Our policies and procedures below are created to foster a healthy and safe environment for our students, staff, faculty, and community. In addition to students, the Lyme Academy serves the general population, youth, and other artists. Be considerate of these members of our community while on campus and in the communal spaces.
By enrolling in the Academy, students agree to subscribe to these policies, including the Academy’s Title IX Policy against discrimination, harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual exploitation, and stalking. Please refer to the Academy’s Title IX Policy stated in this Handbook.
STUDIO POLICIES
Campus buildings are nonsmoking; we ask that you use the parking lots as designated areas to smoke.
None of the school’s instructional furniture (easels, drawing tables, stools, modeling stands, etc.) may be taken out of the studios.
Any person causing damage to the casts or other school property will be held financially and legally responsible.
Please leave all studios (including personal studio spaces), public areas, easels, and shared furniture clean and free of trash. DO NOT WASH OIL, GESSO, OR GLUE DOWN THE DRAINS.
The Lyme Academy does not assume responsibility for the loss or damage of personal belongings, artwork, or material left anywhere in the studios. Material, artwork, and other personal property left in the school by students after the end of the school year will be disposed of.
Students are expected to arrive 15-30 minutes prior to a model session to prepare materials and set up. Instructors are not required to give a critique to students who arrive late.
All individuals, including models, must refrain from talking while in the studio, and all cell phones should be in silent mode.
If there is a model posing in the studio, students should wait until a break to walk into or through the studio.
When not in use, hazardous materials must be stored in containers and clearly marked with their contents. Unmarked containers will be discarded. Paints and other hazardous materials may be stored in the appropriate freezers for non-food items.
All hazardous waste must be stored in a sealed container and left in the designated safety cabinet for pick up and disposal by Academy staff.
Students may not set up additional lights or heaters without permission from the Artistic Director.
Please dispose of painting rags and towels in the red metal garbage cans.
MODEL POLICIES
- Models should never be touched.
- No photography of nude or clothed models is allowed at any time.
- The class teacher or Studio Assistant is responsible for choosing any and all poses. For lengthy or extended poses, the teacher will work with the model to find a pose that is comfortable for the extended period.
- Only a teacher, Studio Assistant, or a student with the teacher’s consent, may correct or change a pose, or speak to the model while they are posing.
- If there is a model posing in the studio, students should wait until a break to walk into or through the studio.
- During breaks, models are required to wear clothing or a robe.
- All individuals, including models, must refrain from talking while students are working, and all cell phones should be in silent mode.
All students, staff, models, and faculty are responsible for knowing and observing all Academy policies and procedures.
The following list represents the types of conduct that are prohibited at the Lyme Academy. This list should be read broadly and is not designed to define all prohibited behaviors in exhaustive terms.
- Conduct that is disruptive to the Academy community, disturbs the peace, obstructs Academy objectives and/or operations, interferes with the rights and/or activities of others, and/or interferes with the performance and duties of Academy staff or faculty
- Harming behavior, which includes, but is not limited to, assault, abuse, harassment, intimidation, or bullying
- Conduct that threatens or jeopardizes the health or safety of any person including one’s self
- Possession or consumption of alcohol on campus, except at Academy events when alcohol is served
- Behavior that involves the abuse or misuse of alcoholic beverages, including laws governing minimum drinking age
- Possession, use, or distribution of illegal, harmful, and/or prohibited drugs or other controlled substances, including marijuana
- Improper possession, misuse, distribution, sharing, storage, and/or sale of any medication
- Use, possession, or distribution of firearms, weapons, or explosives
- The setting of or participation in unauthorized fires; the unauthorized or improper possession, use, removal, or disabling of fire safety equipment and warning devices; failure to follow standard fire safety procedures; interference with firefighting equipment or personnel
- The theft of another’s property or Academy property, or unauthorized possession of another’s property or Academy property
- Damage, defacement, and/or vandalism to another’s property or Academy property
- Propping or tampering with doors to prevent them from closing or locking
- Unauthorized removal, theft, or mutilation of Library materials.
- Deliberate misrepresentation or lying during a formal Grievance or Disciplinary Committee procedure
- Retaliation against any Academy community member for raising a good faith concern or issue regarding another community member
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is committed to equal opportunity and equal treatment of every student. It is the policy of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts not to discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, marital and civil partnership, pregnancy, age, religion or belief, national origin, or disability in the administration of its admissions policies, educational policies, employment practices, scholarship programs, and other Academy-related activities.
The following conduct is strictly prohibited under the terms of this policy. The below-defined conduct is not to be construed as an exhaustive or all-inclusive list of prohibited conduct. Conduct not specifically described below but which nonetheless implicates the purposes and application of this policy should be considered prohibited conduct for reporting purposes.
Violations of this policy by students, staff members, guests, or visitors should be reported immediately to the Artistic Director, the Managing Director, or the Academy’s designated Title IX Coordinators.
To contact the Artistic Director, Jordan Sokol, please email:
jordan@lymeacademy.edu
To contact the Managing Director, Wendy Bury, please email:
wendy@lymeacademy.edu
To submit a concern, or file a complaint to the Title IX Coordinators, please contact: titleixcoordinator@lymeacademy.edu
Retaliation against anyone for making a good faith report of alleged violation of this policy is prohibited. The Academy will evaluate reports of conduct prohibited by this policy on a case-by-case basis.
VIOLENCE
The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts disapproves of and will not tolerate threats, violent behavior, or acts of intimidation of any kind by any member of the Academy community upon any other staff member, faculty, student, or visitor. All students are forbidden to commit acts of offensive and inappropriate behavior in the school at any time. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action and possible expulsion.
It is every student’s responsibility to report all threats, acts of intimidation, harassment,
violence (physical or verbal), and any other unacceptable behavior immediately. All reports will be investigated. Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to the following:
Threatening telephone calls and/or written messages
Vandalism of personal or company property
Following or stalking other associates or guests
Threats of retaliation, “getting even” with another associate
PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE
The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts does not tolerate physically abusive behavior. The Academy also does not tolerate verbal or other emotionally abusive behavior, including but not limited to harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or past or present physical or mental disability.
STALKING
Stalking is defined as a course of conduct involving more than one instance of unwelcome conduct that causes a person to fear for their personal safety or to experience substantial emotional distress. Acts that together constitute stalking may include direct actions or actions communicated to or by a third party, or other means of communication. Substantial emotional distress is defined as significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.
Stalking includes the concept of cyberstalking, a particular form of stalking in which electronic media such as the Internet, social networks, blogs, cell phones, texts, or other similar devices or forms of contact are used to pursue, harass, or make unwelcome contact with another person in an unsolicited fashion.
Examples of stalking may include, but are not limited to:
Unwelcome and repeated visual or physical proximity to a person
Repeated oral or written threats
Extortion of money or valuable
Unwelcome/unsolicited written communication, including letters, cards, emails, instant messages, and messages on online bulletin boards
Unwelcome/unsolicited communications to or about a person, their family, friends, or co-workers
Sending/posting unwelcome/unsolicited messages with an assumed identity
Explicitly or implicitly threatening physical contact
Any combination of these behaviors directed toward an individual person
NON-FRATERNIZATION POLICY
The Lyme Academy is committed to providing its students with an educational environment that is safe and conducive to learning. A non-fraternization policy has been established to promote the efficient and fair operation of the Academy, free from bias, conflict, or inequitable treatment, and to avoid misunderstandings, complaints of favoritism, morale problems, questions regarding academic achievement, and sexual harassment. The Academy holds its administrators, faculty, staff, and models to the highest ethical, moral, and professional standards of conduct. Staff, faculty, and models must establish and maintain appropriate professional and personal boundaries with students and not engage in any behavior that could reasonably lead to even the appearance of impropriety.
All administrators, faculty, staff, and models are prohibited from unethical or inappropriate fraternization with students, including, but not limited to: dating, pursuing a date, and having or pursuing a romantic or sexual relationship with students. Staff, faculty, and models are prohibited to date or engage in any improper fraternization or undue familiarity with students, regardless of the student’s age and/or whether the student may have “consented” to such conduct. Consensual sexual relationships are prohibited between a student and faculty or staff member who is in a position to exercise power or authority over that student (except in cases where the relationship precedes the student’s matriculation).
All students and members of the Lyme Academy community have an obligation to report known fraternization, or advances, to the Managing Director or Artistic Director. Failure to comply with this policy will result in disciplinary action, up to and including suspension without pay, or termination of employment or association with the Academy.
ALCOHOL AND DRUG POLICY
Students, faculty, staff, and models, as well as visitors and guests on school property, are prohibited from engaging in the consumption of alcohol with the exception of designated events. In addition, students, faculty, staff, and models, as well as visitors and guests on school property, are prohibited from engaging in the use of recreational drugs. The penalties for violations will include the ejection of the violator from school property and in the case of a student violator, their probation or expulsion.
DIVERSITY STATEMENT
The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is an inclusive educational institution, and strives to create a welcoming community where all individuals are respected and included. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view. We believe diversity drives creativity, and are building a culture where differences are valued.
TITLE IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts and other academic institutions. Discrimination based on sex includes acts of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct including sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
The Academy is committed to fostering an educational and working environment free of sex-based discrimination through proactive education and training. When the Academy becomes aware of incidents of discrimination based on sex, the Academy will stop the reported conduct, prevent its recurrence, remedy the effects, and hold those responsible accountable.
Students with concerns regarding this policy can contact either of the Academy’s designated Title IX Coordinators:
Students may submit a concern, or file a complaint by emailing: titleixcoordinator@lymeacademy.edu
