Starfall Academy Code of Conduct

Overview

This Code of Conduct (CoC) identifies rights and responsibilities of all people participating in a Starfall Academy events (participants), rights and responsibilities of Quantum Dreams Entertainment, LLC (QDE), and requirements and responsibilities as established by Hampshire College in Amherst, MA (Venue). This CoC also documents prohibited conduct, disciplinary actions, and accountability for violations of this CoC.

HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE POLICIES

Various policies related to the event are set by the venue and overrule QDE policies:

Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside of the venues facilities. Smoking (including e-cigarettes, vaping, and any other smoke or vapor-producing products) will be permitted in Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs) only.
There shall be no alcohol served, sold, or consumed in any venue facility, without the prior written consent of the venue or as otherwise allowed herein. Such permission may be granted only if QDE obtains all required permits or other authorizations.
Alcoholic beverages may be served to persons of legal age for consumption of alcohol only in accordance with the Venue’s Alcohol Policy attached as Addendum C to the Agreement between Hampshire College and QDE.
Alcohol consumption by legal-aged adults in the residence halls is permitted as long as the quiet enjoyment of the facility by other occupants is not interrupted.
No alcohol consumption shall be permitted in public areas except in the case of events or gatherings consented to by the Venue.
No illegal drugs are allowed on Site. The Venue, Hampshire College, receives federal funding through Title IV in the form of student financial aid (grants, loans, and work-study programs) and through federal research grants. As a condition of accepting this money, Hampshire is required to certify that it complies with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA) (20 U.S.C. 1011i; 34 C.F.R. part 86). The federal government regulates drugs through the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which does not recognize the difference between medical and recreational use of marijuana. Thus, to comply with the Federal Drug Free School and Communities Act and avoid losing federal funding, Hampshire College prohibits all marijuana use, including medical marijuana. Therefore, marijuana prescribed for medical purposes is prohibited at Hampshire College even though there may be state laws that permit its use.
Each participant will receive a dormitory room key from QDE. These keys must be returned at sign-out.
Keys shall not be duplicated nor given to anyone else. Only original keys will be accepted for return.
Each participant is responsible for all keys and key cards issued to them. Participants must report any lost key to the Office of Event Services and Summer Programs immediately. There is a replacement fee of $60.00 for each individual lost room key and $100.00 for each lost entry key. If a master key is lost, a cost of $60 for each door the master key opened shall be assessed. There is a replacement fee of $15 for each key card.
Participants will be billed for lost keys.
Residential Accommodations. Residential accommodations consist of a bedroom in a traditional dormitory-style residence hall (95% single occupancy rooms) with communal baths, or apartment-style residence hall (90% single occupancy rooms) with shared bathrooms. The College does not provide maid service, vacuum cleaners, or air conditioning (with exception to Merrill Hall). Occupants shall not be permitted to place or install any window air-conditioning units in the lodging facilities. Use of lounges and public laundry rooms are provided for convenience.
Rooms and common areas will be cleaned prior to the event’s arrival. Each apartment will be equipped with cleaning supplies to assist Program participants in maintaining the cleanli-ness of their housing accommodations throughout the event.
On-campus calls may be made from campus telephones located in dormitory halls and apartment living rooms; local and long distance calls may be made from pay phones in dormitory foyers and other sites across campus.
Each sleeping room will be furnished with a twin-size bed frame and extra-long mattress, desk, chair, and bureau.
The College shall furnish the following utilities: water, heat, hot water, gas and/or electricity, as applicable. The College is not responsible for any inconvenience, loss or damage caused by irregularity in the supply of water, heat, or electrical current.
Lodging provided is student housing, and as such, may not meet standards of conference centers, hotels or other hostelries.

SAFETY AND BEHAVIORAL

Participants must demonstrably adhere to the letter and spirit of the Starfall Academy ruleset & CoC. It is the judgment of QDE that if a participant is not participating in good faith, said participant may be ejected from the event without recourse or refund.
Harassment and bullying will not be tolerated; see the Anti-Harassment Policy below.
If the participants involved in the activity establish consent, acceptable public behaviors include: shaking hands, flirting, hugging, holding hands, cuddling, sitting in laps, and brief kissing.
Unacceptable behaviors include: any physical touch without consent, physically looming over others, kissing for extended periods of time in public spaces, sexual grinding, public displays of nudity (including participants taking their shirts off), discussion of explicit sexual acts, and public sexual acts.
Symbols associated with real-world religions, ideologies, political motivations, and corporations – as well as those associated with obvious real or fictional world design – are not permitted.

ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY

As a private organization, Quantum Dreams Entertainment, LLC. can sanction or remove any participant for any reason, and has no legal obligation to disclose those reasons.

However, this policy aims to provide clear and reasonable guidelines for expected behavior at Starfall Academy events, as well in any Starfall Academy community spaces, including our Discord, and possible consequences for violations of our CoC. This policy applies to all interactions related to our event before, during, and after, in person and online. QDE reserves the right to determine which conduct violates this CoC, and to take disciplinary actions that it sees fit up to and including termination of participation, and/or refusal of admittance to future events.

We seek to provide a welcoming environment for our events, specifically, to make our events more accessible to the LGBTQIA+ community, People of Color, and other communities that have been traditionally under-represented in larp. This policy does not protect hate speech, or the expression of sexist, racist, homophobic, and/or transphobic opinions and/or other opinions that QDE considers exclusionary.

We do not tolerate harassment of people at our events in any form. Everyone is entitled to a harassment-free event experience, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexuality, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, political beliefs, geographic origin, socioeconomic status or any other factor.
We value active, enthusiastic consent, both on the part of the people engaged in the activity and on the part of witnesses.
Participants should regard the following guidelines as expectations of conduct in addition to legally actionable actions as defined by the states of Massachusetts and Hawaii.
Harassment includes, but is not limited to, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome physical and/or verbal sexual attention, offensive verbal comments, deliberate out-of-game intimidation, doxing, harassing photography or recordings, body policing, including policing gender expression based on expected social norms in any bathroom, stalking or following someone including repeated and unwanted contact after a participant sets a clear boundary requesting distance, and intentional disruption gameplay or other events.em
Furthermore, discussion of current-day real-world religions or politics is never appropriate during a Starfall Academy event.
Anyone asked to stop any unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
A request to “stop” or “leave me alone” means exactly that. If anyone engages in harassing behavior, QDE may warn the participant engaging in harassing behavior, remove the participant from the area, or expel the participant from the event with no refund at the discretion of Quantum Dreams Entertainment, LLC.
Starfall Academy participants include Starfall Academy Staff who are also required to comply with the CoC. Any complaints against Staff will be taken seriously and be handled by the leadership team of Quantum Dreams Entertainment, LLC.

We understand that our participants may have disagreements or interpersonal conflicts that do not escalate to the point of harassment or abuse. QDE will not arbitrate these sorts of conflicts. If, however, conflicts escalate to the point that they 1) threaten participant safety, or 2) violate our CoC, QDE may intervene.

CODE OF CONDUCT VIOLATION INVESTIGATION PROCESS

In order to take action, staff must be informed about any concern or incident during the event. If you feel that you are being harassed, or if you notice someone violating this CoC or Hampshire College policies, you may:

If you feel comfortable doing so, point out the inappropriate behavior to the persons involved. Often this will solve the problem immediately.
If you do not feel comfortable talking with the persons involved, or if talking to them does not resolve the issue, please report the situation immediately to a GM.
From that point forward, the report gets sent onto QDE admin staff.

QDE admin will:

Discuss the issue confidentially with you.
Evaluate on a case-by-case basis based upon the situation presented, existing information about the participant(s) in question, and the judgment of QDE.
As needed, staff will be happy to help participants contact local law enforcement if desired, and otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the event. QDE staff will never pressure anyone into making an official report. We value your safety, privacy, and comfort while at our events.
QDE will keep any identifying details of the participant(s) and the incident in question internally confidential unless the parties involved request otherwise or in the case of legal obligations.
QDE staff not involved in resolution of the situation may be informed about generalities involving the situation, but not specifics.

DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

Disciplinary actions are organized based upon the severity of the violation. These actions include, but are not limited to:

Monitoring the individual in question
Discussing with the individual the violation
Issuing verbal and/or written warnings
Restricting the individual’s activities
Removing the individual from the event and, potentially, from future QDE events and/or online communities

All of the following constitute grounds for expulsion from the event without refund:

Violating any federal, state, or local laws, Hampshire College’s policies, or the QDE Code of Conduct
Failure to comply with the instructions of QDE or Hampshire College
Using anything in a threatening or destructive manner against person or property outside of in-game character interactions
Posing a safety threat to themselves, other participants, or the venue
Threatening, stealing, cheating, or harassing others
Failure to respect consent
Disruption of the event

Participants believed to be taking specific advantage of the nature of this event will be deemed as a liability to the experience of fellow participants and may be subject to ejection. There is no guaranteed 3-strikes or similar policy within this CoC or ruleset.

COVID Policies

This section contains ongoing information about Starfall Academy events and their COVID policies and plans. Questions can be directed in email to Info@qdentertainment.net AND JL@qdentertainment.net with the subject line “Covid Policies”.

Last Updated: May 2024

Starfall Academy requires everyone attending our events to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 including a booster received no later than May 30th 2024, and no older than September 30th 2023.This proof must be provided in advance (by June 7th 2024) via email to JL@qdentertainment.net (unless alternative arrangements have been arranged.) Records will be deleted within 7 days of receipt.

Participants not verified by June 7th 2024 will be unenrolled in Starfall Academy: Year Three and refunded in accordance with our refund policy of half the cost of enrollment minus fees.

Masking is encouraged for any participants who chooses to, but is not a requirement at this time.

QDE reserves the right to heighten entry requirements to our events as needed based upon COVID rates, participant population health, and local/national requirements and other metrics. If Starfall Academy events require testing, testing will be provided by QDE.

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