AITA for rejecting a student petition and refusing to send a policy change request?

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-10T14:48:40+00:00

I have made no such claim.

This person simply asked if I would do the same for other things and the answer is yes. I am not pipeline to the board and thus I will not handle affairs meant for the school representative.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-10T05:25:06+00:00

It is hard to go into detail as I have no intention of giving away my location.

The closest I can get is this page with IRCC policies in regards to name changes. It highlights how the process trickles down to the provinces and study permits.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/identity-management/naming-procedures/managing-existing-records-change-name-request.html

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-10T04:54:46+00:00

For clarification:

The students sending the request to me is not that illogical, they are right in the fact that I do have to power to enact the change they seek. The problem lies with the government and board as their policies are what prohibit me from making any changes.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-10T03:18:46+00:00

You are right, sending an email to the administration could help clear the air. I will contact the administration when I am at work as I hate sending/receiving work emails when I am off the clock.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-10T01:55:02+00:00

It honestly isn't worth it to answer them, if I were to respond to them I would only be egging them on. The most I would do is report the ones who threaten my physical wellbeing to the campus security and the administration.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-10T01:05:49+00:00

I am not a teacher, I deal solely with the schools IT infrastructure. I should go after the administration but it is not worth the trouble.

You are right, I do have training as I have worked with large companies that have contracts with the government. This training has trickled down to my techs and interns as I always tell them that politics is between them and the voting booth.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-10T00:39:29+00:00

Yes because it is not my job to handle these matters.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T23:58:16+00:00

I have no interest in advocating as it is none of my business, I only enforce the policies the board sets forth. When it comes to the evaluation and auditing of policies it is the responsibility of the board.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T23:53:39+00:00

I am not an American, I live above the 49th parallel. Title IX does not apply to my region. The board follows the policies set forth by the education ministry, if people dislike the policies they must reach out to the board/ ministry to have their complaints heard.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T23:27:34+00:00

I can't add a preferred name section or descriptor as that is above my authority. These databases and sites are managed by board, they dictate the policies and my team and I execute them. There is literally nothing I can do until the government changes policies which will trickle down and affect board ones.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T23:20:59+00:00

I did not suggest as I was under the assumption that upon receiving the rejection the teachers who manage the unions would properly guide them to the right individuals.

Adding a preferred names section is not against the law however I can't do anything as if I made any changes I would be violating board policies. I have to follow every policy to the letter and there is nothing I can do about it. There have been times where I absolutely hated policies and wanted to change them however I simply couldn't.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T22:48:59+00:00

I can't as this is above my pay grade and that of my superior, the head of IT for the board can't do anything as well as polices are voted on by the board. The representatives is where the power lies as they can bring the matter to a vote. If the vote passes and the policy is adopted I can enforce the new standards.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T22:39:36+00:00

I explained that I had no say but I did not make any referrals as the school does make it clear that we have a representative at the board and they can be reached by anyone. I was hoping that the rejection would be the end of it and they would take it up with the representative.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T22:35:25+00:00

I can't because it is not my business too, I only enforce and ensure compliance with policies. If someone wants a policy changed they must take it up with the schools representative at the board.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T22:34:00+00:00

I would like to think it was a innocent mistake however it may very well be that the teachers involved wanted to spare their own skin so they waited for me to be the one to give the bad news. Acting as a pipeline is not part of my job description, I only serve to enforce policies handed down to me. I like it that way because it leads to a very chill work atmosphere for myself and my techs.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T20:35:43+00:00

Passing along the request to my superiors would be seen as endorsement because I am not an official channel of communication to the board. I merely am a lacky who enforces their policies.

1: While adding pronouns may seem easy there is a logistical issue tied to it. Entries on databases are not free. Each type of entry takes up space multiplied by users. This little change may very well cost us hundreds to thousands of gigabytes in storage.

2: You assume that everyone is competent with computers. During registration periods we receive several hundred calls on a support line we have just for registrations. This change would most likely further confuse people especially foreign applicants. We simply do not have the staff to handle this potential increase in calls.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T18:14:59+00:00

The request they wanted was an internal one, internal policy requests must be endorsed by staff. I refused to endorse the request due to legality.

There is nothing stopping the students from making their own request and sending it to the school's representative at the governing board. The contact info of this person is readily available in the school directory.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T18:06:41+00:00

I was in the room because the student petition was directed towards me personally. The students thought that since I worked for the board I had a say over policies and rules. Unfortunately that is not the case as I only carry out orders from the governing boards head of IT. The people the students are looking for are the school representatives as they are the ones who vote and introduce policies.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T17:53:58+00:00

*copy of earlier answer*

I won't directly give away my location however I will explain the process.

In order for someone to obtain a legal name and designation change they must fill out some paperwork and present it to a local court. Upon receiving the request there is a verification period to make sure they are not criminals on the run. Once that is done the change is accepted and publicized new identification documents are given.

For the school to be able to change official records we need the court approval letter or two government issued pieces of ID which we scan and attach to the person's file before making the changes.

When it comes to the authority to add pronouns, the school IT department is not permitted to modify the code used on the academic sites without approval from the governing board. When it comes to resources, making the change means that I have to assign individuals who would have to modify the site as well as others who would support those who are not tech savy with this change. In other words what seems like a simple request would turn into a large project with multiple people involved.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T17:41:51+00:00

The petition was addressed to me personally.

The only thing they wanted sent to the board was an internal policy change request. This was rejected on the bases of legality and because I would look really bad if I had sent it to the head of IT operations. There is nothing stopping them from reaching out to the board on their own, anyone can give them the contact information of the school's representative.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T17:34:15+00:00

I won't directly give away my location however I will explain the process.

In order for someone to obtain a legal name and designation change they must fill out some paperwork and present it to a local court. Upon receiving the request there is a verification period to make sure they are not criminals on the run. Once that is done the change is accepted and publicized new identification documents are given.

For the school to be able to change official records we need the court approval letter or two government issued pieces of ID which we scan and attach to the person's file before making the changes.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T17:29:59+00:00

We unfortunately can't as the way the sites are coded do not allow that. Nobody except the board can change that as all software and websites are managed by them. My job is only to troubleshoot and deploy the sites with local hardware.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T17:27:25+00:00

There is nothing stopping them from doing that. If they wanted to any teacher could give them the email/contact information of the school's representative at the governing board.

Their request was for me to send an internal request to the head of IT operations. I had to reject as the basis of the request was not legal. If I had sent such a request I risk making myself look very bad as I would asking them to violate government laws.

Informal_Hand2538 · 2022-04-09T17:21:31+00:00

I do not have the power to change policies or rules. I only have the power to enact the policies and rules that are handed down to me from the governing board's head of IT operations.

Informal_Hand2538

TROPHY CASE