Etiquette and Ethics
Life in the Grey School requires courteous conduct, respect for others, and the ability to participate thoughtfully in an academic community. These expectations apply to Faculty, staff, and pupils in their dealings with one another and support the School’s purpose as a place of study and practice.
Non-discrimination
The Grey School does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, physical appearance, elemental affiliation, or other personal distinctions in the administration of educational policies, admissions, scholarships, or other School programs and activities.
Members will encounter practices, beliefs, and philosophical positions different from their own. Discussion should allow those differences to be examined without treating another person’s identity or affiliation as a reason for disrespect.
Conduct in discussion
Foul, threatening, or otherwise offensive language directed toward Faculty, staff, or pupils is unacceptable in School communication. Veiled threats and hostile innuendo are also inappropriate. Membership carries the responsibility to observe these standards.
Persistent violations may result in moderated status, suspension from School discussion spaces, removal from the Grey School, or other action at Administration’s discretion. A discussion space remains subject to School expectations even when the exchange is informal.
Write in a form that other people can read comfortably. Messages written entirely in capital letters are commonly understood as shouting and can be difficult to read. Clear sentences, ordinary capitalization, and attention to tone help prevent avoidable misunderstanding.
Faculty are expected to set an example of mature, responsible communication. Pupils are likewise expected to exercise courtesy and self-control. Where younger pupils participate, Faculty should recognize differences in experience while continuing to guide them toward the School’s standards. Correction should be gentle where possible and firm where necessary. A person who cannot maintain the required conduct may have to leave the School.
Disagreement is an ordinary feature of serious study. People may hold strong convictions, speak with enthusiasm, or misunderstand the intention behind a written remark. What matters is how the disagreement is handled: accurate explanation, willingness to listen, and a readiness to make or accept an apology where appropriate.
If a discussion is becoming difficult to conduct calmly, withdraw for a time and consider what has made it uncomfortable. Members are not obliged to participate in every topic. If another person presses beyond a comfortable boundary, state the concern clearly and respectfully. If you have hurt someone, acknowledge it and apologize; receive a sincere apology in the same spirit.
Questions about an assignment or its grading should ordinarily begin with the instructor. An unresolved academic concern may proceed to the Master of Studies. Safety concerns and matters affecting the wider School should be brought to the appropriate administrator, including the Master of Pupils. Serious concerns need not be raised first with the person whose conduct is in question. The detailed routes are set out in Authority, Administration, and the Chain of Command.
Addressing members of the School
Use the title appropriate to the person’s role before their name. Faculty may be addressed as Professor, Instructor, Master, or by the title the School has assigned. The Headmaster should be addressed as Headmaster. Pupils may be addressed by their appropriate standing, including Apprentice or Magister.
The current Faculty page identifies Faculty and their titles. Consult it when uncertain. Titles recognize a person’s place and responsibility within the institution; using them carefully is part of ordinary School courtesy.
Spell requests
Faculty do not give spells to Apprentices outside the material included in regular classes. A request for instruction or ethical discussion within an appropriate class is different from asking a Faculty member to perform or support a personal spell.
For example, asking “Would it be ethical for me to cast a spell to do X?” is appropriate in a class concerned with ethics, spellcasting, or the subject involved. Asking “Will you cast/support a spell in X for me?” is not.
Wizardry and religious diversity
The Grey School teaches Wizardry as an art, science, philosophy, and way of life. It does not teach Wizardry as a religion or seek to promote a particular faith. Faculty and pupils may follow any faith or none, and School instruction should respect that diversity.
The role of a Wizard does not itself confer the office of priest or representative of a church. Wizardry draws upon magick, arcane lore, mysticism, philosophy, and a broad range of knowledge and practical experience. People may pursue that work within different religious traditions or outside a religious framework.
The School does not offer instruction on how to join or practice a particular religion. It may study comparative religion, mythology, history, and the mystical traditions and ceremonies of different religions where those subjects relate to Wizardry. When spiritual matters arise within another subject, teachers are encouraged to draw examples from more than one tradition.
Faculty should avoid favoritism in their treatment of religious material and should recognize that different traditions contribute different bodies of material to the subjects being studied. Members are expected to treat diverse faiths with dignity and to engage courteously with people and ideas whose affiliations differ from their own. Proselytizing and promoting a personal religion within the School are inconsistent with this educational purpose.
Hazing
Definition of Hazing
Hazing is defined as the imposition of hazardous, belittling, or humiliating rituals as a part of gaining entrance into or acceptance by a group.
The Grey School’s Position on Hazing
In the GSW, we want our Apprentices to feel safe, first and foremost. As an education institution that takes itself seriously, and as an organization with tax exempt status in the U.S., we must make every effort to conduct ourselves professionally, as befitting a school. This includes not creating situations that could fit the definition of hazing, as this could have profound legal consequences.
Within the United States and throughout the world, "hazing" has an extremely negative history, and is now widely decried by most social groups. The GSW does not wish to be associated with the idea of hazing in any way.
Guidelines for Preventing Hazing
In all in-person GSW activities (gatherings, Conclaves, moots, internships, etc.), avoid situations in which Apprentices are blindfolded without their consent, led to a secret location without their consent, or exposed to any sort of potentially hazardous or humiliating actions (e.g., "paddling," even if only symbolic).
In all in-person GSW activities, Apprentices should feel that they are fully prepared for all activities and situations, should understand what will happen, and should give an "informed consent" re: their participation.
If any group uses an in-person activity to carry out a ritual that involves only specific members and takes place away from the main group, the details must be shared (before the activity) with the Wizard in Charge.
If possible, consider approaching "membership rituals" via an initiation, rather than through anything that could be even loosely construed as hazing.