conference policy

I have decided to draft some policy which pertains to academic conferences.

1) Conference-goers who have engaged in legal action against any member or former member of a department should not attend functions at the institution where the person is a department member unless 2 years have passed after the last legal action. 2 years is the standard amount of time given for consent to be meaningful for former clients to be involved in fair personal relationships with former fiduciaries after terminating, thus, such a clause would cover all department members, unless one wanted to distinguish between department members who had different power relationships over one another, ie, professors of equal rank and professors and graduate students. Why "former members"? Because ties still conceivably exist between the former member and colleagues/friends/people who had a vested interest in that member, and any involvement could still be construed as disruption of these relationships, cause of conflict of interest, and disruption of professional progress.

2) The same as #1 goes for attending conferences at an institution if one has initated romantic overtures towards a department or former department member or had any sort of romantic connection, dated from the last correspondence, depending upon rank and also depending upon how much power one person may be described as having over another, in terms of rank. Unless one person is of equal rank with another, the person who is not a current department member should not attend at all.

3) Where a department is involved as a whole, no department members should at any time be required to conduct activities which do not pertain to teaching and learning, for example, serving coffee to others who outrank them. It is not within the scope of their professional duties to do so, even as a "favor" or "entertainment chore."

4) There should be at least two options of panels to attend, should any interpersonal conflicts exist in which any department member is for any reason barred attendance.

5) Meetings of committees should not overlap with conference panels. Thus, all committee members are free to give all panels equal attention as merited.

6) If personal problems or circumstances seem to demand that an individual breach the confidentiality of any individual at the conference who is outranked by him or her, to still others who outrank the latter individual, the former individual should not attend the conference. Even if breaches of confidentiality may seem to serve the "best interests" of the outranked individual, other means should be pursued to resolve whatever needs to be addressed.

7) Questions of rank don't pertain to co-enjoyment the opera or "being at the opera in spirit."