Present
Lindy, John, Deb, Nicole, Deirdre, Nev, Kelly Blair, Jason, Mellen, Kiara, Oracle, Nicole, Bart, Parks, Jenna
Lindy, John, Deb, Nicole, Deirdre, Nev, Kelly Blair, Jason, Mellen, Kiara, Oracle, Nicole, Bart, Parks, Jenna
Roles
· Facilitator: Deb
· Timekeeper: Diedre
· Vibe-checker: Lindy
· Ingathering: Kiara
· Hat of process: Oracle
Agenda
- Annual meeting + Officer recruiting 30 minutes
- Gender neutral bathrooms – 35 minutes
- PCD received an award– 5 minutes
- Signage for small room @ dance – 2 minutes
- Survey update – 3 minutes
- Retreat update – 3 minutes
- DJ update – 5 minutes
- NYE dance – 10 minutes
1. Annual meeting in November - Oracle
· Oracle:
o Before proposal in place, wanted to chat about it
o Needs:
§ Date
§ Recruitment of officers
o Recs forming a subcommittee
o Annual meeting run on formal consensus process
· Nicole:
o Recs making it a social gathering as well as meeting similar to last year
· Conclusion
· Subcommittee formed: Kiara, Nicole, Oracle
o Subcommittee will bring proposal to October meeting
2. Gender neutral bathrooms – Nev, Diedre
· Diedre: All gender bathrooms
· Parks:
§ Discussed proposal and shared signs
· Nev:
o Recognizes it may make folks uncomfortable but asks for folks to be okay with it to become more normalized
· Mellen:
o In support, wondering sit vs. stand on sign due to comfort
· Bart:
o Bathrooms could be dirty
· Deb
o Maybe 2 separate discussions on gender neutral bathrooms vs. actual implementation
· John:
o Confirmed owner of building is in support and will allow
· Oracle:
o Suggests Wiz implement this effort
· John:
o Wiz may be too busy
· Kelly
o Doesn’t feel cleanliness is a big issue
· Deb:
o Suggests we have 2 topics. 1) should we 2) how. Vote on should we first
· Vote on #1:
o Passed. We will move forward with gender neutral bathrooms
§ Discussion on how:
· Important to describe what’s in the bathroom, stalls vs. urinals, etc.
· Open to language
· Nev:
o Possible that stalls may become more used, urinals less
· Parks
o Sit and stand description is nice
o Concern it tells people what to do just
· Oracle:
o Is this true for all events?
· Deb + team:
o No but we will try and this is just for Sunday dance. Thursday is already gender neutral
· Nicole:
o Spring Retreats may need to look at this differently
· Alignment:
o PCD bathrooms on Thursday and Sunday are all gender bathrooms and will try whenever possible
· Nev:
o Prefers this is policy for all to be considered in future
o Recommends announcing it first before it begins
· Deb:
o Recommends coming back for larger policy in future and starting small with movement
· Kiara:
o Recommends giving PCD members notice and announcing first and lending space for discussion in wider community
o Gender neural bathroom may bring up things for people
· Nev:
o Feels relief when she is in all gender bathroom space
· Blair:
o Requests proposal sponsors be available for questions
· Parks:
o Agrees giving a few weeks to announce before it’s in place
· Mellen + Nev:
o Men may not use stalls as often
· Diedre:
o Recs let’s introduce in October and start telling folks at dance they will be introducing it
· Signage discussed:
o TBD On language
· Deb:
o Proposal, in Oct this is introduced in bathroom and conversation will be started at Sunday dance starting this Sunday
o Signage can be changed in future if desired
o Wiz will be informed, but doesn’t need to lead
· John:
o Suggests sign @ dance to inform folks in bathroom area
· Deb:
o Could have a write-up on the email communication
· Oracle :
o Prefers this doesn’t fall on Wiz
Conclusion/ Vote:
Committee will begin to introduce at Sunday dance, signage, emails, consultation with Wiz,
Implemented by Sage’s set Nov. 10th, not before October
Vibe Check!
3. PCD won an award!!! - John
· Best of Westbrook Awards “Dance School!”
4. Signage on extra room – Mellen
· Mellen:
o Extra room is a dance room, not a conversation place
§ Extra room is dance room only and signs are up!
· Blair:
o Recs announcing this at closing circle
Conclusion
· Signage up to explain extra room is for dance, not talking, and it will be annouced
5. Survey updates – Deb and Mellen
· Draft of survey done
· 2 people are beta testing it
o Looking for beta testers
· October/November, before annual meeting they send it
· Don’t want to bring back
Conclusion
· Proposal/vote:
o Approved, after beta done, confirmed group and move forward
o Survey will be sent in advance of annual meeting
6. Spring Retreat – Nicole
· Requested June 5, 6, 7
o They can hold weekend, weekend before and after were not available
o Need $500 deposit
· Nev:
o Wondered if can be spring instead of summer
o Felt that there was some varying feedback about venue
· Nicole:
o Due to location, summer is preferred
o Welcomes feedback, hasn’t been brought up in past Meraki meetings
· Conclusion
o To be discussed in next meeting or future
7. NYE dance – Mellen
· DJs – no full commitments yet. 1 is tentative, need to lock down 3 of them
o $1200 for night last year
o Need to confirm if same
· Deb:
o It’s okay if PCD DJs don’t play but ideal
o Marcus is available
· Lindy:
o What about a New Years Day dance instead of NYE?
· Nev:
o Suggest DJs discuss why no one wants to @ dance
· Bart:
o Suggests DJ meeting
o Committee forming?
· Mellen:
o Can a committee happen? If there is no committee, it may not happen
· Deb:
o Let’s determine if viable committee forming
· Oracle:
o Proposal by next Meraki meeting important
· Conclusion
o Blair volunteered to take this on, but wants to confirm with Paulina availability and cost! He will come back to us next meeting with updates
8. DJ sharing how they pick music – DJs
· Mellen:
o DJs met and discussed how music is selected
o Comments about cultural appropriation and how music is selected
· Deb:
o Felt this was helpful to see how shared
· DJ meeting notes:
o How music is selected, especially if it may evoke strong response
§ DJs take Pause if
· Lyrics may be offensive or have trigger content
· Artists controversial
· Origin of music controversial
§ Some DJs will not play if question, some decide to play
§ DJ are conscious but can’t prevent all triggers
§ Not defensive if feedback given, feedback is encouraged
§ DJs have played over 350 sets, 10k songs
· Conclusion:
o DJ notes is to posted anywhere but could be in future
o Will be on agenda for next time!
Next agenda
1. Proposal template
2. DJ meeting note on how music is selected
- Age / consent
4. NYE dance
5. Annual meeting + Officer recruitment
6. Spring retreat
Next meeting:
10/8: 7-9pm
Deb’s if studio is not available as a backup
Nev may be able to .. tbd Nev backup, Deb
