# 7: INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR AND LEGAL ISSUES

Working at a summer camp is a wonderful, difficult and challenging adventure. We at ICCP want you to have the best summer possible. Part of our task is to make sure you are aware of legal and behavioral issues that could be problematic for you or others at your camp, so that you can already be thinking about these, plan ahead and decide how you can best avoid unwanted situations. As Benjamin Franklin once said, ”An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

First of all, please make sure you are aware of your camp’s policies – all of them! Every camp has its own set of rules that govern how staff and campers are expected to act and interract. If you know what those rules are, then you can plan accordingly and be prepared. There will probably be some rules that you dislike, disagree with or think unnecessary,  and you are entitled to your own opinion about them, but, when you sign the camp’s contract you are saying to the camp director: ”I agree to live within and respect these rules.”

Most rules are there for a good reason, even if they don’t seem reasonable or logical to you (remember that you are entering a different culture where people may do things differently).

Let’s take a look at some key problem areas:

1.  Smoking

 Many camps do not allow smoking on camp property. If you are a smoker and you wrote on your application that you don’t smoke, now would be a good opportunity to give up smoking, because if your camp forbids smoking and you smoke there, you could be fired!

Some camps allow staff to smoke, but only in a restricted area, away from campers. Find out what your camps’s policy is on smoking, and be prepared to follow it.

2.  Alcohol

There are at least two issues here: the first one is, what is your camp’s policy about alcohol?

The second is, what is the legal age for drinking alcohol in the state where your camp is located? In some states the legal drinking age is 21. In other states it may 18,19 or 20.

Most camps (if not all) do not allow alcohol on camp property. Some camps ask that their staff avoid alcohol completely during their employment at camp, because a staff member could drink too much on their day off and return to camp and be unable to carry out their responsibilities satisfactorily. Other camps may allow staff to drink off camp property when they have a day off, but ask that staff use good judgement as to when and how much they drink.

One reason why camps discourage staff from drinking at all during their camp employment is that every summer some camp staff in the U.S. are seriously injured or killed as a result of drinking and driving. You may find yourself in a situation where another staff member who has been drinking offers you a ride in his or her car, or where staff members are drinking while riding or driving. This is a situation you need to avoid, at all costs. Don’t become a statistic. Be smart, just say no. Don’t get into any vehicle where alcohol is present, or believe someone who says, ”I’m not too drunk to drive,” because that is always a lie.

Most states have very strict laws concerning alcohol use and driving. If you drink and drive, you will be fired from your job, and you could be arrested, go to jail, pay a fine, and be deported.

3.  Drugs, medications and controlled or illegal substances

The use of illegal or controlled substances will result in your getting fired. You could also find yourself arrested by the police, charged with a crime, going to court, serving jail time, having to pay a fine, and being deported. This could also result in your being refused future entry into the U.S.

If you take any kinds of special medications, you should take enough with you for the summer, and also have your doctor’s prescription with you.

Most camps require that you give all medications to the camp nurse or doctor for safe storage upon your arrival at camp.

4.  Sexual relationships

Many camps discourage or forbid staff from developing romantic relationships with other staff while on camp property  because this could interfere with the staff members’ attention to their responsibilities and could cause other inter-staff difficulties.

In many states the legal age for consent is 18, regardless of whether or not the other person agrees to have a sexual relationship. If you have sexual contact with someone who is under the age of consent, it could result in your being fired, and also result in your being arrested, going to court, serving jail time, having to pay a fine and being deported, as well as being refused future entry into the U.S.

5.  Sexual harrassment

You are going to be a part of a camp community, and you are also expected to be a role model to campers and other staff. There will probably be other staff you will be attracted to and interested in, and this is perfectly natural, because you will be spending a lot of time with others and working closely with them. What you do with that interest and how you handle it, however, is something you should think carefully about, because the other person may not be interested in you, and not want you to express your interest.

Sexual harrassment is not limited to physical contact. It can occur any time that an individual is uncomfortable with another person’s approaches, comments or discussions.

No means no. Sexual harrassment is a crime, and could result in your being fired from your job, arrested, charged, going to court, serving jail time and being deported.

Americans are often very friendly to everyone they meet, and you could mistake someone’s general friendliness as a sign of interest. Don’t make assumptions. If you are unsure about a situation, try to find a way to tactfully and respectfully discuss the situation with that person.

If you feel that someone is showing you unwanted interest, you need to make it very clear to that person that you are not interested and that you do not want further attention from them. If that person should continue, you should bring the matter to your camp director’s attention immediately.

6.  Shoplifting

Removing any item from a shop or store without first paying for it is a crime, and could result in your being arrested and charged. Most stores have security cameras and personnel who make sure that shoppers don’t shoplift.

QUIZ # 5:  Inappropriate Behavior and Legal Issues

1. What is your camp’s policy about smoking?

2. What is your camp’s policy on alcohol?

3. What is the legal age for drinking alcohol in the state where your camp is located?

4. What is the legal age of consent in the state where your camp is located?

5. What special or prescription medicines do you take or will you need to take with you?

ACTIVITY # 5:  Inappropriate Behavior: Role Playing

1. You are a heavy smoker and want to give up smoking, but you haven’t managed to do so yet. On your camp application you wrote that you are a non-smoker. You had planned to give up smoking before you go to camp, but your flight is in three weeks . Your camp doesn’t allow smoking at all, even on camp property. You want to be honest with your camp director about this situation, but you don’t want to lose your position. The camp director seems to be a reasonable person. What will you say to him or her?

2. You are invited to go with some American counselors to the beach on your day off.

On the way to the beach, one of the guys pulls out a can of beer and starts drinking and passing the beer around. What will you say and do?

3. On your day off some of your American friends invite you to a garden party and

cookout at one of their homes. The host’s parents are away. There is a lot of alcohol there and there are also some drugs being passed around. Everybody is drinking  heavily.Your camp forbids the use of alcohol, even when off camp, during your camp employment. What will you say to your host, and what will you do in this situation?

4. You are an activity specialist and you work closely with another camp staff of the opposite sex in that activity area. You feel strongly attracted to that person and feel that the interest is mutual, but when you’ve suggested doing something together during one of your evenings off, the other person always says thank you but that they are busy. You would like to get to have a closer relationship with this person. How will you handle this situation?