<div dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-43f79583-7fff-3817-7c19-fbca42d9c5b5"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Dear ASA Members</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">        An important part of the Annual Scientific Meeting is the Harley Wood School of Astronomy, for graduate students. At this year’s HWSA </span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">there was a significant accommodation issue, where</span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> some accommodation was not appropriate, and participants were assigned to shared accommodation randomly. This resulted in people sharing sleeping arrangements with strangers, possibly of a different gender. The ASA recognises this as entirely inappropriate. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">       The ASA Council has completed an investigation into how this occurred, and has put in place new procedures to ensure that this, or similar mistakes, do not occur in the future. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">       The Council has apologised to each HWSA participant, and sent them the results of our investigation as well as a summary of our procedural changes, designed to avoid similar occurrences.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">        If any member would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.</span></p></span><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"><div>John Lattanzio</div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><b><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(53,28,117)">I&#39;</span><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148)">m</span><font color="#000000"> </font><span style="color:rgb(106,168,79)">a</span><span style="color:rgb(241,194,50)">n</span><span style="color:rgb(230,145,56)"> </span><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><span style="color:rgb(153,0,255)"><span style="color:rgb(230,145,56)">L</span><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">G</span></span><span style="color:rgb(142,124,195)">B</span><span style="color:rgb(53,28,117)">T<span style="color:rgb(11,83,148)">I</span></span><span style="color:rgb(106,168,79)">Q</span></span><span style="color:rgb(0,255,0)"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="color:rgb(241,194,50)">A</span><span style="color:rgb(230,145,56)">l</span><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">l</span><span style="color:rgb(142,124,195)">y</span></span></span></b><i><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><b>  </b>    -     Find out more at </span></i><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/dHqECZY1NqiM3Z5nOhjS0cI?domain=monash.edu" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-family:arial,sans-serif;white-space:pre-wrap" target="_blank"><i>monash.edu/lgbtiqa</i></a><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>Professor John Lattanzio</div><div>President, Astronomical Society of Australia</div><div><br>School of Physics and Astronomy<br></div><div>Monash University Victoria 3800 AUSTRALIA<br><br></div><div>Ph:  +61 (0)3 9905-4428<br>WWW: <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/3lvJC2xMQzikNqponc2OuU7?domain=maths.monash.edu.au/" target="_blank">users.monash.edu.au/~johnl/</a><br><div><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/dWx3C4QOPEiJpNBALcMddXj?domain=orcid.org" target="_blank">orcid.org/0000-0003-2952-859X</a></div></div><div><font size="1"><br></font></div><div><font size="1">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:&quot;Open Sans Condensed&quot;,sans-serif"><font size="1">&quot;May you be surrounded by friends and family, and if that is not your lot, may the blessings find you in your solitude.&quot;  Leonard Cohen</font></span></div><div style="font-family:&quot;Open Sans Condensed&quot;,sans-serif;margin-top:16px"><font color="#000000"><br></font></div></div></div></div>