no list is all-inclusive, this list is intended as a guideline for prohibited behavior of SGCI members:

• Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning speech.
• Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person.
• Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
• Microaggressions as defined by apa.org: The brief statements or behaviors that, intentionally or not, communicate a negative message about a non-dominant group.
• Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.
• A note about Microaggressions from the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network

Microaggressions are defined as “commonplace verbal, behavioral or environmental indignities, whether unintentional or intentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults to people from marginalized groups.” (Sue, Derald Wing et al.) Microaggressions can be intentional or unintentional, hateful or not-hateful, but they are always discriminatory. However, whether or not a micro-aggression was intentional may affect how you respond to the person, but it in no way mitigates the harm in the action itself.

Common Themes of Microaggressions

• • Assuming normality of a dominant culture/ identity 
  • Assuming inferiority / pathology of a marginalized culture/ identity
  • Myth of meritocracy
  • Culture/Color blindness
  • Ascription of intelligence 
  • Denying existing bias
  • Assuming citizenship status/ heritage

Why does addressing microaggressions matter?

While a few microaggressions may seem insignificant when taken in isolation, the steady chorus of them that people in marginalized groups experience everyday forms an unmistakable patchwork of othering and marginalization. 

Recognizing and Interrupting Microaggressions

SGCI encourages participants to recognize and interrupt microaggressions and problematic behavior and language when they see them occurring during the event.

Who is covered by this policy?

This policy applies to all SGCI members, SGCI employees, and others (such as speakers and vendors) in connection with SGCI operations, while attending or engaged in SGCI-hosted events or activities, or while at an SGCI venue.

Scope of the policy

1. Sexual and other harassment is offensive and violates this policy even if it does not violate the law. If you are covered by the policy and violate it, you will be subject to discipline, including possible disqualification from SGCI Honors and Awards, exclusion from committees and other activities, or expulsion from SGCI events.
2. Retaliation will not be tolerated. You may be disciplined if you are covered by this policy and you retaliate against anyone (for example, for reporting harassment, providing information, or otherwise assisting in an investigation under this policy, or in response to discipline imposed under this policy).
3. SGCI encourages SGCI members and others to report any conduct that violates this policy so that the issue can be corrected promptly.
4. SGCI also reserves the right to bar or remove any person from any SGCI-hosted event or activity at any time in its sole discretion. This includes anyone behaving in a disorderly or offensive manner (whether in person, or by digital or other means), or otherwise failing to comply with this policy.

Reporting a violation

SGCI encourages any affected party regardless of membership status to report all incidents of harassment, bullying or retaliation, no matter who the offender is. If you are being harassed, we encourage you to firmly and promptly tell the offender that the behavior is unwelcome. We also recognize that power and status differences between you and the offender may make a confrontation uncomfortable. Such direct communication is therefore not required before filing a complaint.

You may make a report under this policy, either orally or in writing, to thelisteningchannel@sgcinternational.org. A written complaint form is attached to this policy. If you are reporting harassment on behalf of someone else, you should use the complaint form and note that it is on another person’s behalf. All reports are confidential. 

Investigation process

SGCI’s Board has the duty to investigate and respond to any complaint submitted under this policy, and to take such further action as may be appropriate. To the extent possible, SGCI will protect the confidentiality of all those involved – including both those who raise complaints, and those who are the subjects of the complaints.

Disciplinary and other action

Where someone has been found to have violated this policy, the Board may authorize appropriate disciplinary action. Among other things, the Board (or its designee) may direct that:

•  The violation be reported to the pertinent decision-makers if the violator is under consideration for any other honor or award;
•  The violation be reported to the voting delegates or other deciding persons if the violator becomes a candidate for the Board of Directors, or any other position of responsibility;
• The violator be barred from appointment to committees, task forces, or other positions of responsibility within or on behalf of the Institute;
•  The violator be barred from appearing as a speaker at any Institute event;
• The violator shall not be the author or subject of a book or any other material published by SGCI, either in print, online, or in any other medium; or
• The violator is subject to such other action as the Board may find appropriate.
• Disciplinary action may be permanent or may be ordered for a specific period of time, and may be subject to adjustment by the Board at any time to reflect changed conditions or other special circumstances.

If a member violates this Code of Conduct, SGCI may take any action it deems appropriate, including suspension of membership with no refund for the next conference year. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the board of SGCI, or staff, or send a report to the Listening Channel immediately. All reports are confidential.

This code of conduct is adapted from YNPN, MRC, https://confcodeofconduct.com/, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/01/microaggressions, and the Nonprofit Policy Sampler (Board Source).
As well as the AIA Code of Conduct

Conference Code of Conduct

All conference participants (SGCI members, board members, staff, volunteers, and conference vendors) are subject to this code of conduct upon registering for the conference. 

We expect conference participants to follow these rules at conference and workshop venues and conference-related social events. Conference organizers will enforce this code throughout the event. SGCI is committed to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks, panels or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

While no list is all-inclusive, this list is intended as a guideline for prohibited behavior at SGCI conferences:

• Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning speech.
• Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person.
• Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language. 
• Microaggressions as defined by apa.org: The brief statements or behaviors that, intentionally or not, communicate a negative message about a non-dominant group.
• Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability. 

Conference participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, or otherwise violates this Code of Conduct or SGCI’s Anti-Harassment or Anti-Discrimination policies, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including expulsion from the conference with no refund and suspension of membership or business with SGCI.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the conference staff or a board member immediately. All reports are confidential.

This code of conduct is adapted from https://confcodeofconduct.com/, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/01/microaggressions, and the Nonprofit Policy Sampler (Board Source).