Greetings unto the esteemed populace of Atenveldt from the Kingdom of Atenveldt Seneschal. I hope this missive finds you hale and ready for the joyful season ahead. I have received a question that seemed relevant to our populace and in addition to addressing it individually, it occurred to me that this might merit a broader conversation. The question was as follows:
“I was told when I joined the SCA that it is a non-political organization. Could you please explain the reasoning why the populace is being asked to complete a survey that has to do with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?”
My answer, in the event that this subject is of interest to you:
The SCA is not a political organization in the sense that we do not contribute to, support, oppose, require or condemn any political affiliation or specific modern political activity at any level from Municipal to Federal politics, i,e, we do not support candidates, contribute to local governments, etc. In addition to that, we always want to ensure a safe, healthy, friendly and inclusive environment for all of our participants. There are countless members who do not feel that ensuring our populace members feel included and welcome is a political construct.
We have folks from all walks of life including varied age, diversity, race, religion, orientation, gender and the list goes on. It would be irresponsible of us as an organization to not check in with our members to ensure they are feeling good about their ability to participate and soon we will have a council to ensure all events and levels know where to go with their questions about such things as:
- Site access for folks with mobility limitations
- Additional support for neuro-divergent folks who might have sensory issues
- English as a second language who might struggle to understand our rules, culture and expectations
- Ensuring the SCA is a safe place for ALL participants from derision or mistreatment
- Making sure that elderly or young people have things to do at events
The list goes on and will continue to be built as these surveys advise us of the needs of our membership. I do hope our efforts to understand the circumstances of our population and how or where our organization can do better makes it an even more wonderful place for you, maybe even in ways you haven’t wondered about historically.
Thanks for your consideration and there is no obligation to complete the questionnaire. If you are fully satisfied with your opportunities, that is only ever great news! I hope that you will support others who may or may not feel the same way about their circumstances. As an organization filled with people such as yourself who place honor and virtue highest on our lists of intentions, I am certain this will only lead to good things.
Regards
Nichelle
Kingdom Seneschal, Atenveldt
