Attention Mascots (and teams with one)

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

One of the biggest problems is who this behavior should be reported to. Our team has had issues with non-mascot harassment as well and we never knew who in FIRST we should even contact. It's important to remember that this kind of thing can also happen at off-season events. In our case, it ended up becoming a police matter.

Find the nearest key volunteer (LRI, Lead Pit Admin, or Lead Queuer are probably the easiest to find). They can contact the appropriate event personnel to report it up the chain and make sure an incident form is filled out. If you can't find one of those individuals, just find the nearest volunteer - they'll help you find someone higher up real quick (lets face it... most volunteers won't want to deal with something like this, and will be eager to hand it off to someone else).

Originally Posted by wireties

Wow - I had no idea. It is time to let the hounds loose then, something must be done. Do most events have a law enforcement presence? These actions, as described, are criminal behavior. Mentors, teachers and event personnel can provide guidelines and educate students. But once the harassment, assault or battery takes place it should be reported to local law enforcement - full transparency is a must.

I agree that some situations do call for the police, but before we jump the gun we should recognize that each incident is different and unique, and should be handled on a case by case basis. Someone giving out "free hugs" that last a little too long for comfort is a lot different from someone inappropriately briefly groping someone else, which is a lot different from some other forms of assault/abuse we can imagine. Before jumping straight to the police, report it to the appropriate event personnel, and allow them to handle it. They can talk with the victim, the perpetrator, and the lead mentor for the team (hopefully separately so the victims identity can be protected) and potentially reach a solution that is both fair to the victim and appropriately harsh to the perpetrator. Obviously, if the situation warrants it or the victim requests it, the event personnel can then raise the matter to the police. They can also do so in a discrete way, having already pulled aside the perpetrator and a team mentor, rather than asking the police to storm into the pits to find the kid. The event also has on file all of the student registration information (which I believe includes parent contact info), which the police will want.

While it doesn't necessarily work with everyone, calling parents and making them leave work to pick up their kid in the middle of the day for this sort of behavior can have a lasting impression on the kid and help them learn whats appropriate. Appropriate team punishments (not allowing them to letter, or at worst removing them from the team altogether) can help add additional peer pressure to help the kid change. Ultimately, I think it's behavior change we're looking for, rather than a serious legal punishment that could affect the kids entire life (something like this would have the potential to affect college admission or job opportunities down the line).

[safiq10]

As stated in earlier post I think it is mandatory for not just mascots but all team members including coaches and mentors to be informed about this kind of thing. I know we had a problem once were a student from another team wouldn't not leave another one of our students alone. It got to the point that a parent had to step in and pretended to be the students mother and asked the student who was bothering our team member to leave
Also I have seen at other FIRST events where gracious professionalism was out the window by coaches and students. So I also ask that teams remember that we are all human and granted that we build robots. We sadly aren't robots so please respect the refs, judges, safety, an other FIRST personnel. Also treat teams with the utmost respect regardless of their ranking/position. We are all here to learn and have fun! ( sorry not trying to hijack thread)

[Kevin Selavko]

Originally Posted by Karthik

Focusing on mascot behaviour is casting far too narrow of a net. In general we need to be educating all members about proper behaviour at events, as well as encouraging all members to report any inappropriate behaviour that they witness or fall victim to.

At the FIRST Finale one of our younger male members was being harassed by a young woman. She had been bothering him for quite some time and he told her explicitly to stop bothering him. She then went to our coach and started trying to get him in trouble by saying he was being mean to her and swearing at her, luckily our coach saw her bothering our student and handled the situation well, but my point is that some people can unfortunately try to abuse reporting people and that any resulting investigations must not be taken lightly.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

While it doesn't necessarily work with everyone, calling parents and making them leave work to pick up their kid in the middle of the day for this sort of behavior can have a lasting impression on the kid and help them learn whats appropriate. Appropriate team punishments (not allowing them to letter, or at worst removing them from the team altogether) can help add additional peer pressure to help the kid change. Ultimately, I think it's behavior change we're looking for, rather than a serious legal punishment that could affect the kids entire life (something like this would have the potential to affect college admission or job opportunities down the line).

^This.

1923 has defined behavior standards at events as well as in our build site and at outreach activities. If you don't follow them, you get a talking-to from the mentors, which may or may not involve your parents depending on the situation. (Examples: ungracious behavior, not following the mentors' instructions, being on your phone during opening/closing ceremonies or at outreach events)

If you stomp-all-over-the-line and break very serious rules (think sneaking out, bringing something on the trip you're not supposed to, or just generally not being a good teammate), we call your parent/guardian, and they have to come get you. District, DCMP, or Championship - doesn't matter. You're not coming home on the bus, and you may not even be on the team anymore. Fortunately, in our 9-year history we've only had to do this once. I think inappropriate behavior such as what's being discussed in this thread would fall under this category.

It's up to each team to keep this sort of culture within themselves - and I think this thread, making people aware of incidents, isn't a bad way to start spreading that message.

However, if an incident really is that serious, as you mentioned above - it absolutely should go to that level. Reporting it at-the-event is the right way to go, because the event staff can help move it up the chain as necessary, including to the FIRST YPP.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I would like to make an observation here. Many of the people I have seen in the costumes are not trained and therefore have little or no experience. They are merely "lent" the mascot costume by their school and a student(s) is asked to volunteer to wear the costume. Consequently, the wearer often doesn't know how to handle movement in crowds and may not know where parts of the costume may make contact with animate or inanimate objects in confined spaces. Pros at theme parks are given extensive training on how to move, interact with patrons and always have a handler whispering in their ear and assisting them as they move through the park. If you think something was inappropriate, please report it. If you don't want a hug, please say "No Thank You" or simply wave as I do.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

If you don't want a hug, please say "No Thank You" or simply wave as I do.

Whether or not you're wearing a mascot suit, RESPECT THE "NO".

I had an uncomfortable encounter with a highly creepy bear mascot in St. Louis. He/she/it ignored me as I escalated my protests from "No hug, thanks" to "Do not hug me" to "Leave me alone", even following me and attempting to corner me behind the inspection table. The idea of a literal bear hug might be cute, but the reality is that some people DO NOT WANT TO BE HUGGED.

[wireties]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

I agree that some situations do call for the police, but before we jump the gun we should recognize that each incident is different and unique, and should be handled on a case by case basis. Someone giving out "free hugs" that last a little too long for comfort is a lot different from someone inappropriately briefly groping someone else, which is a lot different from some other forms of assault/abuse we can imagine. Before jumping straight to the police, report it to the appropriate event personnel, and allow them to handle it. They can talk with the victim, the perpetrator, and the lead mentor for the team (hopefully separately so the victims identity can be protected) and potentially reach a solution that is both fair to the victim and appropriately harsh to the perpetrator.

Truth - this thread has evolved to include reports of things that are not criminal. But it is important for a trained individual, a person with real authority, to make this decision (is it criminal behavior or not). Multiple well-meaning mentors, teachers and event volunteers will make different decisions. A professional law enforcement officer can make a decision about the complaint and let it be handled internally (by the event or team reps) or make it a criminal matter.

Think of the liabilities - does a typical volunteer, mentor or teacher want to be responsible for the future actions of a person they choose to reprimand or warn rather than refer to a law enforcement officer?

I had no idea things had gotten this bad (and initially advocated a nuanced approach) but I believe every report from Karthik. Harassment at FIRST events now requires an over-reaction. FIRST must get on the other side of this issue, not leave it short. (forgive the golf analogy)

[Jon Stratis]

wireties, you'll notice that I didn't say it should be handled by just any mentor, teacher or event volunteer - it needs to be handled by the appropriate event personnel - in other words, those in charge of the whole event. By bringing it to the attention of your key volunteers, they will pull in the individual(s) who need to be involved from the event (chairman of the regional planning committee, volunteer coordinator, FTA, or the ShowReady individual responsible for running the event come to mind). You don't leave it up to some random individual who happens to be manning the safety glasses table.

Those people responsible for overseeing the entire event will escalate things as appropriate, and will know/follow FIRST's guidelines for these types of incidents. Further, FIRST has incident report forms that do need to be filled out by the event personnel when something like this happens so that FIRST, as an organization, is aware of it. The last thing you want is an overeager individual calling the police and creating a large public incident without the knowledge of the event personnel. Please don't try to skirt the system that's already in place - raise the issue with the appropriate individuals at the event and allow them to follow the established process.

[wireties]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

wireties, you'll notice that I didn't say it should be handled by just any mentor, teacher or event volunteer - it needs to be handled by the appropriate event personnel - in other words, those in charge of the whole event...

Those people responsible for overseeing the entire event will escalate things as appropriate, and will know/follow FIRST's guidelines for these types of incidents.

You make many excellent points and they are good first steps but a volunteer can find themselves in a sticky wicket. For example the fellow that runs the Dallas regional is a VP from Lockheed. I've worked with him helping to run the quick build sessions and he is one of my favorite FIRST people. He is a fantastic AE and executive but what does he know about the criminality of harassment/assault incidents? Perhaps a preferred sequence is to take these things directly to a law enforcement officer? If it is criminal, it gets handled properly and there is no liability for FIRST volunteers (at any level). If it is not, FIRST guidelines determine the appropriate sanction.

[Jon Stratis]

Then I would say allow him to do that - bring the issue to his attention, and encourage him to bring in the police. Regardless of the outcome, he needs to be involved from the beginning in order to manage the interaction and avoid disrupting the event. He can ensure that the police and those involved meet in a more private area to handle things, rather than just calling them in and having it all explode in the pits. We really have to make sure that we're looking at this both from the stand point of addressing the issue AND keeping the event running smoothly, and that would be one of his roles if the police are needed.

[Conor Ryan]

Originally Posted by wireties

You make many excellent points and they are good first steps but a volunteer can find themselves in a sticky wicket. For example the fellow that runs the Dallas regional is a VP from Lockheed. I've worked with him helping to run the quick build sessions and he is one of my favorite FIRST people. He is a fantastic AE and executive but what does he know about the criminality of harassment/assault incidents? Perhaps a preferred sequence is to take these things directly to a law enforcement officer? If it is criminal, it gets handled properly and there is no liability for FIRST volunteers (at any level). If it is not, FIRST guidelines determine the appropriate sanction.

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Then I would say allow him to do that - bring the issue to his attention, and encourage him to bring in the police. Regardless of the outcome, he needs to be involved from the beginning in order to manage the interaction and avoid disrupting the event. He can ensure that the police and those involved meet in a more private area to handle things, rather than just calling them in and having it all explode in the pits. We really have to make sure that we're looking at this both from the stand point of addressing the issue AND keeping the event running smoothly, and that would be one of his roles if the police are needed.

At official events, an incident of this type would cause a notification trigger (similar to an incident requiring an EMT). To begin the process to create an event trigger, the appropriate course of action would be to talk to Pit Admin let the know you may have a security incident and would like to speak to the Event Manager or if there is no Event Manager, the RD. Those people have access to the appropriate personnel necesary to address the issue and will bring in the appropriate law enforcement as necessary, additionally they will make sure the process is handled professionally to not cause further issues at the event. These types of incidents are covered in their training and there are document procedures for what they should do in these in these instances.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Conor Ryan

At official events, an incident of this type would cause a notification trigger (similar to an incident requiring an EMT). To begin the process to create an event trigger, the appropriate course of action would be to talk to Pit Admin let the know you may have a security incident and would like to speak to the Event Manager or if there is no Event Manager, the RD. Those people have access to the appropriate personnel necesary to address the issue and will bring in the appropriate law enforcement as necessary, additionally they will make sure the process is handled professionally to not cause further issues at the event. These types of incidents are covered in their training and there are document procedures for what they should do in these in these instances.

Conor nailed it.

The Event Managers and RDs have oodles and oodles of documentation on what to do in cases like these, and that's exactly why they're the right people to go to.

[Monochron]

Originally Posted by wireties

You make many excellent points and they are good first steps but a volunteer can find themselves in a sticky wicket. For example the fellow that runs the Dallas regional is a VP from Lockheed. I've worked with him helping to run the quick build sessions and he is one of my favorite FIRST people. He is a fantastic AE and executive but what does he know about the criminality of harassment/assault incidents? Perhaps a preferred sequence is to take these things directly to a law enforcement officer? If it is criminal, it gets handled properly and there is no liability for FIRST volunteers (at any level). If it is not, FIRST guidelines determine the appropriate sanction.

I have to agree with the others on this, but I will add one thing. If following the normal procedure and reporting the incident to FIRST officials or coordinators does not yield a result (and you feel that it is a criminal matter) you should then inform the official/coordinator that you will be contacting police and to expect their arrival.

Not doing so brings to mind the Penn State incident of a couple years ago. Allegations were made, but the officials refused to escalate the situation. In that case, it falls to the observers to make sure something is done.

[Meredith Novak]

Originally Posted by Libby K

The Event Managers and RDs have oodles and oodles of documentation on what to do in cases like these, and that's exactly why they're the right people to go to.

This is accurate, but a lot of participants may not know these people by sight and sometimes the managers/ RDs are in the event office and unavailable to teams. I recommend you find a person with a head set radio (except refs, of course). Anyone at an event with a radio can quickly get in touch with the appropriate party to handle the incident.

[wireties]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Then I would say allow him to do that - bring the issue to his attention, and encourage him to bring in the police. Regardless of the outcome, he needs to be involved from the beginning in order to manage the interaction and avoid disrupting the event. He can ensure that the police and those involved meet in a more private area to handle things, rather than just calling them in and having it all explode in the pits. We really have to make sure that we're looking at this both from the stand point of addressing the issue AND keeping the event running smoothly, and that would be one of his roles if the police are needed.

I can see the logic in not creating a scene at the event. And I appreciate the fact that there are FIRST volunteers with relevant training. But what sort of authority exists for any mentor, teacher or FIRST representative? No event volunteer in any position can detain or question a student (w/o incurring some sort of liability). Heck, in most of the USA a teacher can't do that in the classroom. Even if the decision is to remove a student from the arena for simply running in the pits, one should have a law enforcement officer do the evicting.

There are a lot of great ideas in this thread. I would caution having a mentor or teacher or FIRST representative forced to exercise judgment or authority where, in fact, none exists. That rarely ends well. Start with a person who does have the authority. I'm not talking about squad cars pulling up in front of the building and stopping the proceedings. I'm talking about hired officers who are already integrated with the event leadership team.