Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

All symposium participants are expected to abide by this Code of Conduct in all events and interactions connected to the symposium. This includes evening events and continued interactions after the symposium. 

We are committed to providing a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for everyone. Harassment, discrimination, or abusive behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Please report problems or concerns to lupublicsafetydepartment@lincoln.edu. 

Code of Conduct violations include, but are not limited to the following examples:

• Harassment or abuse.

• Actions or comments that harm participants related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a) typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, ethnicity, caste, religion, or other personal categories.

• Unwanted physical contact or simulated physical contact, including inappropriate engagement in virtual spaces (e.g. textual descriptions like “backrub”) without consent or after a request to stop.

• Non-consensual sexual comments or sharing of sexual material, in person or online.

• Disruptive or persistent misgendering or use of ‘dead’ or rejected names or gender pronouns.

• Patterns of inappropriate physical or social contact, such as violation of personal space or boundaries, presumption of or requests for inappropriate levels of intimacy with others, or continuing to communicate with someone against their request.

• Sustained and/or deliberate disruption of community and organizational activities.

• Threats of violence, deliberate intimidation, stalking, or impersonation with the intent to harass or violate privacy.

• Incitement of violence towards any individual or groups of people, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or engage in self-harm.

• Serious or repeated acts that harm or threaten others or the reputation and integrity of the symposium.

• Deliberately disclosing information given in private confidence, unless it is to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse or report a violation of this code of conduct.

• The publication of the confidential information of members or the organization without consent, except as necessary to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse or report a violation of this code of conduct. This includes both information that is labeled as confidential or information that the publisher knows or should know is confidential.

• Deliberate attempts to circumvent or misuse the Code of Conduct or otherwise cause harm to symposium participants or sponsors.

Acknowledgment of Risk

This Code of Conduct exists to protect the National HBCU Symposium 2025 participants and organization from the risk of harassment or injury. To protect and mitigate damage to its reputation and that of its individual membership, the National HBCU Symposium 2025 organizers may publicly announce any reports, conclusions, or actions taken in response to reports of violations of the Code of Conduct. By participating in the National HBCU Symposium 2025 events or other spaces, you agree to accept the terms of the Code of Conduct and acknowledge that your voluntary involvement with this event or violation of this Code may result in reputational harm, including loss of business, loss of income, or loss of contractual advantage

Reporting code of conduct violations

If you learn about a violation of this Code of Conduct, please inform Public Safety at lupublicsafetydepartment@lincoln.edu. Anonymous reports will be accepted. We will strive to keep identifying details of reporters and reports confidential unless we receive a valid court order or have another compelling reason to disclose them. To help us respond to your report, please include as much of the following information as possible in your reports:

• The date and location of the incident

• A description of the events.

• How the incident is a violation of the Code of Conduct.

• The name or identity of the individuals involved in the incident.

• The names or identities of any other witness to the incident.

• Any documentation such as emails, private messages, photographs, police reports, texts, or notes related to the incident.

• Information for your preferred method of contact from our Code of Conduct Committee if you wish to or are willing to be contacted for follow-up questions.

Code of Conduct response

The Code of Conduct Committee will review all good faith reports and provide a response to the party making the report as soon as possible, barring any legal requirement that prevents it. The Code of Conduct Committee will endeavor to resolve all Code of Conduct Reports the same day of receipt of complaint whenever possible. Possible actions include:

• Verbal or written warnings

• Removal from the symposium (without refund)

• Temporary or permanent bans from future symposium events

• Referral to university or legal authorities if necessary