A Letter to TOPS Students

Dear Topsie,

We can take this opportunity to create something positive.

Yes, @fsociety_toronto should take this opportunity to create something positive. But so could we. We are half of the equation; our response definitely has influence on whether something positive comes out or not.

Whether the exposed emails are fake or not, for example, is irrelevant -- by only talking about that, we're not addressing the issue head on. By issue, I am referring to the inequality between TOPS and non-TOPS students, or the fact that many students believe that there is inequality. [1]

If you disagree with how a dictator is running your country and you want to enact change, you have no choice but to stage a violent rebellion. [2] I'm not saying TOPS is a dictatorship, but my hypothesis is that the owner of @fsociety_toronto felt like they had to hack the VP in order to get their voice heard. They probably tried to speak out previously and was unsuccessful.

(If we report and take down the account, we are further shushing them out even more.)

Think about it. Last year, if a non-TOPS student told you they thought TOPS was unfair, would you have listened?

We can either choose to suppress the person, or to take the chance to make meaningful change. Clearly, someone is passionate and we can leverage that.

If we let this go by, sure maybe we've dealt with one person, but we did not deal with the problem. The problem will resurface later -- if you cut off the leaves, the plant will grow back as long as the roots are in place. Deal with the root cause, not the symptoms.

Cheers,

Laura

P.S.

I don't agree with how @fsociety_toronto handled the situation so far -- with the doxing and exposing. I agree with Sigil that writing a proposal about inequality would be helpful.

"They handled the situation poorly, so why shall we work with them? I'll wait for if they write the proposal."

If you truly want to see this issue resolved, you wouldn't wait for someone else to do the work before you act.

You can act now! It's definitely possible: DM @fsociety_toronto, help them with writing the proposal. Hear em out & consider the change they want to enact -- changing TOPS to start at Grade 11 (and more?). Maybe it's a good idea, maybe it's a horrible idea, but you cannot decide without concrete reasons.