Resignation from Anime Boston
Published by Elana January 19th, 2005 in Random Ramblings.As of this evening, and effective immediately, I am resigning as Treasurer of Anime Boston. This was not an easy decision to make. Included below is my full letter of resignation. The events leading to my resignation were rather despicable in nature. It included parties dedicated to demeaning and degrading myself. These parties took place for several years, but were only recently brought to my attention. At the most recent party, the participants (including executive staff of Anime Boston and board members of the New England Anime Society) had a pinata representation of me which they proceded to smash.
Also, using the resources of the New England Anime Society and Anime Boston (specifically the Anime Boston Forums), a forum entitled ‘eFree’ was created. The apparent sole purpose of this forum was to make fun of myself, and my boyfriend Carl.
The people involved really ought to be ashamed of themselves.
The following are links to specific conversations in this forum. They were sent to me by a party who wishes to remain anonymous, but who I am grateful to for bringing my attention to the matter at hand. I admit now they are very insulting to myself and I find it difficult to post. I post them recognizing they could add additional fuel to the fire. However, the best defense in this situation is the simple display of the truth.
Conversation #1
Conversation #2
Conversation #3
Conversation #4
Included in one of the conversations is a link to an Anime Bingo page hosted on another site. This has been removed, however I have copies of various pages the site generated:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
This is my letter of resignation as sent to the Executive Staff of Anime Boston:
January 19, 2005
To the Executive Staff of Anime Boston 2005:
It is with regret I offer my resignation from the position of Treasurer for Anime Boston 2005. These past few years of work on the convention have been challenging and rewarding, but I can no longer effectively carry on my duties due to the actions of a few.
For at least the past several months, many of the executive staff members have been engaging in a degrading, juvenile discussion of me in a hidden forum within the Anime Boston website. The Treasurer position requires a high level of communication with these very same staff members and finding out about their behavior has made me unable to trust or respect them even in the short time before the convention.
It has been my pleasure to work in creating something great here in Boston, but my disappointment with the lack of professionalism shown by those in charge overrides my ability to enjoy the work.
I would like to say thank you to all of you I have had the pleasure of working with these past few years. I hope Anime Boston’s future is bright and the sort of conduct bringing me to this point will not become a hallmark of the organization. We have come so far and made history in so many ways, but this behavior will ultimately bring the convention down if it continues.
Cordially, 
Elana R. Shenton
<deleted email address>
