> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.auibsal.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Policy Manual

> SAL-POL-01 · How we treat people, money, words, images and data, in eighteen short policies.

<Warning>
  **Draft 1, not yet adopted.** Dated September 28, 2026, for adoption by the Council under Article XV of the Constitution. Once adopted it binds every member and role holder; until then nothing below is in force.
</Warning>

<Card title="Download the PDF" href="https://auibsal.org/documents/policy-manual.pdf">
  The signed and dated copy is the authority. This page is the same text, set for reading on screen.
</Card>

| Document | Version | Owner | Approved by |
| - | - | - | - |
| SAL-POL-01 | 1.0 (draft) | General Secretary | Council (two-thirds) |

Prepared by Shaheen Farjo, Founder & President. Next review: each September. The current version always lives in SAL Drive › 01 Governance; printed copies may be out of date.

## How policies work

Each policy is short, has an owner, and is reviewed every year. Where a policy is silent, members use judgement and ask the owner.

| Who they bind | Where they sit | How they change |
| - | - | - |
| Every member at every Society activity, online and offline, and every role holder at all times while acting for the Society. | Below University policy, the Constitution and the Bylaws. If they conflict, the higher document wins. | By two-thirds of the Council, reported to members within seven days; members can overturn a change at the next General Assembly. |

| No. | Policy | Owner | Review |
| - | - | - | - |
| P1 | [Code of Conduct](#p1-code-of-conduct) | Vice President | September |
| P2 | [Respect and Anti-Harassment](#p2-respect-and-anti-harassment) | Vice President | September |
| P3 | [Safeguarding](#p3-safeguarding) | President | September |
| P4 | [Expression and Content](#p4-expression-and-content) | President | September |
| P5 | [Consent, Photography and Media](#p5-consent-photography-and-media) | Media Director | September |
| P6 | [Privacy and Member Data](#p6-privacy-and-member-data) | General Secretary | September |
| P7 | [Money and Cash](#p7-money-and-cash) | Treasurer | September |
| P8 | [Conflicts of Interest and Gifts](#p8-conflicts-of-interest-and-gifts) | General Secretary | September |
| P9 | [Credit and Creative Work](#p9-credit-and-creative-work) | Director of Letters | September |
| P10 | [Generative AI](#p10-generative-ai) | Director of Letters | September |
| P11 | [Partnerships and Sponsorship](#p11-partnerships-and-sponsorship) | Director of Partnerships | September |
| P12 | [Communications and Brand](#p12-communications-and-brand) | Media Director | September |
| P13 | [Events and Safety](#p13-events-and-safety) | Director of Programmes | September |
| P14 | [Inclusion and Accessibility](#p14-inclusion-and-accessibility) | Director of Membership | September |
| P15 | [Accounts and Access](#p15-accounts-and-access) | General Secretary | September |
| P16 | [Records and the Archive](#p16-records-and-the-archive) | General Secretary | September |
| P17 | [Complaints](#p17-complaints) | Vice President | September |
| P18 | [Speaking Up About Money](#p18-speaking-up-about-money) | Faculty Advisor | September |

## P1. Code of Conduct

**1.1** Treat everyone at a Society activity with courtesy, whatever their views, language, college or background.

**1.2** Critique the work, never the person. Feedback in workshops and editorial meetings is specific, kind and useful.

**1.3** Keep your commitments, or say early that you cannot. Stepping back is always allowed; disappearing is not.

**1.4** Respect the University's rules, its property, and the rooms and people who host us. Leave every room as you found it.

**1.5** Keep confidential what is confidential: unpublished submissions, votes, personal data and conduct cases.

**1.6** No alcohol, drugs or weapons at any Society activity. No one attends a Society activity intoxicated.

**1.7** Online, the same rules apply in Society groups and when speaking as a member of the Society.

## P2. Respect and Anti-Harassment

**2.1** Harassment, bullying, intimidation, discrimination and unwanted physical contact or attention are not tolerated, in person or online.

**2.2** Jokes, comments or content that demean anyone for their gender, ethnicity, religion, sect, language, nationality, disability or appearance are harassment, whatever the intent.

**2.3** Anyone who experiences or sees harassment may tell any officer, the Faculty Advisor or the Office of Student Life. They will be believed, listened to and protected from retaliation.

**2.4** Serious cases are referred to Student Life under University policy (B10.7). The Society may suspend a member from activities while a case is open.

## P3. Safeguarding

**3.1** Some programmes reach children or vulnerable people, for example through charity partners or school visits. Their safety comes before any event or photograph.

**3.2** No member is alone with a child. Activities with children always have at least two members present and a partner organisation responsible for the children.

**3.3** No identifiable photographs of children are taken or published by the Society, even with permission.

**3.4** Anyone worried about a child's safety tells the President or the Faculty Advisor the same day. The Society does not investigate; it refers to Student Life and the responsible partner.

## P4. Expression and Content

**4.1** Literature and art deal with the whole of human life, including grief, love, faith, violence, war and doubt. The Society defends its members' right to write, perform and publish serious work.

**4.2** The Society is non-partisan and non-sectarian. It does not campaign for parties, candidates or sects, and its channels are not used to do so.

**4.3** Society content does not incite hatred or violence, defame real people, reveal private information, or break the law or University policy.

**4.4** Work that deals with sensitive subjects carries a short content note where readers or audiences would want one.

**4.5** If an editor or director is unsure, they ask the Programme Chair, then the President, then the Faculty Advisor, in that order. Waraq also has its Advisory Board for flagged pieces.

**4.6** Editorial decisions belong to the editors (Constitution 10.3). Overruling one requires grounds of law, safety or University policy, and written reasons.

**4.7** Light formats such as Side Quest and Bad Poetry Night keep to their own rulebooks: no takes on politics, religion, sect or ethnicity.

## P5. Consent, Photography and Media

**5.1** Anyone clearly featured in Society video or photography, or in an interview, signs a release (Form F-17) before publication. Guests see their episode or feature before it is released.

**5.2** At every event, a notice says that photography is taking place. Anyone may wear a camera-shy sticker or ask not to be photographed; photographers respect this without question.

**5.3** Anyone may ask for a photo or video of themselves to be removed. The Society takes it down within 24 hours, no reasons needed.

**5.4** Crowd photographs are fine; close-ups of individuals who have not agreed are not published.

**5.5** Photographs of people praying, in distress or in private moments are not taken.

<Note>
  Removal requests (5.3) can be sent from auibsal.org/contact; officers see them in the Nexus with the 24-hour deadline. See [Content](/content).
</Note>

## P6. Privacy and Member Data

**6.1** The Society collects only what it needs: name, AUIB email, college, year, phone (optional), and attendance. It never collects ID numbers or bank details.

**6.2** Member data lives in the restricted Members folder, seen only by the officers, the Director of Membership and the Records Lead.

**6.3** Member data is never shared outside the Society or used for anything other than Society business, including campaigning in Society elections.

**6.4** Members may ask to see or delete their data at any time. Data of members who leave is deleted one year after they leave, except their name and roles in the archive.

**6.5** Submissions, ballots and conduct records follow their own retention rules: Waraq's guidelines, B6.11 and B10.8.

## P7. Money and Cash

**7.1** Spend only within an approved budget and within the limits in Constitution 13.2: up to 50,000 IQD by a Director with the Treasurer, up to 250,000 IQD by the President and the Treasurer, above that by Council vote.

**7.2** Get a receipt for every purchase and upload a photo within 48 hours. No receipt, no reimbursement, except where the Treasurer accepts a signed note for a small purchase where receipts are not given.

**7.3** Cash is counted by two people, recorded and signed on Form F-14, and never kept overnight by one student.

**7.4** No personal loans from Society money, no mixing of Society money with personal money, and no payments to yourself approved by yourself.

**7.5** Charity money is held separately, never used for costs, and handed over in full at a witnessed handover with a receipt.

**7.6** Prices charged to members and the public are set by the Council and displayed.

## P8. Conflicts of Interest and Gifts

**8.1** A conflict of interest is any situation where a personal interest, relationship or loyalty could affect, or seem to affect, a Society decision.

**8.2** Role holders complete Form F-18 each semester and declare new conflicts as they arise, at the start of the meeting concerned.

**8.3** A person with a conflict does not vote on, score or approve the matter. Examples: interviewing a close friend; reading a partner's submission; choosing a supplier owned by family.

**8.4** Gifts to the Society are recorded by the Treasurer. Personal gifts to role holders because of their role are declined, except small tokens of thanks under 10,000 IQD.

## P9. Credit and Creative Work

**9.1** Creators own their work. By presenting or submitting it, they give the Society permission to show, perform, publish and archive it for the purpose agreed, and nothing more.

**9.2** Everyone who works on a Society project is credited by name in its programme, masthead or end credits, unless they ask not to be.

**9.3** Published plays, music and images used by the Society have the rights holder's permission, or are in the public domain. The Director of Stage & Arts keeps the rights file.

**9.4** The Society's name, the Key monogram, its templates and its programme names belong to the Society. Members may use them only for Society business.

**9.5** Plagiarism in any Society programme leads to withdrawal of the work and may lead to action under P1.

## P10. Generative AI

**10.1** Creative work submitted to Society programmes (Waraq, the Prizes, Scratch Night, the Typewriter Tour) must be the member's own. Work drafted, written, translated or generated by AI is not eligible. Spellcheck and basic grammar tools are fine.

**10.2** AI detectors are unreliable and are never used as evidence on their own. Where there is a real concern, editors talk to the author and may ask for drafts, following Waraq's procedure.

**10.3** Role holders may use AI tools for administrative drafting, provided a person checks every word and fact, and no member data or unpublished submissions are put into them.

**10.4** AI-generated images are not used in Society promotion without being labelled, and never to depict real people.

## P11. Partnerships and Sponsorship

**11.1** The Society partners with clubs, departments, charities and cultural organisations whose aims fit its mission and who treat people fairly.

**11.2** Every partnership that involves money, shared branding or shared responsibility has a written memorandum (Form F-26), signed by the President.

**11.3** The Society does not accept sponsorship from political parties, religious or sectarian bodies, tobacco, alcohol or gambling businesses, or any sponsor that would compromise its independence.

**11.4** Sponsors get acknowledgement, never editorial influence. Sponsorship above 250,000 IQD needs a Council vote and, where required, Student Life approval.

**11.5** Charity partners are checked before each edition: who they are, who they help, how they account for money, and whether they will provide receipts.

## P12. Communications and Brand

**12.1** The official channels are @auibsal, The Common Room on Telegram, the Society's AUIB email and the all-student email through Student Life.

**12.2** Routine posts are approved by the Media Director or the Social Media Lead. Posts about sensitive subjects, partners' money or University matters are approved by the President.

**12.3** Only the President, or someone the President names, speaks for the Society to the press, to other institutions or in public statements.

**12.4** All Society materials follow the Brand & Identity Guide. Programme sub-brands carry "a Society of Arts and Letters programme".

**12.5** If a post causes harm or a serious error, it is taken down first and discussed after. The Media Director tells the President within the hour.

**12.6** Arabic and English appear together on calls, notices and major announcements.

## P13. Events and Safety

**13.1** Every event follows the event process in the Operations Playbook, including the lead times for Student Life approvals.

**13.2** Events over 30 people, events with equipment or cash, and any off-campus activity complete a risk check (Form F-11) approved by the Director of Programmes.

**13.3** Off-campus activities, including the Mutanabbi Walk, go ahead only with written Student Life approval, a named lead, a register of who is attending, and a plan for transport and emergencies.

**13.4** Every event has a named lead on the day who knows the exits, the first-aid point and the Student Life and security contacts.

**13.5** Incidents, however small, are recorded on Form F-19 within 24 hours.

## P14. Inclusion and Accessibility

**14.1** Everything the Society runs is free to members, or has a free way to take part.

**14.2** The Society chooses venues that everyone attending can reach, and asks on sign-up forms whether anyone needs adjustments.

**14.3** Arabic and English are both welcome at every activity. Readings in one language are introduced in the other where possible.

**14.4** Events are timed to allow members who commute or have family duties to attend, and major events are not held in exam weeks.

**14.5** The Director of Membership reviews each semester who is joining and who is not, and proposes outreach to under-represented colleges and groups.

## P15. Accounts and Access

**15.1** Every Society account (Instagram, Telegram, email, Drive, forms) has at least two administrators on the Council, and two-step verification switched on.

**15.2** Passwords are kept in a shared password manager held by the General Secretary and the Media Director, never in chats or documents.

**15.3** Access is given for the role, not the person, and removed within seven days of someone leaving a role.

**15.4** Society files are kept in the Society Drive, not on personal devices or personal accounts.

## P16. Records and the Archive

**16.1** Kept for as long as the Society exists: the Constitution and every version of it, the Founders' Roll, minutes and decisions logs, annual reports and accounts, programmes and term cards, Waraq issues, the Book of Members and the Book of Fellows, and a selection of photographs.

**16.2** Kept for two years: event plans, risk checks, receipts and correspondence. Then reviewed by the Archivist.

**16.3** Each semester, the Archivist deposits a copy of printed materials with the University Library if the Library agrees.

## P17. Complaints

**17.1** Anyone, member or not, may complain about the Society or any member acting for it, by speaking to any officer or on Form F-20.

**17.2** Complaints are acknowledged within three days and answered within fourteen, following B10 where conduct is involved.

**17.3** A complainant who is not satisfied may take the matter to the Faculty Advisor, and then to the Office of Student Life.

**17.4** Nobody is disadvantaged for making a complaint in good faith.

## P18. Speaking Up About Money

**18.1** Anyone who believes Society money or property is being misused should tell the Treasurer, the President or, if either is involved, the Faculty Advisor directly.

**18.2** The concern is treated confidentially. The Faculty Advisor may order an immediate Audit.

**18.3** Raising a concern honestly is never a disciplinary matter, even if it turns out to be mistaken.

## The Member Pledge

The short version, signed by every member when they join (Form F-02) and read aloud by the new Council at the Ribbon.

> As a member of the Society of Arts and Letters, I will treat everyone with courtesy and every piece of work with care. I will critique the work and never the person. I will respect consent, before a camera and on the page. I will be honest with the Society's money and its members' trust. I will keep what is confidential, keep my word or say early that I cannot, and leave every room better than I found it.

<div dir="rtl" lang="ar">
  > بصفتي عضواً في جمعية الفنون والآداب، أتعهّد بأن أعامل الجميع بلطف، وكلَّ عملٍ بعناية؛ أن أنتقد العمل لا صاحبه؛ أن أحترم الموافقة أمام الكاميرا وعلى الورق؛ أن أكون أميناً على مال الجمعية وثقة أعضائها؛ أن أحفظ ما هو سرّي، وأفي بوعدي أو أعتذر مبكراً، وأن أترك كل مكان أفضل مما وجدته.
</div>

Arabic text to be checked by a native speaker before printing.


## Related topics

- [SAL Docs](/index.md)
- [The Constitution](/documents/constitution.md)
- [The Society's documents](/documents/overview.md)
- [Member Handbook](/documents/member-handbook.md)
- [When something breaks](/platform/incidents.md)


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