Arizona Astrobiology Symposium

This symposium is open to all and participation is predicated on following our community agreements. Any misconduct or violation of these community agreements will result in removal from the symposium and may involve a report to your home institution. These community agreements apply to engagement in person, virtually, in Slack, and on social media.

The members of the organizing committee serve as the community care facilitators for this symposium. Symposium organizers will be wearing yellow ASU lanyards to help identify them. If you are targeted by or observe discrimination, please communicate the issue to either of them if you’re looking for support.

Community Agreements:

1. We are responsible for creating and promoting safe environments for learning. These environments honor privacy and confidentiality and are characterized by integrity, respect, equity, trustworthiness, and transparency.
2. We will treat others with courtesy, respect, and fairness.
3. We will foster an inclusive environment by challenging behavior or culture that is traditionally exclusive.
4. We will act with honesty and hold ourselves and our community accountable for our actions.
5. We will acknowledge the names and roles of those who have aided in our work and made contributions to activities, publications, and achievements.
6. We will refrain from personally critical comments directed at each other, and we will clearly distinguish professional comments from opinions.
7. We are dedicated to learning from each other, and we will listen to each other in curious, genuine ways that promote understanding and transformation.
8. We will ask open-ended questions in conversations of conflict instead of trying to assert an opinion or viewpoint, and we will not interrupt or speak over each other.
9. We will recognize our privilege or power within spaces and use that power to center marginalized voices.

Community Accountability:

1. We will be aware of our surroundings and social situations.
2. If a situation makes someone uncomfortable, or it looks like someone is being targeted, we will recognize that this is a problem and we will be part of a solution to help.
3. We will take action to diffuse the situation while staying safe (e.g., checking in with the targeted individual(s), recruiting help from friends, diffusing the situation by distracting those causing harm, telling symposium leadership what is happening).
4. If we are uncertain if there is a problem, we will check in with the targeted individual(s) to see if they are okay or need help.
5. If we feel comfortable and recognize that there is an issue, we will call out the inappropriate behavior.