Chancellor Q&A Thread-Danielle Beebe

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Q&A Thread for Danielle who is running for Chancellor for the 2016-17 term. Danielle, feel free to introduce yourself and respond to any questions. 

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Hi everyone! My name is Danielle Beebe and I'm running for Chancellor. I've been a member of the Order of Gallifrey for a year and a half--I joined up during WonderCon 2015 after viewing the Order's Costuming Panel and joining the Doctor Who photo meet-up.  Though I've held no position in the Order before, I have been in leadership roles in other clubs and organizations I've been involved with over the years, including several volunteer oriented groups in high school and college.  I've been cosplaying for Doctor Who for three years now--I have a Steampunk Cyberwoman, a Femme!Five, and an Ashildr that are completed and have several other DW cosplays in the works. I've been doing cosplay for close to a decade and have been into costuming since high school. Those of you in the Bad Wolf sector have likely met me, as I live in SoCal and am a fairly regular comic Convention goer and I've been on several Order panels at conventions since I joined the Order.  I'm also Volunteer Staff member for Comic Con and WonderCon and can usually be found running the Volunteer Department at those conventions when I'm not busy running around in my cosplays.


As someone who has been a victim of bullying, I am very interested in making sure our Members and any future Members feel like the Order is a safe place for them to express themselves, that they feel that no matter what their approach to DW cosplaying is, that they are accepted, and that those who violate our open-member and all-inclusive membership policy are dealt with fairly and expediently so that we continue to be a safe and family friendly environment.

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Answers to the questions posed to Chancellor candidates:

1) Above all else I feel any cosplay group needs to be a safe place for all the members in it and the safety and well-being of said members is my top concern. If elected, would you be open to re-investigating rulings from prior administrations if you or another member felt that the ruling could potentially compromise the safety of the members of OoG? Additionally, how would you work with the Lady President to ensure that the comfort and safety of our membership is guaranteed?

I would definitely be willing to re-investigate any rulings prior to my administration, especially if new information has come forward. I'd need to consult with the Lady President and the former Officers involved in any previous rulings before any rulings were overturned, to be certain I was getting all the information, but obviously mistakes can be made and I wouldn't want anyone to feel they were being unjustly treated. I would also wish to work with our Lady President to create a definitive policy on Bullying and the consequences for those who violate those policies and be sure that all Order Members are aware of our stance on bullying.

2) While the Order of Gallifrey has 805 members only 26 people voted for Lord Commander in the 2015 Elections. That means you could effectively win the Presidency with as few as 9 votes or 1.06% of the member base. Why do you think that is and what would you do to increase the activity of our membership base? Additionally, does the group warrant so many elected officials when in some areas they end up out numbering the general active membership?

Firstly, though only 26 people voted, I think the number of active members is much larger, based purely off my own observations, and I think many members simply chose not to vote for one reason or another. I think many of our members likely joined more as a source for information on DW cosplaying and less as a social group and interactive community, and that those who use the Order more as resource weren't likely to vote because they don't interact with the group. I also think that for those who only casually joined the Order, after a one off metope at a convention or event, they might not have notifications and alerts for Order posts turned on and therefore are missing a lot of what the Order is involved with. I'd certainly like to contact all of our members and get some feedback on what their participation level is in the group and if there's anything they feel we as the group can do better/differently to encourage them to participate more. Only having a small percentage of our group participating in events and Order discussions means we're missing out on the awesome things some of our Members are doing.

I also feel that because the Order is so widespread, having Sector leadership as well as the group leadership is important, so that issues that arrive can be dealt with by Officers more locally based. And while obviously we want all of our members to be active and participate in our activities, as we continue to grow, having a solid number of elected officers already in place to help support and enforce the Order's policies will be beneficial. If there are positions that our members feel don't do enough or they feel are unnecessary, the elimination of those positions can certainly be considered.

And one fun one for the road…

3) If you could only do one of your cosplays for the rest of your life – which would it be and why?
Of my completed cosplays, I'd probably go with my Elsa cosplay--I love how little kids get so excited to see me and want their picture with me it makes me happy to see their joy.