Health & Safety

CODE OF CONDUCT

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The primary purpose of DCBX is for the attendees to have fun. To make this happen, DCBX has established certain rules of conduct. These rules were created to ensure the behavior of any one individual or group of attendees does not disturb the enjoyment of another attendee, nor detract from the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of the festival.

• DCBX welcomes everyone; however, the festival’s management reserves the right to deny or revoke the attendance of any individual, at any time, for any reason.
• This action may be undertaken when an individual’s presence or behavior causes significant interference with festival operations or adversely affects the organization’s relationship with its guests or with its venue.
• DCBX also reserves the right to amend these rules at any time without prior or posted notice. If you have any questions, please contact the festival operations staff for assistance.
• Anyone who accepts a DCBX badge agrees to indemnify and hold harmless DCBX from any claim for personal injuries or other damages or equity arising out of any individual’s activities at DCBX, even if such injury or damage is caused by negligence or gross negligence by or on the part of DCBX

General Rating of the Festival and Public Decorum

DCBX prides itself on presenting an atmosphere that is comfortable for dancing, connecting, and experiencing cultural diversity and from all lifestyles, as such DCBX attendees are expected to act accordingly. Access to these activities is monitored by DCBX Security staff.

Attendance by Minors

DCBX strives to maintain an environment that is safe and enjoyable for all attendees. DCBX cannot take responsibility for the actions of individual attendees. Nor will DCBX assume responsibility for minors. A minor is defined as a person under 18 years of age who has not been legally emancipated from his or her parents. All minors must present a signed statement (available on DCBX web page or from the registration department) indicating that they need parental supervision and authorization to attend any DCBX event with an escort. In the event of a signed waiver, DCBX will not assume any responsibility, legal or otherwise, over any minor. Even with such permission, minors may not attempt to attend any events intended for mature audiences unless accompanied by a parent,  legal guardian or parental approved escort.  In the event that a minor enters the festival under false pretenses or by forging documentation, DCBX has no choice but to remand the minor in question immediately to the custody of the local police.

Weapons Policy

No real weapons, or any item that can be easily mistaken for a weapon, may be carried either openly or concealed at any time in festival space, regardless of any concealed carry permits. On such occasion, a staff member may take any reasonable measures to ensure the continued safety of DCBX attendees, which could include remanding the attendee in question immediately to the custody of the local police. These policies are enforced at all times.

Posting of Announcements, Fliers, Etc.

DCBX staff reserves the right to remove any posted materials that are considered unauthorized, inappropriate or may reflect poorly on the festival as a whole.  All Banners and Flyers must be pre-approved by DCBX Staff.  Do not affix anything to or write on the walls of the hotel or the directional signs placed by DCBX, including in the elevators. Hotel & DCBX staff will remove any unauthorized postings on sight.

Sales of Merchandise

The offering for sale of any merchandise at the festival may be undertaken only in the Marketplace area or by special arrangement with the DCBX staff. All sales will be governed by the rules applicable to the Marketplace approved vendors. Anyone wishing to sell goods or merchandise must first obtain pre-approval from DCBX.   Please note that it is illegal to sell merchandise or services in any area of the hotel not designated for such activity. Such actions constitute “illegal solicitation,” and may result in the perpetrator being removed from hotel grounds.

Personal Conduct in Festival Areas and in Hotel Public Areas

There is no smoking or vaping in any portion of the hotel. Our hosts respectfully request that those who step outside to smoke kindly refrain from standing directly in front of any of the entrances, as the smoke is carried inside. Please take notice of posted signs.

Please remember that you are a guest of the hotel, and that there may be other guests staying or dining at the hotel who are not attendees of the festival. Please maintain a level of noise appropriate to the time and place. We expect everyone to cooperate fully with DCBX staff, hotel staff, and any local security or law enforcement personnel. “Disorderly conduct” includes any fighting, any inappropriate horseplay, or any actions that may disturb or disrupt any festival or hotel functions. Disorderly conduct may result in revocation of your pass.

No sleeping in the lobby or hotel hallways is allowed. DCBX is reasonably tolerant if you nod off but you may not use festival areas as a replacement for a hotel room. DCBX reserves the right to remove a sleeping participant from a festival room.

Attendees must not attempt to cross any barriers (such as curtains or stanchions) without being accompanied by a DCBX staff member. Crossing such a barrier or otherwise entering an area that is off-limits to our attendees may result in suspension of your attendance and removal from the festival.

Harassment

DCBX is dedicated to providing a safe, welcoming, and harassment-free festival experience for everyone. This protection is all-encompassing, and covers all characteristics, including, but not limited to a person’s: sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, color, religion, national origin, age, political affiliation, social aptitude, speech impediments and dance level. Anyone from any lifestyle is welcome at DCBX, as long as they do not intentionally do any action that hinders the enjoyment of other attendees. Harassment of any kind, including but not limited to: physical assault, sexual assault, sexual harassment, battery, deliberate intimidation, stalking, harassing photography or recording, or unwelcome physical attentions, will not be tolerated.

If a person says “no” or asks you to leave them alone, you must do so. Do not follow them or attempt to disrupt their festival experience in any way. If you continue to provide unwelcome attention to another attendee, you may have your pass revoked without refund, you may be removed from the premises, and you may be barred from attending future DCBX events. Please understand that, regardless of whether the behavior in question amounts to a violation of the law, it may be considered harassment and a violation of this policy.

If an individual stalks, harasses, or attempts to assault you at a DCBX event, please report that individual to a member of the event staff as soon as possible, and appropriate action will be taken. If you witness harassment occurring, please encourage the victim to report it to event staff.

This prohibition against harassment applies to not only attendees, but also everyone employed by DCBX, volunteer staff, guests, artists, and hotel employees. All attendees should feel as though they can report harassment regarding any person associated with DCBX, regardless of that person’s position. No retaliation by DCBX employees or volunteer staff will be tolerated.

DCBX staff will be happy to help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe at DCBX.

Any and all information relating to the victim’s claim of harassment will be treated by DCBX as confidential unless otherwise required by law, overriding public health and safety concerns, or authorized by the parties in question.

We are not responsible for mediating any interpersonal problems that arose between individual attendees outside of our events. Thus, we can take no action to prevent a person from attending the festival unless that person has made a specific and credible threat toward the festival itself. If you feel that a threat exists against your person, we advise you to seek a restraining order against the individual in question and to present it to our security in advance of the festival at legal@dcbx.org. If you obtain a restraining order against someone prior to the event and you know that they are attending the event, please provide this information to us so that we are aware.  If you are unable to obtain a restraining order, we recommend avoiding that individual, and reporting them to security immediately if they violate this harassment policy during the event so that appropriate action may be taken. Conversely, any attempt to have an innocent person removed from the festival by falsely accusing them will be treated as an act of harassment and dealt with appropriately. The responsibility for settling interpersonal disputes lies solely with the individuals involved. DCBX will not tolerate being used as a leveraging point in such disputes.

Substance Abuse

The sale or distribution of any illegal or controlled substances is prohibited at DCBX. Any individual found distributing such substances will be removed and reported directly to the local authorities. DCBX asks that alcoholic beverages be consumed in the privacy of a hotel room and not taken into any festival spaces.

Please note an important caveat involving minors: Anyone knowingly or unknowingly providing alcohol or aiding others in providing alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 will be guilty of a felony and will be turned over to the local authorities. It is the sole responsibility of persons serving alcohol in room parties to ensure that every person in attendance is over the age of 21, regardless of whether the host or any party attendees are drinking alcohol. Anyone caught drinking under the age of 21 can be subject to legal prosecution and may be penalized harshly. No alcohol may be consumed in DCBX function rooms.

Use of Video or Audio Recordings and Media Relations

For the purposes of this section DCBX denotes any private happenings as all concerts, workshops, panels, film festivals, competition, performances, rooftop special events and any other events or areas only open to attendees with valid passes. The term “recording” means any media capturing medium or devices, audio, visual, or otherwise.

DCBX permits (and encourages) attendees to share photographs of their festival experience on personal web pages.

DCBX grants you, the videographer, a creative commons share-alike non-commercial attribution license to any recordings you make at or of DCBX. Uses beyond this license require permission from DCBX. You agree to grant DCBX a non-exclusive, sub-licensable irrevocable, perpetual, and universal license to use, distribute, perform and/or to incorporate your video in other works in any form, media, or technology, including for-profit use.

DCBX attendees may be photographed or otherwise recorded by other attendees. By accepting a  DCBX pass you are consenting to having your image published. If anyone continues to photograph or record you against your will, it will be treated as harassment (see above).

Video and audio recordings, however, are subject to the above provisions. Parties interested in making recordings or performances for other uses should contact the DCBX media team.

Photographs and Promotional Material Policy

Participants at DCBX. events are granting their permission to be photographed or recorded by authorized DCBX individuals. By purchasing your badge, you inherently grant DCBX. permission to use such images or footage for archival or promotional purposes. If you do not wish to grant this permission, please inform DCBX staff or security.

Payments to DCBX

DCBX accepts cash and credit card payments through our registration system. We will attempt to resolve any dispute involving a credit card payment to DCBX following the tenets of good faith and fair dealing. Charge-backs (denying payment to a credit card company for a specific charge) that are made for the sole purpose of avoiding payment, made without sufficient cause, or that are made without first attempting to resolve the dispute with DCBX may result in permanent revocation of attendance privileges and possible legal action. Attendees who have an outstanding balance due to DCBX from ANY DCBX event must settle that balance before being permitted to attend the festival.

Should DCBX need to process a refund, it must be processed on the same credit card for which the original purchase occurred. If that credit card is no longer active or not at the event, then DCBX will issue a refund check after the event. This is a requirement in the terms of service with our credit card companies and cannot be violated.

DCBX does not accept checks or money orders of any kind, in any form.  DCBX will not be involved in any financial disputes between individual attendees, and cannot divulge information about an individual attendee to any party other than to banking officials or legal authorities acting on a legal order.

Miscellaneous Notes

The standards of conduct for DCBX will be strictly enforced by DCBX security and staff who will be clearly identified as such on site. Please remember that your passes are property of DCBX for the duration of the festival, and must be presented and/or surrendered to any Staff member requesting it. If you have any problem with any action taken by a Staff member you may take the matter to the Registration Manager.  We make every attempt to be fair but we cannot tolerate behavior that threatens the peace and well-being of our attendees or organization.

DCBX accepts no liability for actions of any kind taken by individuals in the confines of private hotel rooms. Responsibility for incidents occurring in hotel guest rooms rests solely upon the individual in whose name the room is rented. This includes payment for any and all damage, whether caused intentionally or unintentionally (such as from hanging something on a sprinkler head. Don’t do that.). Please note that if DCBX is provided with sufficient evidence to suggest that illegal activities, particularly those that may cause harm to another person or to the well-being of the festival as a whole, will be taking place in a hotel room, we have both a civic and a moral responsibility to report such information to the appropriate authorities.

All applicable local, state, and federal laws must be obeyed while in attendance at DCBX

Please be reminded that these rules involve, of course, “worst-case” scenarios and are put into place to ensure the safety and comfort of our attendees. We appreciate that our attendees as a whole are rational, responsible, and respectful individuals, but recognize that there are exceptions. DCBX is prepared to deal with any or all of the above scenarios in as rapid and efficient a manner as possible should they occur. We thank our attendees for their past cooperation and for their continued assistance in making this a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. Have fun – just please be courteous of those around you.