It has come to our attention that accusations of serious misconduct, including sexual harassment, have been made against an individual who attended Apogaea’s annual art and music event this year. These allegations were corroborated by multiple parties and the individual accused admitted to at least some elements of them in a public forum. The Board believes very strongly that our organization is dependent upon, and founded upon, a sense of mutual respect, tolerance, and community. As such, acts of involuntary violence, sexual harassment, or assault are unusually harmful to the space that we are attempting to hold for our community and its myriad forms of self-expression. We have no tolerance for this behavior in any form, regardless of the excuses or explanations which have been offered for it. In recognition of the foregoing, the Board of Directors has decided to ban the individual in question from Apogaea, Inc. sponsored events until further notice. While we cannot guarantee that he will not somehow find his way into our events despite this pronouncement, we do not intend to sell him tickets and will regard his attendance at any of our events as an act of trespass. Further, while a future Board of Directors could reverse this decision, we would urge whomever follows in our footsteps to give careful consideration to the gravity of this situation and the position of this Board.
To be clear, our policy is that we do not accept or tolerate the sort of behavior at issue here. While we cannot guarantee that participants will be safe at all times and in all places at our event, Apogaea, Inc. does provide resources to help participants deal with inappropriate or harassing behavior. The most important of these resources at the Apogaea event is our Ranger team. The Rangers have multiple options for dealing with inappropriate behavior ranging from mediation up to and including asking (or requiring) a participant to leave the event. The Rangers also have the ability to provide you with a safe space to decompress or rest and to directly contact law enforcement if necessary. If you notice inappropriate behavior or feel as though your boundaries have been violated, please contact our Rangers and report the behavior. It goes without saying that participants also have the ability and right to contact law enforcement at any time or to reach out any of the members of Ignition or the Board of Directors for assistance. I would strongly urge all of you to reach out to the Board if you believe that your concerns have not been properly addressed by the Rangers or any other part of the organization. And, obviously, if for some reason the individual at issue here is sighted at an Apogaea, Inc. sponsored even, please let us know immediately.
Speaking personally, the Board was deeply saddened and concerned by this situation. As our community continues to grow and gain prominence in Colorado, it is nearly certain that we will attract individuals that behave inappropriately or disrespect the freedom that our community embraces. While Apogaea, Inc. provides resources to prevent these incidents, and plans to work to improve its capacity to do so, in the end we must rely on every member of the community to provide a safe space for fellow participants and to ingrain in our culture a fundamental respect for one another. As your Board, we look forward to working with all of you to strengthen this culture of inclusiveness and respect. We also wish to extend our thanks to all of the wonderful people that have built and sustained the open community that we cherish, as well as who have stepped forward to speak out against harassing and inappropriate behavior at our event.
Thank you for your time and attention,
The Apogaea Board of Directors.