Monday's Travels.

[arontius]

.....I was watching the news on the Tele. this morning and listening to the radio, and to hear them one would think that there are monster snow drifts and cars scattered everywhere. I can't speak to other parts of the state, but here in Kitsap County things were rather disappointing. :-) There was a dusting of snow on the streets but nothing major, and a totally uneventful ride into work. Which is probably a good thing.

.....Last night, I put out a notice on the Baronial E-List concerning the upcoming Background Checks to be done in support of those who deal in Youth Related Activities in the SCA. I woke up this morning to some volunteers, a few good questions, and then an e-mail that really made me scratch my head and go 'Huh?' The SCA may be looking out for itself in implementing this plan, but you know, I don't think that it is wrong to interpret this as an attempt by Society to actually protect the Youth population from people who might prey on Youth. Maybe I'm going out on a limb by saying that, but I think that it is a pretty safe interpretation. Just sayin' I put that e-mail aside to re-read tonight when I get home. Maybe I just mis-interpreted it.

.....Then I get another e-mail that had nothing at all to do with the Youth Background check, it had to do with June Faire. You know, June Faire is going to happen. It may look a little different. Heck, it may look a lot different. But panicking over it isn't going to solve anything. Port Gamble is considering this as an event that IS going to happen. I am confident that they will work with us to make June Faire happen. I doubt very much that they are going to wait until May to tell us to go and find a new site. Maybe we ought to, like, give them a chance? Just a thought...

.....Sigh! O.K. I'm done whining now. Time to get to work.

.....Arontius / Aaron.

Comments

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

"It'll never work; they're all out to get us; gloom, dispair, etc., etc."---remember, Eyore is alive and well and playing in the SCA.

[fearga.livejournal.com]

Aren't you Seneschal now? Our lovely seneschal refers to this as dealing with "Seneshit" (pardon the language, but hey..if it fits...)

Ya whatever

[wlfraven.livejournal.com]

So I think same thing. Dusting of snow 1/2 to 3/4 inch. possibly inch as I get in my truck (not great in snow) thinking leave Brighid the 4 wheel drive I head off to work. it gets worse. and worse. and well 4 or 5 inches at my work. those coming from kingston and right at hood cannal bridge are saying 8+ inches.

So yes there is snow in Kitsap it is just north kitsap instead of south kitsap.

Cedric

[hrollaug.livejournal.com]

Ya if we has a 1/16 of an inch I would be surprised, but I knew it was worse elsewere as NK schools and Bainbridge schools are both closed (and E has to go into work early today, which means driving through North Kitsap and across Bainbridge)

[gwen-the-potter.livejournal.com]

After what happened at Chuck-e-Cheeses' in Tacoma here recently, I especially have no problem at all making sure that the children are well taken care of. It's probably something that should have happened a long time ago. We won't catch everyone, but maybe it will scare some pervert from even trying to get near the youth by taking an office.

[parlor-games.livejournal.com]

I agree completely. We need to at least have a veneer of caution, and it needs to be considered one tool in our arsenal. Just because a background check is run does NOT mean that we can sit back and stop monitoring the way adults behave around our kids.

Most importantly - to me, anyway - is that we need kids activities to be very public and have parents fully involved. Children should never be left alone with adult youth activity officers anyway! They are not babysitters. Even older children/teens benefit so much from the involvement of the significant adults in their lives...it really steams me when people just walk away from their kids assuming they will be supervised.

[copper-oxide.livejournal.com]

I would like to do a few Youth Activities this year, but I don't plan on doing many.
So I am trying to decide if I should do them at all because is it worth the cost for the SCA to pay for my background check if I just do a few activities?

Does anyone know the cost for the SCA? I have had to do background checks for schools, pre-schools, and special needs in both Idaho & Washington, but they don't transfer so it would have to be re-done.

I might add (in vain protest), I think background checks are unamerican, and, I might add again, doesn't catch a lot of the bad guys.

[parlor-games.livejournal.com]

Sigh....it is a slippery slope. I also think it is unAmerican, or just plain WRONG, to leave one's kids unattended with strangers at an SCA event. And it is wrong that we tolerate it when people do it.

My apprentice got bitched out by a pelican at an event while she was in charge of Pied Piper. She had a strict rule about all children being accompanied by a parent or adult guardian to participate in Pied Piper and he was being far too casual about it...then acted really put out when she was trying to enforce a rule that is set up to protect *his* child. This kind of thing makes me hopping mad, and illustrated how underprepared we are when - eventually - something truly awful happens to a kid at one of our events. We are growing so fast, and doing such a poor job of making sure people are educated about our standards and culture....

But I do hate the idea that we have to litigate this kind of crap.

[derekl1963.livejournal.com]

What does the event at Chuck-e-Cheeses' have to do with anything? Background checks wouldn't have prevented that. Background checks wouldn't have prevented the previous incidents here.

We've often had children (young teens) in the culinary tent under instruction (under supervision and with the parents permission) - are we now to cease that practice because we lack background checks?

And a note in your LJ made me think: I often supervise children as servers at feasts. Do I need a background check for that as well?

[gwen-the-potter.livejournal.com]

Chuckecheeses has everything to do with it. It drives home the FACT that the world is dangerous, that parents should supervise their children more.

I believe as I read the ruling, yes, you might not be able to have minors unsupervised by their parent in the culinary tent. Depends on whether that is a youth activity. But even so, I believe children should be supervised by their parents, even under the culinary tent. And serving at a feast. I especially don't like to see children running loose and unsupervised at events (even though I have been guilty of the same thing at times).

No, background checks won't solve everything, but like I said in my previous post, it *might* scare off some perverts. In today's world you can't be too cautious. Background checks will not take the place of concientious parents. But it is a step in the right direction.

[fugazi2112.livejournal.com]

This makes me wonder about my Games activities at June Faire as well. While typically parents are usually present, and I am *not* offering a babysitting service, invariably minors do wander over to the Games demo by themselves.

If it comes to it, I have no issues getting a background check.

However, I do recall that last year, while Angharad was Seneschal, this exact issue was discussed. I asked specifically at that Business Meeting if background checks were necessary for activities where minors might participate (e.g. Medieval Games), as opposed to youth-focused activities like Youth Combat or Pied Piper. The response from Angharad was that no, it's not required unless youth participation is the primary focus.

Am I to understand that, since then, SCA has changed the policy again? No need to answer here, I'm sure it'll be discussed in detail at the Business Meeting.

Yvon

[derekl1963.livejournal.com]

If background checks are a step in the right direction, what are we stepping towards? What's the goal?

Yes, you can be too cautious. As Yvon illustrates (and I was going to point out), any activity in the SCA short of stepping into the eric can potentially involve children. Heck, hasn't been the thrust over the past few years - to get the children involved in the SCA rather than ghettoized into the Pied Piper?

Information Protected?

[pernell-camber.livejournal.com]

When people get all squirrely about having a background check done my first reaction is to wonder what the heck they are hiding?

How do people get a job without a background check?

Perhaps people need reassurance that they can give their information directly to the company doing the check so they don't have to worry about identity theft from someone in the SCA.