Code of Conduct

§1 Conference Environment
The Program in Indo-European Studies and the organizing committee of the 36th Annual UCLA Indo-European conference adopt the recommendations for conference codes of conduct developed by the Women’s PIE Collective. Therefore, we commit to create and maintain a welcoming, safe, and productive environment throughout the duration of the conference.

  1. Inclusive. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, disability, physical appearance, or socio-economic background.
  2. Safe. We do not tolerate any form of harassment.
  3. Productive. We do not tolerate any form of unprofessionalism.

All participants, including but not limited to attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, staff, service providers, and others present at the meeting, are protected and should abide by the Code of Conduct.

§2 Expected Behavior

  1. All participants should be aware of the conference Code of Conduct.
  2. All interactions should be:
    1. respectful and considerate of the identity and background of all the participants, and of the ideas and points of view of all the participants
    2. polite and courteous when expressing dissent, giving feedback, and formulating critiques
  3. All participants should be mindful of others when taking photos or recording presentations. Obtain consent before capturing or sharing any image or video.

§3 Unacceptable Behavior

  1. Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form will not be tolerated.
  2. Physical or verbal abuse of any participants or others present at the meeting venue will not be tolerated.

Examples of unacceptable behavior include but are not limited to:

  1. pejorative verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, disability, physical appearance, or socio-economic background
  2. sexual harassment of any kind
  3. physical threats or stalking
  4. unwarranted disruption of talks, presentations, meetings, or exhibitions
  5. expressing dissent by making personal attacks or insults, yelling, or using abusive language
  6. giving unconstructive feedback with judgmental or sarcastic comments
  7. formulating critiques against the speaker, not against the idea, with dismissive or condescending language

§4 Bystanders
All participants should share the effort towards a welcoming, safe, and professional environment. Therefore, anyone who witnesses or is later informed of instances of unacceptable behavior should be able to recognize it as such and consider safe, responsible, and effective ways to respond.
Examples of appropriate ways to respond include but are not limited to:

  1. creating a distraction or interjecting yourself into the conversation
  2. checking in with the individual and offer them support
  3. offering to act as witness during their report
  4. offering to report on their behalf to ensure their anonymity
  5. accepting their choice not to report and encouraging them to seek appropriate support

§5 Reporting
We encourage any person experiencing or witnessing harassment or inappropriate behavior during the conference to report it to our designated officer, Elisa Migliaretti. This person will initiate the evaluation of appropriate consequences in consultation with the organizing committee and the reporter (maintaining their anonymity if requested).

§6 Consequences
Consequences of a violation of the Code of Conduct depend on the specific situation and may involve several steps. These range from a request to immediately stop the form of harassment and unacceptable behavior to the removal from the conference venue. In case of a fundamental refusal to cooperate and continuation of the behavior, exclusion from future conferences may be considered.