Group 2: Friends! (In Toronto)

Description

Five friends of various majors are invited to a dinner party at their friend Megan’s apartment. One of the friends, Maddie, texts Megan to let her know she is running late to dinner due to witnessing a violent interaction on the subway. The rest of the friends receive news notifications on their phones describing the attack: a teenage boy had injured an older woman in an attempt to rob her. The information prompts a discussion about what seems to be an increase in violence on the TTC. The focus of the conversation becomes how the public and city should deal with the violence, highlighting the intersectional issues of homelessness, mental health, and parental neglect. The friends become agitated about the differences in how these people should be supported and even go on to say how their disciplines deserve more government funding as they work with these populations the most - emphasizing whose profession is more critical in this matter. Maddie finally arrives, sees the conflict between the divided friends, and tries to mediate the situation. She suggests that everyone take a break and some time to cool down. This also prompts some time to suspend and reflect. When they return to the table, Maddie calls everyone together to create a dialogue where everyone shares their perspectives and questions are asked. Maddie further closes off by saying that while we all have different approaches, we all have the same goal and value to support individuals. Everyone agrees, and the party continues.