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The Voice
The Voice is VLC’s leading news media publication - run by students, for students, in partnership with VLC Community.
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Opinion: A shout-out to gender equality (or something)
By Shifa Syed (Guest)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Voice or its editorial board.
Previously, a year or so ago, an article was written by a VLC student called "I am a feminist because...". It was a marvellous article, explaining briefly what it is like to be a female in our society. It went over all the reasons why the feminist movement exists, and why it needs to exist. However, whilst the article went over everything in a respectful attitude, it was unfortunately not published in the VLC Gazette. This was taken very negatively by a number of students - Including me. After all, it proved the student's point, right?
I'm losing you here, aren't I?
This is just another angry rant by another offended feminist. Another call for equality for women. Another explanation as to why men should be humbled - why men should see their wrongs.
In a way, it's quite the opposite.
Recently, there have been many debates on topics related to this in a few VLC servers. Inequality. Sexism. Men VS women. All of it.
I was personally favouring the latter.
I'm a proud feminist and I considered it my duty to make people, mainly men, see the feminist way of life. By which, I'm obviously not referring to the secret handshake or the location of the bunker where we keep men hostage simply to show dominance. I'm referring to being someone that was always there to somehow prove that women are the victims. The person that took every gender-related comment to somehow be anti-women. I used to believe that every word uttered in defence was to prove that women aren't actually facing the issues they are, but the actions of a misogynistic man actively working against women's equality.
So why am I writing this?
I am a feminist.
Yet I'm here to call out the fact that men don't have it easy either.
I'm here to call out that women should stop being offended by every little thing. I'm here to call out that not everything a man says about gender, is to be taken in an offensive manner.
You are not always the victim.
This is a call to all women. All the female students here that'll argue for hours on end regarding the injustice that girls have to deal with.
This is to say that I would be amongst those students . . . yet when I came to actually ponder it, stripping away the bias, I realized that the issues men face in society are not vocalized enough.
We claim we want social equality, but it doesn't occur to us that goes both ways.
Yes, I'm a feminist. Yes, I believe in women's rights, and actively would give up a lot to support them. To voice the issues that I see in society against the female gender. However, I do not believe in hating men. I don't believe in blaming every issue relating to inequality on men.
Women play a part in that too.
I'm here to call out true gender equality and the unfortunate lack of it in our society.
This is a question for female students. When you debate gender equality, do you really listen to the other side's opinions? Do you, really?
Are you actively trying to understand the issues that boys face in this society? Or are you merely waiting? Waiting for that set of words, that uttered sentence, that comment seemingly against girls to prove that men . . . have it easy.
You aren't to blame; I had the same attitude. However, after considering it, I discovered that my immediate outrage did not hold up to close scrutiny.
When a man in your life says that "Men shouldn't have to lose everything after being falsely accused of rape!" Do you comprehend the 'falsely'? Or do you simply take it as "He doesn't think rape is a serious issue"?
When men claim that they have power because most of everything that's been invented and built has been the work of men, do you feel offended? The statement in itself isn't in any way anti-women. They aren't claiming that women can't, just that they have not.
This does apply to men as well. The ones so determined that society is working perfectly, that the issues women point out aren't really issues because you have not experienced them yourself.
For either side the issues are present. They're present and they're a problem.
You may be thinking, what issues do men have?
While women clearly have to face issues including (but not limited to) rape, harassment, belittlement, not being taken seriously, and being undermined. For being called out and victimized for dressing up as they like or speaking up about what they think. For being paid less and being deemed artificial for wanting to wear makeup. For being deemed unrealistic for not wearing makeup. For being referred to as a relation to some men rather than having their own identity as a woman acknowledged. For being ridiculed for the fear of men. The list goes on and on.
When a woman is asked what hardships she has to face for being a woman, she'll be able to list all these things or more without much of a second thought.
However, most people blank out when asked what hardships men could possibly face in society for being male. It's merely assumed that men have all the power, all the rights - all the privileges. Despite the fact that it looks like that, there are many issues that men face including (but not limited to) Paternity fraud, Workplace deaths, War deaths, Suicide (70%+), Child support, Sentencing disparity, Life expectancy, Child custody, False rape allegations, Criminal court bias, Misandry, Biased Educational issues, Homelessness, Veterans issues, Infant male genital mutilation, Lack of parental choice, Lack of resources for male victims of domestic violence, USA Selective Service in case of a draft and so much more.
This is a shout-out to acknowledge these issues.
Why’s it difficult to accept that men have to face issues too? Ones that could possibly ruin their life too - instead of insisting women are the victims. This isn't a contest. If a girl being raped ruining her chances of marriage is an issue, then how is a guy being falsely accused of rape and losing his job or even his children, not a problem? A victim is a victim. Just because females have to deal with it more often and women voice these issues more often, doesn't mean these aren't issues.
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Grade 12 students launch secondary gradeserver
By the Voice’s Editorial Board
A number of Grade 12 students who asked to remain anonymous have launched a secondary Grade 12 server. They did so with the stated purpose of creating a positive, drama-free environment for students in their grade.
When asked why they were dissatisfied with the primary Grade 12 server, they cited concerns about toxicity from a certain individual (whom they asked not be named), which they said had escalated since that individual became administrator.
Since a large number of new members joined this morning, the secondary server has become more active than the primary server. It is unknown whether this trend will remain consistent over a longer period of time.
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Student locked out of Canvas account after setting unique password
By the Voice’s Editorial Board
⚠️ Trigger Warning: This article contains a vulgar term referring to female genitalia. Reader discretion is advised.
Grade 12 Student Rayne Champion was locked out of her account for a panic-filled half-hour on Monday after setting an inappropriate password.
The incident began on Thursday, when Principal Cadeau-Mark announced all students would be required to reset their passwords as part of increased security measures. Some students have speculated that the change was due to certain students sharing their passwords publicly last semester and then being declined when asking VLC tech support to reset it for them.
As instructed, Grade 12 student Rayne Champion began the password reset process on Monday morning. On the joking suggestion of Grade 10 student (and retired councillor) Daryna Dvornyak, she set it to Pussydestroyer69!, which is a medium strength password according to Password Monster.
However, when she tried logging back into Canvas, she found out she was locked out of her account. She panicked for a short while. Fortunately, she was able to reset the password again through her personal email without having to contact the school. When asked what she learned from the experience, Champion responded “i am an idiot”. Dvornyak also concurred with Champion’s statement, “respectfully”.
(chrys: Rayne Champion; make out partner: Daryna Dvornyak;)
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Bloc Sharkel wins Student Council election by landslide
This article is part of a series covering the Student Council election.
The Student Council Secretary announced the results of the Student Council election this morning at 8 AM.
Almost the entirety of the newly elected Council was part of Bloc Sharkel. Shifa Syed and Fatima Abowath won the presidential race, Zubair Rahman and Saleem Gonzales won the Grade 9 race, Hussein Barakat and Ariana (Will) Kouyoumdjian won the Grade 10 race, Eisha Amir won the Grade 11 race, and Ahsen Khan won the Grade 12 race. The only exceptions were Allora Douglas in Grade 12, where Bloc Sharkel only ran one candidate for the two seats, and Teagan Penner in Grade 11, where her opponent Mustafaa Gonzales did not attend the debate.
Commenting on their victory, President Shifa Syed and Vice President Fatima Abowath said, “We look forward to another year of success in uniting the student body, fostering student engagement, and bringing about chaos.”
Ryan Wong of the Student Unification Society (S.U.S.), which lost to Bloc Sharkel, commented, “Congratulations to Shifa Syed, I implore you to not squander your second chance. It was great running against you and your party.” His running mate, Cozzette Pilkington, said she was “quite pleased” with the outcome of the election, having previously noted in public that she did not want to be Vice President anyway.
Students are eager to see whether the new Council will live up to their expectations or not.
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VLC Student Council Election 2022: Systemic Changes, Parties, and More
By the Voice's Editorial Board
This article is part of a series covering the Student Council election.
The campaign period for this year’s Student Council election is in full swing. It began last Tuesday with an announcement by the new Student Council Secretary, Aisha Abdulhafiz. The announcement revealed certain controversial changes made by principal Jeremy Cadeau-Mark to how Student Council works.
Most notably, it was announced that each grade would only have two representatives instead of three, reversing a change made by the 2020/2021 Council. Furthermore, all candidates, including those running for Councillor, would require a nomination from a staff member. These changes prompted outrage from some students, who argued that although the principal has full authority over the school, making these changes without passing an amendment to the Student Council Constitution (as was customary for such changes in past years) was a blatant breach of students’ trust by the principal. Supporters of the changes argued that despite the neglect of usual procedure, the changes would benefit the Student Council by making elections more competitive.
The original announcement did not make any mention of the Student Council debate, prompting further dissatisfaction. However, a later announcement set October 3rd as the date for the debate, with Election Day being moved to the day after.
Last year, Fatima Ansari and Shifa Syed led a coalition of Councillor candidates known as Bloc Sharkel during their successful campaing for President and Vice President. It marked the first time anything resembling a political party/faction was formed for Student Council politics. This year, the Bloc has returned under the leadership of Shifa Syed and Fatima Abowath. They faced opposition from the Chonk-Muffin-Pepper Party (CMPP), led by Leyna Needham and Daryna Dvornyak, until the CMPP unexpectedly dropped out of the race yesterday for personal reasons. As a result, their primary opposition now comes from the Student Unification Society (S.U.S.), led by Ryan Wong and Cozzette Pilkington.
Wong shocked some members of the public on Monday by claiming that last year’s Council was full of “infighting” and was “inefficient”. While some agreed with this narrative, it prompted angry responses by others former Council members, who pointed out that Wong had no previous experience on the Council or even on any committee, and that the previous Council had worked very hard and made a number of accomplishments. When asked for a statement later on, Wong said “this election seems pretty tense with a bit of drama, but I believe that all parties have acted courteously and have faced each other with dignity and respect”.
Campaigning is expected to continue throughout this week and weekend. The Voice Debate, exclusively between presidential candidates, will take place on Thursday at 3:15pm. The school-sanctioned debate for all candidates will take place on Monday at 3:15. Election Day will be held on Tuesday.
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The Voice returns from hibernation
After a four-month hibernation due to censorship from school administration, the Voice is resuming its usual coverage of VLC news, with a new and improved editorial team. Much has occurred during this timeframe, including the following:
The Student Council organized a Spirit Week, which was widely considered a massive success.
Mr. Scott and Ms. Allore retired, to the sorrow of students and graduates alike.
VLC Cafeteria was deleted.
VLC students' mental health improved significantly as summer vacation began, and then declined drastically as school resumed.
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VLC Cafeteria nuked
By the Voice’s Editorial Board
At approximately 2:40 a.m. on Wednesday morning, VLC Cafeteria, the third largest VLC-wide Discord server, was partially nuked with spam advertising a scam with an NFT called ‘Hypebears’.
By 3:30 a.m., the attack had subsided, resulting in over 7000 @everyone pings. The messages were purged by admins around 7 a.m.
The owner of VLC Cafeteria, Grade 11 Councillor Jeremy Lussier, declined to speak with the Voice regarding these developments. He initially blamed Grade 10 student Ibrahim Siddique and Grade 10 Councillor Leyna Needham of carrying out the attack and banned both of them. He then also claimed that Grade 9 student “William” had assisted them. Furthermore, he claimed all three were operating under the orders of Grade 12 Councillor Yusuf Rahman, with whom he has a longstanding dispute.
Lussier reported that there were logs of both Siddique and Needham spamming reaction roles in the server for “hours”, suggesting that they were attempting to cover up other things in the logs. He also reported that audit logs showed Siddique creating several webhooks. Although he declined to publicly release any screenshots of such logs, other staff members provided the Voice with the following evidence:
The first screenshot simply shows Needham and Siddique using the server’s reaction roles. However, the second screenshot shows Siddique creating the webhooks which were used during the attack, proving his involvement. No evidence is available to support Lussier’s claims that William and Rahman were also involved in any capacity.
Needham and William have completely denied any involvement in the attack, as Ibrahim Siddique has taken full responsibility. He told the Voice that he had been planning the attack for two weeks, explaining that he “orchestrated a nuke implementing ratelimit countering and mass pinging” and used “social engineering” to gain access to the other accounts. When asked about his motives, he said “from it’s inception, VLC Cafeteria was built to be exclusionary and allow Jeremy to slander other students not in the server. I wanted vengeance for those students.”
Yusuf Rahman also denied any involvement, dismissing Lussier’s accusation that he “ordered” the attack as “completely preposterous”. However, Rahman promoted Siddique to Administrator in VLC Community (the second-largest and most active VLC-wide server) the same night that VLC Cafeteria was nuked, suggesting an agreement between the two.
As always, drama continues to brew on VLC Discord.
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