Petition to the Head of School from the TAS Parent-Alumni Community

Dear Dr. Sharon D. Hennessy:

Recent social media and TV news broadcasts regarding expelled TAS students on grounds of certain racist behavior have resulted in rampant rumors and instigated grave concern, fear and confusion in our community. Thank you for your swift response and commitment to diversity and race sensitivity. However, we believe an open dialogue is also necessary to address this situation.

As such, we, the members of the TAS parent community, with support from our alumni, respectfully request clarification of:

1. How student violations can result in expulsion, also characterized as forced withdrawal, suspension, separation.

What were the specific violations, and how was the TAS Code of Conduct applied in this incident?

2. The investigation process for violations.

What sequential steps and factors did the administration take into consideration when arriving at the disciplinary actions, and the appeal process that followed?

3. The rationale behind the disciplinary actions that were given.

We need to understand what the disciplinary actions entail and the rationale directly from you so we can prevent our children from receiving the same discipline for other potential infractions.

We recognize privacy concerns for these students. However, this incident is already in the public sphere. We believe you are able to present the matter and the resulting disciplinary actions without violating individual privacy, while preserving confidentiality.

In this time of uncertainty and social unrest, we thank you for your commitment to improving the school’s curriculum as it pertains to issues of race and privilege. Understanding how our current TAS Code of Conduct is applied with a clear and transparent account of what, how and why these disciplinary actions are given, will facilitate a better understanding of the true meaning of social justice for our community. We respectfully request that you address these issues in a public forum with the TAS parent-alumni community. In order to quickly dispel the destructive nature of the continuing rumors, we ask that this meeting be conducted at the beginning of the 2020 Fall Semester.

Respectfully,

The TAS Parent Community

TAS家長暨校友社群連署

致，Dr. Hennessy 總校長

由於近日社群網站和電視新聞大量的曝光，造成學生因著某些種族歧視行為而被退學的各種謠言甚囂塵上，令我們TAS社群裡面充滿了恐懼和疑惑。感謝您對多樣化和種族敏感議題所做的迅速回應，但我們認為一個公開的對談管道也是必要的。

因此，在校友會的支持下，我們TAS家長們，有以下的請求：

1. 請解釋學生觸犯哪些規範會導致退學, 或強制自請退學、停學、隔離。

本事件到底觸犯了哪幾條TAS校規，而TAS行為守則又是如何被應用在本事件中。

2. 請解釋觸犯校規的調查程序。

校方在決定懲處時，是採取了什麼樣的流程並考量了哪些相關因素，以及是否已按照TAS行為守則中的申訴管道進行處理。

3. 請總校長說明校方採取的各項懲處教化的措施以及其背後的邏輯。

我們需要了解懲處和校方決策背後的原委。如此，我們可以一起預防孩子誤觸校規。

我們了解針對個別的學生有隱私權的考量，而這整件事情已經在各樣社群媒體公開了。我們相信校方有能力在顧及隱私權和保密條款的前提下，仍然可以提供上述的解釋。

在前景不明，社會動盪的時刻，我們感謝您承諾改善有關種族和特權的學校課程。如果以透明化的方式來呈現TAS行為守則的應用和事件的經過，懲處的邏輯，以及決策的過程，相信我們社群能夠更清楚明白社會正義的真諦。因此我們提出在TAS家長-校友社群中召開公聽會，希望可以盡速停止對社群有傷害的種種謠言，並以此例為借鏡，我們希望可以盡速在2020年上學期開學後召開討論。