Banned
The Omni Commons is dedicated to creating and maintaining a safe space for all. Unfortunately, this means that we must occasionally require certain individuals to leave and stay away from the Omni's physical or virtual space. Individuals who have been asked to leave may appeal to the Challenging Dominant Culture working group to arrange for conflict mediation. Email: cdc [at] lists [dot] omnicommons [dot] org
If the Omni Oakland Collective (or any of its member collectives) consenses to ban or suspend a person, that person is immediately and automatically banned from the entire premises of the Omni Oakland Collective, including all on-premise areas of its member collectives, groups, tenants, subtenants, common areas, and external parts of the building such as the smoking area. If any member of a collective asks a person to leave for safe space reasons, that person is immediately and automatically banned from the premises, until mediation can come to a resolution. All people who have been asked to vacate the space may seek mediation, conflict resolution, and to have their voice heard by the delegates. For additional information about this, please also refer to the Safer Space Policy and our Conflict Resolution Policy.
In a perfect world, the Omni would never have to ask anyone to leave. Unfortunately, the reality is that due to our open and welcoming nature, many people who have been pushed out of other spaces for inappropriate behavior move on to the Omni. Most of the individuals on this page have been found to have caused problems in other spaces. As a response to this phenomenon, sudo room has forged a safe space reciprocal ban agreement with Noisebridge. As such, all individuals on Noisebridge's 86 page who were banned for safe space reasons are not welcome at the Omni. If you feel that you or the Omni might benefit from a reciprocal ban agreement, please contact the Challenging Dominant Culture working group, or the member collective most similar to you.
Individuals Asked to Leave the Physical Space
Individuals who have been asked to leave are only temporarily unwelcome at the Omni. Once mediation has come to a resolution, they will be permitted back in the space.
- Stan - 2015-02-09
- Asked to leave due to repeated behavior that violated the safe space policy.
- Mediation is already in the works.
- Conflict Mediator: Jake
- Steve Bloom - 2015-02-08
- Asked to leave due to repeated behavior that violated the safe space policy.
- Steve has been asked to attend a sudo room meeting to seek a mediator and steward.
- Kwic - 2015-02-07
- Asked to leave due to repeated behavior that violated the safe space policy.
- Mediation was already underway before Kwic was asked to leave. Mediation with others is currently being set up.
- Conflict Mediator: Mary
- "Perry" - 2015-02-03 -
- An olderish musician (guitarist & uke-player), claiming to be a member of FNB but who was verified to be not, who has been discovered to be wandering drunk around the space, and in so being transgressing boundaries of personal space, private dance rehearsals, and disrupting meetings. Has been asked not to come to the space drunk, agreed, but did so again anyway. Therefore, in response to the last instance where an Omnier's space was violated while he was drunk, he is provisionally banned pending conflict resolution with Omni, which he should arrange.
- David T - Indefinitely banned from the sudo room physical space pending mediation 2015-01-08
- The collective/community they were identified with: sudo room
- David T asked someone in Sudo to borrow headphones. This went into overborrowing teritory; he left omni with them. The headphones were someone's property, a discussion about this occured, culminated into a physical and verbal confrontation.
- Jenny talked with David T and said he's not welcome at sudo room until he engages in conflict resolution.
- David T has since shown up outside the Omni and has continually be difficult to remove from the building.
- Chris - Indefinitely banned from the Omni physical space 2015-02-04
- The collective/community they were identified with: Food Not Bombs
- Sleeping in the space and getting aggressive when told it wasn't appropriate
- Food Not Bombs contacted Chris about this and he has agreed to stay away from the Omni. He has refused mediation.
- Rus (Aerosonic) - 2015-01-28
- Adam was working in Sudo, Rus stuck his hand into workbox and area; Adam noticed vaporizor gone. Adam confronted Rus. Rus admitted to going into Adam's stuff, but said that he then put the vape on the table. soon after Rus and his friends left Omni. Rus came back and was asked to leave. Jake offered to contact him via IRC, there Rus aka Aerosonic asked to do conflict mediation, Jake is uninterested in doing this. Jake spoke to three other people. Noisebridge says, Rus has no idea why anyone thinks he took the vape, maybe someone just saw him touch it, fails to acknowledge evidence
- Chris B - 2014-12-17
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- Repeatedly sleeping in the building
- Habiting the space for domestic use
- Sudo Room finds Chris B in bad standing and require that he re-apply for sudo room membership upon proof that he's found sustainable long-term housing.
- Scott Cohen - 2014-07-30
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- Violated safe space policy.
- Zach Houston - Indefinitely suspended from the Omni on 2014-07-22
- The collective/community they were identified with: Bay Area Public School, Timeless Infinite Light, Contemporary Art Museum of Oakland (CAMO), Omni
- Omni-wide suspension initiated by: Timeless Infinite Light
- BAPS had also previously requested temporary suspension of Zach from its own membership, pending conflict resolution process
- Violated Omni safe space policy.
- Extant mediation policy could not accommodate complexity of the issue.
- Suspension pending development of more robust conflict resolution or transformative justice model procedure.
- Ariel (Unknown last name. Anthony Repetto might know.) - 2013-09-04
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- Violated Sudo Room safe space policy. Prior to Sudo Room moving to Omni
- Repeatedly came in after being banned and refused to leave.
- Hard to kick out. Getting multiple people to line up shoulder to shoulder and walk her out has worked previously.
Banned
These individuals have expressed such damaging behavior that they have been permanently banned from the Omni Commons. They may request mediation, however, it does not have to be granted to them.
- Matthew Stephenson - 2014-09-25
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- Violated safe space policy
- Repeatedly slept in the basement, claimed to be a hitman, creeped on a member
- Seeks attention through claiming access to power, money and resources
- Timon - also goes by 'Ayer' on 2014-05-28
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- From the meeting notes: "Regardless of Timon's current membership status, we find him in "bad standing" with regard to sudo room's values, specifically with regard to "safe space". We ban Timon from the sudo room, for an indefinite period."
Need Permission Prior to Visiting
The following residents/tenants of 2141 Broadway (Bay Area Public School and Sudo Room's old location) are not allowed in the sudo room physical space and anywhere in the Omni, unless they are explicitly granted permission by consensus at two consecutive sudo room meetings and at least one Omni Delegates meeting:
- Johannes
- Billy
Previously Asked to Leave
These people are no longer unwelcome at the Omni. This data to be removed one year after expiration.
- Phil Wolff - Banned from Sudo Room 7-21-2014 until 8-??-2014.
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- Safe space violation.
- Did not disclose ties to Domain Awareness Center to Sudo & BAPS-supported Oakland Privacy Working Group which was working to stop the DAC.
- Misled folks to believe the matter had been resolved when it had not been.
- Concern that Phil was an informant.
- Matter was resolved through Sudo Room's conflict resolution policy and Phil Wolff is allowed back into Sudo Room's physical space.
- Ardeen (Last name unknown. May have a big red beard) - Temporarily banned from 2014-02-12 until 2014-03-12
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room, BAPS
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- For repeatedly sleeping at the sudo room physical space after being asked not to, and responding with anger when confronted about it.
- Sally (Last name to be posted) - Temporarily banned from the sudo room physical space from Wednesday 3rd of September 2014 until October 3rd 2014.
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- Repeatedly left her stuff in sudo and non-sudo spaces after being asked not to do so.
- Moved a bunch of furniture and set up what looked like a bedroom and living room in two Omni basement common rooms, even after being asked not to do that.
- Repeatedly slept at the old sudo room space at 2141 Broadway.
- Xavier Peniche - 6-mo ban from Sudo Room starting 3-2?-2014 to 9-2?-2014 (occurred back at 2141 Broadway, Sudo Room's old location)
- The collective/community they were identified with: Sudo Room
- Ban initiated by: Sudo Room
- Safe space violation
- Got into a physical altercation with a Sudo Room member