[Public] Journal Entry: Jake Jensen

[om_backlash]

We have something to tell everyone and we're sorry for not saying it until now. Jensen found out by accident a while ago and would have told you all sooner, but Tessa bought his silence with blackmail. There is no other way to put it.

Up until she left the school, Tessa had been monitoring all of the students. Every email and IM, every Google search, every saved document… You name it; she’s probably been reading it.

This might not matter to some of you. Maybe you already knew, or maybe you’re glad someone was watching. And that’s fine. But, it matters to us. We know Tessa meant well. We know she had good reasons for doing it, but, to us, that doesn’t make it any less of an invasion of privacy. Or a betrayal of the students’ trust. There was no discussion or agreement about monitoring the students. She wasn’t elected to this position. She just took it upon herself to do it.

We're not telling everyone this because we want them to pick up their pitchforks and go all angry mob on Tessa. We get why she monitored the students. We don’t agree with how she went about doing it, but we totally get it. The world we live in is dangerous and we need to be careful. The reason we're telling everyone is just because we feel like they deserve to know. That’s all.

In that same spirit, you should all know that Barbara, who is now in charge of the school's e-security, is not taking the same measures.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. We’ll try to answer any questions if you have any.

- Jensen and Simon B.

Comments

[om_vector]

It's a surprise to some people. I didn't know (at the time- I've known for a year, and kept quiet to protect Jensen.) A lot of people don't know. She has good motivations, but a lot of people don't know, and they have a right to privacy, or at least a right to know that their privacy is being infringed on.

And they did get the facts - they've talked to Tessa several times, I've talked to Tessa last year. Tessa knows they're posting this, practically told them to go ahead and do it.

On a personal note, it's pretty goddamn shitty to publicly suggest that a victim of blackmail misconstrued it before you have all the facts.

[om_agent]

You are correct, I don't know the all facts.

And that was not what I was suggesting at all.

What I was suggesting is that I know Tessa quite well, I have a pretty solid familiarity with how and why she does things. And I am suggesting that, knowing her, that she wouldn't blackmail without a purpose or without some perceived threat she was addressing.

Please note, I'm not asking anyone to say what precisely the situations all around were as they were obviously deeply private. I'm saying that before anyone involved with this, or not involved, gets out the tar and feathers, to consider that no one has the full picture.

[om_vector]

They already said why she was blackmailing him- to keep him from telling people she was spying. They also specifically told people not to go after Tessa, because she had the best intentions at heart.

Also, I have the full picture. I had a conversation with Tessa a year ago. She laid out her reasons. I understand them. I have a working relationship with Tessa, and I respect her, even if I disagree with some of her methods. In a world where this shit with Jensen didn't happen, I'd probably consider her a friend. It doesn't change what she did.

Maybe it's just because I'm biased, but it feels like someone just told the school that she hurt them, and everyone's only concern is her.