Author: geas

Hey Adventurers,

Our first social of the term is coming up this Friday, January 22nd, at 7:00 on the GEAS Discord.

It’ll be held on the GEAS Discord, which you can join here: geas.org.uk/discord

If you’d like to be reminded of the event on Facebook, the event link is here: https://fb.me/e/DOBwGf4P

The dates for the socials during term 2 are as listed below:

• 22 January 2021
• 19 February 2021
• 19 March 2021
• 16 April 2021
• 21 May 2021

Hope to see you there!

Stella Segar

Socials Coordinator

Greetings, Adventurers!
It’s a new year and time to start some new games. I hope that you all had a pleasant and safe holiday season!

For a lot of you, this will have been a strange month, with many not being able to visit family or travel home. If you’d like to reach out and have a chat, or maybe a bit of a vent, we now have a safe spaces channel on our Discord. You’re welcome to talk about more sensitive issues here, and there are some additional rules in place to uphold the spirit of the channel.

The Discord now also has ping roles! We’re currently supporting notifications for: Among Us, Jackbox, Tabletop Simulator, Animal Crossing, or watch parties. To sign up for notifications, go to the #ping-roles channel and click on the reacts. This will then let other members notify you when they’re organising a game or gathering.

As always our Discord can be found at:
http://geas.org.uk/discord

Pitches
Once again, this year’s pitches will be held on the GEAS Discord server, with games running to the normal schedule:

• Wednesday games from 6pm till 10pm, starting on the 13th January.
• Sunday afternoon games from 1pm till 5pm, starting on the 17th January.
• Sunday evening games from 6pm till 10pm, also starting on the 17th January.

GMs that would like to run a game this term can submit their information below, with submissions closing 24 hours before their session slot is due to start:
http://geas.org.uk/pitches

GM Workshop
We’ll be hosting another GM workshop this month, on Sunday 10th January at 6pm. The panel of guests will be talking about why you should give GMing a go, and how to get started. So, if you’re thinking about pitching a game this semester but are feeling a bit unsure, this is a great chance to get your questions answered.

Social
As usual, our social will be happening on the third Friday of the month, this time on Friday 22nd January at 7pm. We’ll be hanging out in the socials channels, having a chat, and putting the world to rights. Come and make use of the new ping roles, gather some friends, and start a game or watch party. Maybe I’ll even stream some more of my awful CP77 gameplay.

Namárië,

Sophie Hine
GEAS Secretary

Dear Prof. Harmon,

Open Letter on University Security and Student Safety

My name is Vivek Santayana, and I am the Equality and Wellbeing Officer of a Geas: the Role-Playing Society at the University. I am also an international student from India. I am writing regarding the heinous racist attack on our campus on the evening of 11 December 2020, the University Security’s response to it, and the University leadership’s statement on 14 December.

I, as well as all of the undersigned members of Geas, would like to echo the concerns that other students, particularly members of East Asian and South-East Asian communities, are raising regarding students’ safety in light of this attack and other similar incidents in the past months on or near the Central Area campus. As a student society, Geas takes our responsibility to ensure the welfare of our members, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, very seriously, and we are committed to actively resisting racism.

We are especially alarmed by reports of the inadequacy of the University Security’s response to the situation. At our Society, we relied on the Security staff to ensure the safety of our members at in-person functions or events that we used to organise. When we have had incidents of abusive or hostile behaviour at our events in the past, we have turned to Security staff for their support. They remain an important point of call in all of our safety and complaints procedures. However, such reports of inaction have severely undermined our confidence in them, and consequently diminishes our ability to support our members’ safety and welfare.

To ensure the safety of our members, we need the Security staff to be able to support our Society by responding to and aiding students in the event that such incidents occur. This is why we are calling on you, as Vice-Principal Students, to:

• Launch a comprehensive investigation into University Security’s handling of this incident as well as their efficacy in dealing with racism on campus,
• Ensure that security staff are adequately trained, resourced, and up-skilled in assisting trauma survivors, so that they can intervene and support students during such incidents, and
• Hold staff who were responsible for security when the attack took place accountable for the way they respond to and handle complaints from students.

We would also like to involve the EUSA Vice-President Welfare to ensure that student voices are heard in the process, and that members of the BAME/BIPOC communities’ experiences and needs in particular are listened to.

We acknowledge that this is a distressing time for all students, especially students from minoritised backgrounds. The University has a public sector duty under §149 of the Equality Act (2010) to eliminate discrimination and harassment, and to promote good relations between communities. The leadership of the University thus has a responsibility to be proactive in its commitment to anti-racist work, and must recognise and address these incidents with due regard to the wider context. This is why it is imperative that any review or investigation of the University Security is conducted with particular emphasis on dealing with racism.

Moreover, simply increasing security and/or police presence on campus will not address the racism and inequality that are at the root of this issue. This securitisation and increased policing will further have a detrimental impact on BAME/BIPOC members of our community. We need a systematic and concerted effort by the University to support the welfare of students as well as local communities in order to mitigate these inequalities through long-term community-based approaches.

We as a student society want to ensure that the University is a safe place for our members, and we would like to lend our voice in support of students directly affected by racism on campus. This is why we are joining the call by student activists in the Racism Unmasked group for the University to take tangible and concrete measures in ensuring that our campuses are safe for students, and to pay specific and focussed attention to issues of racism in this current climate.

Sincerely,
Vivek Santayana
Equality and Wellbeing Officer
Geas: the Role-Playing Society

As well as the undersigned members of the Society:

Student Members

Duncan Henley-Washford
Matt Maufe
Jess Tallis
Angus Allan
Yves Pearl Hurley
Brooks Elder
Claire Bath
Emma Andersen
Samuel Lo
Harvey Newman
Dafni Kampitsi
Ruth Porter
Allyson D’Antonio
Selina Yoon
Bilal Khan
Joe Mclaughlin
Alexandra Popescu
Zain Khawar
Robyn Higgins

Alumni and Non-Student Members

Stephen McMorland
Jo Ross-Barrett
Edith Barrowcliffe
Alexander Dunlop

Greetings Adventurers,

(Content Warning: this email mentions the racist assault on campus this weekend, but does not go into detail.)

As you may be aware, there was a heinous racist attack in front of the University Library over the weekend. This incident has shocked the university community, in particular East Asian and South East Asian students who have been targeted in other similar incidents around the University over the last few months. The Geas Committee recognises that such hate crimes affect all our members directly or indirectly. While our events are all virtual, we acknowledge that many of our members are still accessing the University campus, and we want to do our part in making sure our members are safe. In this email, I would like to share some general advice on safety on campus (adapted from the UoE web site: https://www.ed.ac.uk/students/new-students/start-university/explore-edinburgh/staying-safe)

• Look after yourself. Incidents like this are deeply distressing. It is important that all of us look after our own welfare, either by talking to people, doing what we enjoy doing, taking a break from things, etc.
• Stay together in groups (while maintaining social distancing). There is safety in numbers, both in terms of you having others to back you up in a confrontation, and so you will have witnesses should you need to report or escalate the matter.
• Keep to well-lit and busy areas (especially if you’re on your own). This makes it more likely that other people will be able to support you should anything happen. While this doesn’t completely negate the risk, as the incident in question happened right in front of the library, it does make the situation easier to respond to afterwards.
• Make sure your phone is charged. This will enable you to contact the police, or to gather evidence of incidents later.
• Have friends or flatmates whom you check in with regularly. Let them know where you are, when you’ll be home, and if your plans change.
• Stay vigilant and aware of your surroundings. When in doubt, trust your gut. If something makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, just leave.
• Finally, reach out and check in with your friends from marginalised backgrounds. We recognise that there has been an increase in hate crimes against members of BAME communities, and we need to make sure to reach out and support people we know from minoritised backgrounds.

Furthermore, due to the way the University Security handled the situation, I personally am uncomfortable advising people to contact them in case of any incidents. Should something happen, raise it with security, but be sure to report it to the Police as well by calling 999. We understand that for a lot of people, going to the police can be deeply distressing, especially given existing issues of structural racism and ableism within policing. This is why, if you need any help with what to expect from contacting the police, please feel free to contact me (either via email at Geas.Welfare, or through social media), and I can share my experience of what dealing with the police to report hate crimes was like if it would be helpful. If you are a student, you can also speak to the EUSA Advice Place about how best to seek support.

As Geas’ Equality and Wellbeing Officer and as a South Asian student at the University, I understand how terrifying such an incident must be, especially for students from minoritised backgrounds. I just want to acknowledge that this fear is a valid and legitimate response to such a situation, and it is right for us to question how safe we are as students at the University. I would like to reassure everyone that we all belong at the University and that we deserve to feel safe. We will be asking the University to take concerted action to guarantee students’ safety and to address issues of racism, and we will do our best to signpost relevant resources and information to our members to the best of our abilities.

What Can We Do To Help?

To these ends, there are three concrete actions that our members can take if you want to do something about it:

1. The Committee is drafting an open letter to the Vice-Principal Students to investigate University Security’s inaction in the incident, and to ensure that the university is proactive in holding security to account and addressing issues of racism. We welcome all members, students and non-students, to sign this letter by adding their name (and student number where relevant) via the following Google form: https://geas.org.uk/openletter.
2. There is a solidarity demo happening this evening on University campus which you can attend (while adhering to social distancing and wearing a mask). Vivek will be at the event along with another staff members at the University, so you won’t be alone if you go. (Feel free to contact Vivek via Discord) https://www.facebook.com/groups/136169194764666/permalink/136666864714899/
3. The BAME Liberation Officer at the University is listening to feedback on any needs and suggestions BAME/BIPOC students may have. You can contact Ayanda Ngobeni at bme@eusa.ed.ac.uk

Solidarity with all our members.

By the Power of Friendship,
Vivek Santayana
Equality and Wellbeing Officer

Hey Adventurers,

Just a reminder that our last social of the term is this Friday, December 18, at 7PM!

It’ll be held on the GEAS Discord, which you can join here: geas.org.uk/discord

If you’d like to be reminded of the event on Facebook, the event link is here: https://fb.me/e/1PHnCZS7T

We’re also having our Winter one-shots on Saturday 19th December from 6-10 PM!

The theme will be around the winter holidays and Xmas, but as always all games are welcome!

The link to submit a game is here : https://geas.org.uk/holidayoneshots

As for socials and events coming up in term 2, keep an eye out for an update in the new year!

Faithfully yours,
Stella Segar
Socials Coordinator