SIGHPC CARES for Our Community
Many of us look forward to attending the SC Conference and other HPC-related conferences every year, knowing that we’ll get to interact with friends and colleagues, absorb new knowledge about our field, and share our own accomplishments with our peers.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a great experience at these big events, whether because of plagiarism, misrepresentation, discrimination, or harassment. That’s where CARES comes in.
The SIGHPC Committee to Aid REporting on discrimination and haraSsment policy violations (CARES) seeks to discourage bad behavior and offer a sympathetic ear for community members to discuss their experiences confidentially. A committed, engaged group of well-respected individuals who are part of the SC community have agreed to serve on the CARES Committee. They will attend the various SIGHPC-supported meetings throughout the year, and provide a quiet, private place for anyone who would like to discuss an incident that occurs at or around the event.
The purpose of CARES is to raise awareness of and deter discriminatory, harassing, or other unethical behavior and incidents related to SIGHPC activities and publications. Our goal is to empower all SIGHPC community members to speak up if we observe such behavior.
For SC21, a handful of CARES members will be on-site, while others will be available remotely. CARES members will be introduced at the opening session on Tuesday morning, November 16.
If you witness or experience a violation of ACM policies at SC21, here’s what you can do:
- Talk to a CARES Committee Member: If you don’t know them, look for a SIGHPC CARES button on their shirt
- Send an email to the CARES Committee
Please remember that SIGHPC CARES offers informal support and advice only; Members of SIGHPC CARES cannot formally represent any individuals reporting ACM code of conduct violations and are not involved in any aspect of the handling of the complaint by ACM. Individuals experiencing discrimination and harassment are responsible for initiating formal complaints to the ACM, which will be handled in accordance with ACM’s policies. CARES members may advise on the process, but cannot be directly involved in the reporting.
SIGHPC CARES looks forward to serving our community and supporting individuals who may experience any inappropriate situations at SC21. However, we also hope that members of our community will treat each other with dignity and respect, making a group like CARES obsolete in the future.
Mary Hall & Barb Fossum, CARES Co-Chairs