I would like the Board of Directors to have an open meeting to address questions from members pertaining to the recent expulsion of 2 members. Both were candidates in the recent BoD election. One was elected to the VP position.
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I am a witness to the verbal prejudices of the two members who were expelled. I witnessed them both speak unkindly about other members. But I want to clarify; Ben told me about the Reddit discussion, and Ben said to me, “I wouldn’t tell anyone to quit MakeICT, I won’t tell anyone what they should do”. Ben had a good relationship with at least one person of color in the wood shop, I witnessed that. The verbal prejudices I heard expressed were not racist. They may have spoken otherwise when I wasn’t present, but I didn’t witness any racism, on the contrary. The prejudice I heard expressed by the VP elect was for a board member of the same race and gender as she. And Ben openly expressed his dissatisfactions about the president and the board in general. That’s why, I believe, he ran for the office of president in the election.
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We have an open informal discussion with the members every month in Breakfast with the board.
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It is true that is why Ben ran for president as thats what he told me. I understand there was a difference between the vp elect and others of rank there.
however, i am curious as to what exactly was said by both as i believe it would be a good idea to know so as for other members to know, for the sake of transparency.
As explained elsewhere repeatedly, the people reporting infractions cannot and will not be required to open themselves up to retribution and further harassment.
And, if there were a disclosure of specifics by any other party the persons doing the reporting would likely be accused of hearsay or of having an agenda.
It’s entirely similar to what happens in the larger world when there’s a whistle blower in government or in corporate settings. There are protections in place that rarely actually protect accusers pointing out wrong doing.
We have to maintain the confidentiality of people reporting discrimination and harassment or there’s no reasonable expectation that wrong doing will be reported.
Maybe the people who are calling for more transparency don’t believe that the risks outweigh full disclosure. I get that. Experience shows otherwise.
The problem isn’t victim blaming, it’s that intentionally or not, too much transparency sabotages the entire system of trust that if we can’t agree to, then we might as well give up on anything being reported and we’re back at square one.
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which is not what im asking.
what were the things said?
if you are hesitant, i get it. ive already drawn my own conclusions based off of other threads, here and elsewhere.
If quoting what was said could ever, in some situations, identify the person reporting, then quoting what was said cannot be done even when it seems unlikely to be identifying.
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If you have already drawn conclusions what would be gained by the information you are asking for?
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When someone is running for the board of a non-profit organization, it’s absolutely acceptable to research that person’s suitability including looking at their public online profiles. It’s standard practice.
I find it interesting that this would even be a complaint. I had a conversation with this VP elect on May 26th, before giving a tour to a potential new member, where she was shocked I hadn’t looked through this person’s social media accounts to prepare for the tour. I told her that sounded like stalking, but she insisted she did it all the time. She then went through this person’s Facebook profile, learned where she lived, who she knew, and where she bought coffee, and used that information to manipulate the conversation she had with this person during the tour.
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If you have ever worked in a place where criticizing the boss in private might get you fired, you don’t go to a open meeting and accuse the boss. You go to the company ombudsman. Or you keep your head down and your mouth shut, or you leave. Those are the choices.
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you wont ever get the answers, jay. we’re at this point in the game now
Everyone at MakeICT is a volunteer. There are no employees . I have cleaned more toilets as a board member of MakICT than I did on any job. Being a board member isn’t at all like being a boss. We can’t tell anyone to do anything. Our job is more like that of a secretary. We herd the cats, pay the bills, make sure we have a roof over our heads, make sure the taxes are paid, answer questions about the organization by outside entities and on the second Saturday of the month we get donuts so everyone can have a bit of social time.
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On Sun, Jul 16, 2023 at 6:57 AM RobertDuTeau via MakeICT Forum <noreply@talk.makeict.org> wrote:
| Robert MakeICT Member
July 16 |
- | - |
If you have ever worked in a place where criticizing the boss in private might get you fired, you don’t go to a open meeting and accuse the boss. You go to the company ombudsman. Or you keep your head down and your mouth shut, or you leave. Those are the choices.
Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond.
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When the questions are things like “why is a non-board member looking up publicly available information”, I’m not sure why that’s an issue with the board. It’s an awful big stretch.
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The board expelled a popular lead a few days after she was elected to the board.
So it seems that some volunteers are more equal than others.
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Popularity is irrelevant. You still have to follow the rules. You sign up to follow the rules when you join the organization. We take you through an orientation so you understand the rules and where they are found. The board is 8 volunteers from the makerspace. No single person controls the board… it is as much herding cats there as it is anywhere else in the makerspace. We would rather be making things than having to deal with people who break the rules.
We want to spend our time trying to raise money so we have a roof over our heads. We want to get grants so we can buy new cool tools. We want to use our time to find ways for us to get air conditioning for all our rooms. We want to take care of the potholes in the parking lot.
We need to get back to our mission - to innovate, learn, and build community at the intersection of art, technology, science, and culture.
Now I am going back to finish the $5000 ARPA grant report for the makerspace which is where I need to be spending my volunteer time.
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On Sun, Jul 16, 2023 at 8:04 AM RobertDuTeau via MakeICT Forum <noreply@talk.makeict.org> wrote:
July 16 |
- | - |
The board expelled a popular lead a few days after she was elected to the board.
So it seems that some volunteers are more equal than others.
Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond.
To unsubscribe from these emails, click here.
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I’m confused. Is this thread asking for transparency or asking for board members to resign because their responses don’t reach an impossible, always moving bar?
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This thread is about transparency.
The two leads who ran in the election - were they expelled for what they said, or what they did? If it was what they did, then without identifying to whom, what did they do? If you don’t want rumors about personal conflicts, then what did they do?
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it was explained in a long winded reply earlier that what was said wont be revealed, even in a redacted form, because it would make those who filed complaints too easily identified. the rank and file members will probably never know who said what and what was said. the best course of action is to show up, make, leave. getting overly involved or trying to stand out is putting a target on yourself. im learning this the difficult way.
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Given how @Malissa has been harassed here and Reddit and possibly other places after standing up for herself, I don’t blame anyone else for not stepping forward.
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Her actions towards me were discussed in an hour long meeting back in April, she was physically present. My report to the CoC was filed before the election. I had a different point of view than others and shared that point of view on the forum. After sharing my point of view, I was called a tyrant and a bully on our forum and she called for my removal. I saw that and reported it and I believe there were others I didn’t see. I’ve been stalked on multiple online platforms. Accused of filing false sexual harassment cases and people have been told to be weary of my business. I don’t have time for this crap. I have a family, a day job, my own business, in a Cornell certification program,and multiple nonprofit organizations that I volunteer for. My anxiety has inpeaded my ability to get things done and has caused a flare up of a chronic condition. I had to check and report Code of Conduct infractions on multiple online platforms because I have been stalked online and doxxed for being public about what happened to me. I can’t imagine what would happen to anyone else if they spoke up about what happened to them.
Indefinitely is not for life
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