Memorandum on What the Institute Has No View About

MEMORANDUM TO ALL HOUSES MEM/1992/05

ON WHAT THE INSTITUTE HAS NO VIEW ABOUT

The Institute is a body that keeps some buildings in repair, keeps a record, and meets. It is not a church, a school of thought, a therapy, or a way of life, and it has no standing to advise anybody about the following. This list may be added to by any house. It may not be shortened.

Belief. We ask nobody what they believe and record nobody's religion. Members are of every religion and of none.

Politics. No house holds a position, endorses a candidate, or asks how anybody votes.

Who a person lives with, sleeps with, marries, or leaves. It is not our business and is not recorded. No house approves or disapproves of anybody's partner.

Family. Nobody is ever to be advised to see less of their family. We do not write to a member's family, do not receive complaints about a member from their family, and do not carry messages either way.

Children. The children of residents are not members. There is nothing for them to join, they hold no duties, and what they are taught is their parents' affair.

Work and money. We do not ask what anybody earns and we do not advise anybody about employment. We do not accept a gift large enough that refusing the next one would be awkward; the figure is printed in the accounts each year.

Health. We give no medical, psychiatric, or psychological advice. We hold no view about anybody's treatment or medication and do not ask about either. Nobody is to suggest, in any words at all, that coming here is a substitute for care, or that it treats anything. A member who says otherwise is to be corrected the same day and in front of whoever heard it.

Food, drink, and the body. The kitchen cooks what is asked for and does not comment.

Where a person lives. Residence is temporary and has a leaving date on the paper. No member is to be encouraged to give up a tenancy.

Time. The rota is what a person offered and nothing more. There is no expected quantity of attendance and no house is to keep a total.

A house uncertain whether something falls in this list should assume that it does.