Tag Archives: safer spaces

Introducing Introvert Corner!

May 16, 2019 commsadmin Leave a comment

This WisCon 43 will be the convention’s first year offering Introvert Corner, a “pop-up” space for shy folks to meet and make friends during convention downtime. In past years, attendees have provided feedback requesting such a space, and this year, we’re making it happen.

Mealtimes and evening parties can be socially daunting whether you’re new to the con, attending alone, or otherwise shy. The lobby during mealtimes can be overwhelming, over-stimulating, and chaotically confusing. The Introvert Corner seeks to provide some relief for wallflowers, fluttershys, and anxious androids, while creating opportunities to meet new people who could become convention friends.

The Introvert Corner is a kind of “pop-up,” temporary space that will be utilizing the Spontaneous Programming room when it’s not in use for programming. This is located at University D on the far end of the 2nd floor hallway, to the left when facing the Registration table. This Corner is tucked away from crowds, but is still not far from the action. Look for signage at the convention.

We envision Introvert Corner both as a meet-up spot and a hang-out spot. It provides a meet-up spot from which to venture out with new acquaintances during meals or parties. It can also be hang-out spot with other introverts, whether you’re chatting, or simply sharing space in a semi-social and absolutely acceptable fashion. If Spontaneous Programming is happening inside the room during downtime hours, look for fellow wallflowers metaphorically shuffling our feet just outside the doors. The space will be completely self-directed, so some bravery will be required for breaking the ice and taking lead in decisions on where to eat together, what party to attend together, etc., should you decide it. You’re also welcome to bring quiet, fidgety, semi-social activities, like coloring books, knitting projects, or similar, to simply “be” in the space with other folks around. We welcome people who use this space to talk with each other, get to know one another, and hopefully make some friends, but, of course, socializing is optional.

The Introvert Corner is a work-in-progress, and if you have ideas or want to help take lead on this new “pop-up” space, please reach out to access@wiscon.net.

Official Announcements, WisCon 43

Updates from WisCon’s Access Team

May 14, 2019 commsadmin Leave a comment

Greetings from Accessland, a magical realm where volunteers work behind the scenes to make WisCon accessible for as many humanoids as possible. We’d like to take a moment to remind our attendees of WisCon’s Access-related policies and opportunities, so we can all make the most of a wonderful weekend. Some of this may be old news to long-time con-goers, but I promise there’s at least one new thing below! We invite you to read more at http://wiscon.net/policies/accessibility/. In no particular order:

(1) Blue Tape at WisCon

WisCon uses blue painter’s tape to mark areas of the convention space for various users, including squares on the floors of panel rooms for wheelchair parking, slashes on chairs near the fronts of panel rooms for those who who need to be close to hear or see, and 6th-floor aisle markings to keep travel lanes clear. It takes volunteer power to mark and upkeep these markings throughout the convention. If you’d like to help as a Blue Tape volunteer, please sign up by filling out our online form, or emailing access@wiscon.net.

(2) Thursday Night Shuttle

WisCon’s first scheduled event each year is an off-site reception and reading at Room of One’s Own Bookstore on Thursday night. The bookstore is about 4 blocks from the hotel. We offer a free shuttle between the Concourse Hotel and Room of One’s Own that can accommodate up to one passenger using a wheelchair or scooter and three passengers on foot. This accessible van from Union Cab will be stationed at the Concourse from 4:30pm to 6:30pm on Wisconsin Avenue, and from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at Room of One’s Own, making multiple trips as needed between the two locations. Look for more details in a future blog post by that Thursday morning.

(3) Minimizing Strong Scents

WisCon asks con-goers to please consider those with allergies or chemical sensitivities by minimizing strong scents at the con, be it perfumes, incense, cigarette smoke, or similar. Unfortunately, the convention space is not a fragrance-free zone, but WisCon takes steps to minimize strong scents, including providing scent-free soaps in the restrooms. Keep these practices in mind when donating clothing to the Gathering’s clothing swap—washing donations with scent-free detergents before the convention will make the swap more awesome for everyone!

(4) The Quiet Room & Safer Spaces

WisCon can be overwhelming at times, so we offer a Quiet Room on the 2nd floor where attendees can get some peaceful respite. We also offer three Safer Spaces rooms for people of color, people with disabilities, and people who are trans, non-binary, and/or genderqueer. Other relaxing escapes are available, like sitting in on a reading or taking a stroll through nearby parks.

(5) Feeding Yourself at WisCon

Don’t let the hanger consume you; consume some of WisCon’s goodies instead! We try to accommodate as many eaters as possible, whether vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or just on a tight budget, we have plenty of options for you. The Friday Bake Sale, Sunday Dessert Salon, and free snacks and meals at the Consuite will have major allergens marked, but are not entirely nut-free if you have severe allergies.

(6) Mindfulness of Sight & Sound

WisCon works hard so that everyone can read and listen how they read and listen best. We offer CART captioning at the Guests of Honor speeches and at select panels, as well as limited ASL interpreting. We also provide large-print or Braille versions of our Pocket Program Book, with advanced notice, as well as Braille-marked games at our Gaming tables. Larger panel rooms are equipped with microphones, and we remind our panelists not to cover their mouths when speaking, for the benefit of audience members who lip-read. Descriptions of the visual components of panels will benefit audience members who are blind or low-vision.

(7) Elevators & Stairs

WisCon wants to make it as easy to get around the convention space as possible. Because events take place on multiple floors, many attendees use the hotel’s elevators to move around. If you can take the stairs, please do, to alleviate traffic to the elevators for those who need them.

(8) Introducing Introvert Corner!

This WisCon 43 will be the convention’s first year offering Introvert Corner, a “pop-up” space for shy folks to meet and make friends during convention downtime! In past years, attendees have craved such a space, and we’re making it happen. Mealtimes and evening parties can be socially daunting whether you’re new to the con, attending alone, or otherwise shy. The Introvert Corner will be located on the 2nd floor at the Spontaneous Programming room in University D, tucked away from crowds but still not far from the action. We envision Introvert Corner both as a meet-up spot to venture out with new friends during meals or parties, and as a hang-out spot with other introverts, whether you’re talking or simply sharing space in a semi-social and absolutely acceptable fashion. If Spontaneous Programming is happening inside the room, look for fellow wallflowers metaphorically shuffling our feet just outside the doors.

The Introvert Corner is a work-in-progress, and if you have ideas or want to help take lead on this new “pop-up” space, please reach out to access@wiscon.net.

Questions? Concerns? Forget to request an accommodation, or want to make a suggestion? Email us at access@wiscon.net. We look forward to creating a stellar experience with you at WisCon 43!

Official Announcements, WisCon 42

Wiscon Safer Spaces Update

April 11, 2018 commsadmin Leave a comment

As WisCon 42 draws closer, the Concom chairs and Anti-Abuse Team (AAT) would like to reaffirm WisCon’s stance on safer spaces. In short, WisCon supports its safer spaces and our members who use them and will not tolerate any attempt to compromise those spaces.

Why safer spaces?

A truly “safe” space is neither possible, nor is it desirable: even among marginalized people, there is a risk for harm, and what makes one person feel safe may make another person feel unsafe. A safer space acknowledges that the space is by its nature imperfect and constructed while still allowing it to exist as a welcoming place.

The intent of a safer space, then, is not to censor or restrict, but instead to offer marginalized people a supportive place to express themselves among others who share similar experiences. Marginalized people often face outside pressure to conform to a certain persona or expectation from a dominant group—to hold their tongues, to shrink, to take up less space. The day-to-day toll of being marginalized wears people down, and incidents that replicate oppressive power structures can arise even in a more self-aware space like WisCon. Thus, safer spaces offer a place for marginalized people to decompress and socialize away from the gaze of those with power and privilege over them. These safer spaces include rooms designated by WisCon to be safer spaces, such as the Trans/Nonbinary/Genderqueer Safer Space, as well as unofficial, WisCon-adjacent events, such as the POC Dinner.

Safer spaces and WisCon’s feminist/social justice legacy

Any space that purports to be feminist and social justice-oriented must acknowledge the multifaceted nature of people’s experiences and identities: that people of color, trans/nonbinary/genderqueer people, and disabled people, among others, deal with different forms of structural oppression than white, cis, and abled people. Creating a more just society requires that we work to dismantle these forms of oppression. Safer spaces are one way for WisCon to uphold that legacy of working toward equality and accessibility for all people.

Repercussions for attempts to compromise WisCon’s safer spaces

WisCon’s Code of Conduct provides an outline of WisCon’s definition of harassment and the process for reporting an incident. The Safety team enforces the Code of Conduct strictly with regards to safer spaces: any harassment toward people who use or are in these safer spaces, as well as general attempts to compromise these spaces, will be dealt with swiftly and appropriately. These safer spaces are not an incidental part of WisCon but a core piece of its philosophy and practices that will be upheld to the fullest extent possible.

Please be aware that questions about the need for or effectiveness of safer spaces during WisCon should be directed to the Chairs, and not to users of those spaces, or any other WisCon member. WisCon’s membership are not asked or assumed to defend ConCom or SF3 practices on demand. Attempting to argue the merits of safer spaces with a member of a marginalized group will be considered harassing behavior.

Many WisCon attendees who travel from elsewhere in the world, as well as elsewhere in the US, are coming to the midwest, to Madison—a place that they know may be unfriendly or even physically dangerous for them—in order to experience a convention that they believe is worth it. In return, WisCon will do what it can, as individuals and as a community, to make this place, for this weekend, as friendly and safe as possible. That includes giving folks a place where they can relax, catch their breath, and draw strength from each other. A place that they don’t need to defend, as WisCon will do so for them.

Signed,

The WisCon Chairs and Anti-Abuse Team