ArchivedLogs:Emails - Priorities

Emails - Priorities
Dramatis Personae Jean Grey, Jax, Billy, Flicker, Rictor, Shane
In Absentia	2015-08-02 Set an example. Blaze a trail!
Location Emails
from: Jean Grey <jeangrey@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Mon, Jul 20, 2013 at 4:17 AM subject: Openness For a long while now, this institute has operated in secrecy -- has used that secrecy to provide our students, as well as our staff, with some modicum of safety and privacy. Sometimes this has worked well. Some times, less well. With the advent last year of the Mutant Registration Act as well as some rather high profile faculty and alumnae we now have, it is likely only a matter of time before the secrecy that has protected us is broken. One day, no doubt, some enterprising bureaucrat at the Mutant Affairs Division will notice just how many registered mutants share an address here, and will investigate. There is always a possibility that that will end poorly. As yet, that is only a possibility. Recently, the matter was broached as to whether it may be in our best interests to simply come forward pre-emptively. To go public, with who we are and what we do. It would certainly be a large change -- in the amount of scrutiny we get, in the challenges we face. It would affect the lives of our students enormously. As of right now, it is a matter we would like to open to discussion. Such an enormous upheaval is not one the administration takes lightly, and certainly not one we would undertake without input from those of you tasked with educating and safeguarding the children here. Please feel free to respond -- either on-list or off, with your input and feelings about the direction of the school with regards to potentially going public. Jean Grey from: Jax Holland-Zedner <littlemisssunshine@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Tue, Jul 20, 2013 at 1:03 AM subject: Coming Out I guess my opinions should be taken with a grain of salt, both because it's situations like mine that make the school's discovery more inevitable and because outing the school is going to have the least effect on people like me who are already so publicly... Freak. But I think there's a lot of good that can come from disclosing on our own terms, being able to tell the truth before we're left scrambling to clean up after whatever lies someone is inevitably going to make up about what we do here. More than that, I think there's a lot of good that can come simply from being public. A lot of students we could reach who'd never know about us otherwise. A lot of parents and educators other places who might not need a whole specialized school like this but might not know anywhere to come to ask for advice on a recently manifested kid who'd be perfectly fine staying in their home, at their school, but could use some extra counsel from people who've done this for years. A lot of educators other places who maybe have wanted to start similar schools but have had no idea where to start or who to look to for a model for precedent. It'd be a huge challenge, both by way of sudden enormous extra demand for services we aren't yet equipped to handle and by way of publicity and harassment and security threats... but I think we could prepare and BE equipped. I think the pros outweigh the cons, here. Jax from: Fitzwilliam H. Sharpe <billy.sharpe@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Tue, Jul 20, 2013 at 12:44 PM subject: Re: Openness As a people, I wholeheartedly believe that there was a time in our history when our anonymity was necessary for our survival. In these days of mutants being exaggerated and demonized in the media, it seems as though stepping forward and leading the conversation is the next logical step for that survival. A great majority of the world, fledgling mutant children included, only see sensationalized depictions of us as terrorists or vigilante heroes. It may do a great deal for our cause to highlight more sympathetic, even benign members of our race. The people leading ordinary lives, learning, and contributing. We have a great reservoir to choose from of alumni that this school has helped to flourish out in the world. On that note, my concern is for those of us out in the world that will inevitably be linked to Xavier's. I am fully prepared to do whatever is asked of me, but to what degree do we close ranks? Should those of us living off campus be preparing ourselves to set up semi-permanent residence on school grounds? Bleach from: Flicker <blinkdog@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Tue, Jul 20, 2013 at 11:23 PM subject: Re: Openness I think it'd do a world of good. Set an example. Blaze a trail! ... sure, it's going to rain hell down on us, but come on. We've BEEN through hell. How many times? We've weathered it. We'll weather it. Jax and Billy are right. There's a whole lot of great that could come from this. And the bad? I mean, there'll be bad. But the Clinic's still standing after a million terrible storms. I am confident we are equipped to protect this school and its residents. Everyone who's already graduated and out in the world already -- that's going to be harder. Having Xavier's School on your transcript or resume is going to be its own kind of target now. That -- I don't even know where to start with how to protect everyone out in the world already. At the very least, a heads up to the alumnae list would be good. At the *very* least. Flicker from: Julio Ricter <jricter@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Wed, Jul 21, 2013 at 8:25 AM subject: Re: Openness I believe one of the benefits of attending this school is getting the chance to develop the confidence to do, on a personal level, just what you're asking of the school. I may not be the registered, out-and-proud mutant I am now without having been a student here, and I'm thankful of that. While this is true, and you have all made compelling arguments to publicize the school's intentions, I'm not comfortable doing so without keeping in mind how it will affect students, alumni, and their families. Many current students may wish to withdraw without the secrecy we offer them, and the trickle down effect will not be totally positive for those involved with school associates. In addition, we have to take into account all the students we will no longer be able to admit: The shy, the scared, and the traumatized students who want to keep their mutations a secret. They deserve a safe place to come into their own while they choose what to reveal about themselves to the public, and this school has done so well turning just those types of students into mutants ready to engage open themselves up to society. Whatever decision is made, I'll back it, and I truly hope this school can be even more progressive toward mutants and mutant rights than it already is. I'm just raising some concerns that I think need to be addressed. After, we can talk about the security we all admit will more than likely be necessary after such a decision is made. from: Shane Holland <sholland@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Wed, Jul 22, 2015 at 6:33 PM subject: Priorities I'm probably not supposed to be so blunt or maybe I'm not supposed to be so angry but what the hell ever I guess it's always been my *thing* to say all the shit I'm Not Supposed To, right? Only, like, fuck the shy kids who want to keep their mutations a secret. OK, no, that's not actually what I mean, let me back up a second before I make other people angry too. (Maybe too late.) It's just -- I just graduated here last month so Being A Student here is really freaking fresh in my mind, right? And you know who this place has ALWAYS catered to? Those kids. You know who this place has ALWAYS shoved to the back of the freak bus? Kids like me, who never have a CHOICE about if we want to keep our mutations a secret. I'm not going to turn this email into a litany of The Angry Problems I Have With How XS Treats Visible Mutants Like We're Not As Important but oh boy do I *have* problems with it. You know which kids out there are at WAY the fuck higher risk of getting beaten to death, murdered by cop, homelessness, jail, imprisonment, all the problems the world can throw at us, because there's no way on EARTH we could EVER hide? Hint: it's not the ones hemming and hawing about whether to keep their mutations a secret. It's the ones with blue skin and claws and tails and wings and tentacles who know they damn well don't have a choice, and have nowhere on earth to turn, and boy do they wish they'd known about this place years ago. So, I mean, sure, we could have a game plan for giving the shy kids counselling or some shit, maybe, to adjust to this change, but I am so not on board with continuing to prioritize the *comfort* of the ones who can pass over the *lives* of those who can't. In solidarity & love (and a little bit of rage), Shane from: Julio Ricter <jricter@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Thu, Jul 23, 2015 at 4:04 PM I'll try to be brief. It's not my intention to enrage anyone here. I'm not looking for a fight. And I'm certainly not saying we shouldn't go public. The intent of my prior email was to get us thinking about another aspect of the situation that hadn't been addressed yet (at lease in this thread), not to side with one group of students or imply we should treat any with more or less consideration. Shane, despite the less-than-professional email, you bring up some good points. Having a visible mutation does put you at risk and it does take away some choices you might have. And clearly some people believe this school has neglected students with such mutations (I would honestly like to hear more about this, at an appropriate time). That doesn't mean we should overgeneralize our students and place one "camp" before or after another. I want us to make a decision with all our students - past, present, and future - in mind (We mostly seem to be working toward this). That's all. I hope, as a school, we can agree on being in the business of educating and preparing our students to make the choices (not just about their mutations and how to handle them) that their lives give them. Julio from: Flicker <blinkdog@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Sat, Aug 1, 2015 at 12:01 AM subject: Re: Openness Regardless of what direction we go in publicly, one thing is true that Shane's email highlights -- the upper levels of administration at this school consist entirely of (and, to my knowledge, always have consisted entirely of?) mutants without visible mutations. I have passing privilege; I *can't* speak to what it's like for people who don't. If we're going to change the experience of those students, though, maybe the makeup of the administration should be a little less uniform. Flicker from: Fitzwilliam H. Sharpe <billy.sharpe@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Tue, Jul 20, 2013 at 12:44 PM subject: Re: Openness Dr. Hank McCoy, Kurt Wagner, until recently Mallory Winthrop and Isra Al-Jazari. These are all respected professors and staff here at one point with physical mutations. Personally, I am not a closeted mutant. Though I appear visibly human from any distance, upon any close inspection, my mutation is obvious. I registered, in order to further my education, avoid police harassment on the street, and to live in the light. Not having physical mutations does not make you any less of a mutant, nor does it disqualify your opinions or experiences as one. If ever there was a time to empathize with one another's positions, it is now. The government will expect us to register our staff and a reasonable amount of our student body. We'll be taking away a choice from a lot of people. Yes, it is a choice that was taken away from many of us long ago. I would ask anyone experiencing doubt to look to those mutant forebearers who could not conceal their identities behind a pair of red glasses or under a camel colored trenchcoat. I can imagine how monumental a thing it is, to give up your anonymity in such a way but I still believe the world should see us. Billy from: Shane Holland <sholland@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Sun, Aug 1, 2015 at 1:13 PM subject: Priorities Billy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | V The point from: Shane Holland <sholland@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Sun, Aug 1, 2015 at 1:24 PM subject: Priorities Less snarkily, do you know what Hank, Kurt, Mallory, and Isra all have in common? Not being part of administration. (Also, Isra was GODDAMN FIRED. So take your "respected" and shove it.) And sure, we're all mutants, and we all have *valid* opinions and experiences, but we sure as hell do not all experience the same shit, and I'm pretty sick of people -- in 99% of cases, only mutants who DO pass -- pretending like we do and like everyone can speak for our experiences like they're in any way similar. So yeah, we're all mutants, but this All Lives Matter nonsense is some crap that we all know already? I don't think there's ever been a time in the history of this school that the voices of mutants who don't have physical mutations *haven't* been heard so, uh, we really don't need advocates for that camp? The point of pointing out the makeup of *administration* being so uniform was because it... is. And it'd be helpful to *have* voices of people who have the experience of *being* unable to hide out in the real world because the school has never in its history had part of its actual, guiding, ADMINISTRATION, be people like me (or Hank) (or Kurt) (or Isra). On administration. Not staff/faculty/professors, but the ones who decide the direction of the school. Shane from: Flicker <blinkdog@xaviers.edu> to: Xavier's Faculty <faculty@xaviers.edu> date: Sun, Aug 2, 2015 at 1:43 PM subject: Priorities I really didn't intend that email to start -- anything. It is a fact that there are no mutants on this school's administration with visible mutations. It is also a fact that, despite all sharing an X-gene, differing presentations of the X-gene have widely different needs. All I intended to do was offer as a suggestion that diversifying the leadership of the school might help to meet the diverse needs of the student body, which we clearly have not entirely succeeded in doing up to this point. Those needs may continue to change moving forward, depending on what decisions we make, and I don't see that diversifying the administration could possibly have anything but a positive effect there, either. Flicker