My name is Tiffany Martínez. As a McNair Fellow and student scholar, I’ve presented at national conferences in San Francisco, San Diego, and Miami. I have crafted a critical reflection piece that was published in a peer-reviewed journal managed by the Pell Institute for the Study of Higher Education and Council for Opportunity in Education. I have consistently juggled at least two jobs and maintained the status of a full-time student and Dean’s list recipient since my first year at Suffolk University. I have used this past summer to supervise a teen girls empower program and craft a thirty page intensive research project funded by the federal government. As a first generation college student, first generation U.S. citizen, and aspiring professor I have confronted a number of obstacles in order to earn every accomplishment and award I have accumulated. In the face of struggle, I have persevered and continuously produced content that is of high caliber.
I name these accomplishments because I understand the vitality of credentials in a society where people like me are not set up to succeed. My last name and appearance immediately instills a set of biases before I have the chance to open my mouth. These stereotypes and generalizations forced on marginalized communities are at times debilitating and painful. As a minority in my classrooms, I continuously hear my peers and professors use language that both covertly and overtly oppresses the communities I belong to. Therefore, I do not always feel safe when I attempt to advocate for my people in these spaces. In the journey to become a successful student, I swallow the “momentary” pain from these interactions and set my emotions aside so I can function productively as a student.
Today is different. At eight o’clock this morning, I felt both disrespected and invalidated. For years I have spent ample time dissecting the internalized racism that causes me to doubt myself, my abilities, and my aspirations. As a student in an institution extremely populated with high-income white counterparts, I have felt the bitter taste of not belonging. It took until I used my cloud of doubt and my sociological training to realize that my insecurities are rooted in the systems I navigate every day. I am just as capable if not more so than those around me and my accomplishments are earned.
This morning, my professor handed me back a paper (a literature review) in front of my entire class and exclaimed “this is not your language.” On the top of the page they wrote in blue ink: “Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste.” The period was included. They assumed that the work I turned in was not my own. My professor did not ask me if it was my language, instead they immediately blamed me in front of peers. On the second page the professor circled the word “hence” and wrote in between the typed lines “This is not your word.” The word “not” was underlined. Twice. My professor assumed someone like me would never use language like that. As I stood in the front of the class while a professor challenged my intelligence I could just imagine them reading my paper in their home thinking could someone like her write something like this?
In this interaction, my undergraduate career was both challenged and critiqued. It is worth repeating how my professor assumed I could not use the word “hence,” a simple transitory word that connected two relating statements. The professor assumed I could not produce quality research. The professor read a few pages that reflected my comprehension of complex sociological theories and terms and invalidated it all. Their blue pen was the catalyst that opened an ocean of self-doubt that I worked so hard to destroy. In front of my peers, I was criticized by a person who had the academic position I aimed to acquire. I am hurting because my professor assumed that the only way I could produce content as good as this was to “cut and paste.” I am hurting because for a brief moment I believed them.
Instead of working on my English paper that is due tomorrow, I felt it crucial to reflect on the pain that I am sick of swallowing. My work is a reflection of my growth in a society that sees me as the other. For too long I have others assume I am weak, unintelligent, and incapable of my own success. Another element of this invalidation is that as I sit here with teary eyes describing the distress I am too familiar with, the professor has probably forgotten all about it. My heartache can not be universally understood and until it is, I have to continue to fight. At this moment, there are students who will never understand the desolation that follows an underlined “not.” There are students who will be assumed capable without the need to list their credentials in the beginning of a reflective piece. How many degrees do I need for someone to believe I am an academic?
At this moment, I am in the process of advocating for myself to prove the merit of my content to people who will never understand what it is like to be someone like me. Some of you won’t understand how every word that I use to describe this moment was diligently selected in a way that would properly reflect my intellect. I understand that no matter how hard I try or how well I write, these biases will continue to exist around me. I understand that my need to fight against these social norms is necessary.
In reality, I am tired and I am exhausted. On one hand, this experience solidifies my desire to keep going and earn a PhD but on the other it is a confirmation of how I always knew others saw me. I am so emotional about this paper because in the phrase “this is not your word,” I look down at a blue inked reflection of how I see myself when I am most suspicious of my own success. The grade on my paper was not a letter, but two words: “needs work.” And it’s true. I am going to graduate in May and enter a grad program that will probably not have many people who look like me. The entire field of academia is broken and erases the narratives of people like me. We all have work to do to fix the lack of diversity and understanding among marginalized communities. We all have work to do.
Academia needs work.
TIFFANY MARTÍNEZ 
This is so wrong! but please keep going! keep doing your thing! because this should wake you up! this should be the reason why you want to develop you will always have haters or people like your professor doubting you which is sad because they are suppose to drive you in with motivation! praying for you to win x
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I am beyond disgusted at the assumptions made by this professor of your work. You clearly write VERY well. Your ethnicity has nothing to do with it. You noted that you are (or have been) a McNair Scholar. Ron McNair was a good friend of mine, and I know he would be up this professor’s behind over this incident.
I would not let it go… I hope you report it to whomever is above her.
Good luck to you.
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Wow. Just wow. That is so insulting. Keep doing you. Words aren’t owned or prescribed to anybody. Great writing by the way.
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Interesting that in an era of Turnitin, the professor saw no need to provide any evidence for this accusation. That’s white privilege. Right there.
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What happened to you is an insult and an outrage. Definitely take this to the Dean of your Faculty, say you want to make an official complaint. You are clearly a superb writer and this professor sounds like a racist bigot. I studied in the UK and when putting forward my ideas for my masters dissertation, a male professor ridiculed me in front of the whole class of students and academics. I persevered with my ideas and ended up receiving a Distinction. Keep persevering, keep studying, keep fighting for justice.
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Something similar happened to me in 1989 when I went to college in Connecticut after graduating high school in Puerto Rico. Something similar did happen again in my professional life in 2008. The second time around I learned that those that put us down have a lot of unresolved issues within themselves. Take this awful experience and get stronger.
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This is one of the saddest things I’ve read in a while. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m glad, though, that you know this professor is wrong, wrong, wrong.
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I am reading this at 2:43am with my mouth wide open in shock and amazement. It reminds me of the day I heard the words, “Did you write this?” I wondered why I struggled so much with this statement. I believe it’s because it says more about what you think of me than what I have written for
you to read. It is true, when we read and hear something with preconceived ideas and biases already in places, it controls the eyes that read it. The problem is not the work but the eyes. Society needs work!!! Maybe the reason why the libraries and book lists are filled with such bad work is because so many passes are given while others are denied.
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Don’t let this professor get you down. You will be a great prosssesor. Just try to keep believing in yourself and keep working hard. Honestly I think your credentials should speak volumes for you as a scholar.
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Hoax
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Not necessarily. This does happen.
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Why is it a hoax? Do you know this person? Typical! Shame! When people call out this type of evil trust the white defender to pipe up! Shame on you!
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Why do you think it’s a hoax?
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Stiff upper lip.
Ever been sued? You have paid attackers (lawyers) on you for a year or more. It of course is a challenge, but you should use it to grow and toughen. You should just get some plagiarism software, run your stuff through it and bring the Prof the data and demand a public apology “you accused me in public w/o data, now I’d like to apologize in public to me with data).
I’m white and once had a Prof accuse me (on my paper, not in front of the class) of having plagiarized an essay because it was too sophisticated. I went in and asked her what issue in the essay I should expound upon and wrote a couple more paragraphs with similar sophistication in front of her. That turned it into an A+ and she allowed me to choose more challenging material and techniques for the rest of the class.
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I just… I cannot even fathom the level of stupidity this professor showed. My SIX year old uses hence. How could they possibly think a college student wouldn’t? Unless you always used horrible, modern English “text speak” in your papers. But clearly that is not the case at all…. I am just completely floored!
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haha right?! As if “hence” is some obscure, unused word. please.
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I hate to go all Joni Mitchell and sing wistfully, “I’ve looked at plagiarism from both sides, now.” But I’m actually in an uncommonly good place to offer my two cents: as a frustrated limited-duties professor, I have been on the side of going after genuine academic fraudsters with righteous fury (and unintentional plagiarists with heartbreaking regret). And now, after only 2 1/2 months of law school (I am NOT a lawyer and nothing I say constitutes legal advice–please be mindful of this), I find myself as a volunteer advocate for working on behalf of the very students I once hunted.
My current university is unusual (and perhaps unique) among Canadian universities in that it hires an actual for-real law firm to go after plagiarizing students, which is on one hand a fantastic serious commitment to academic integrity, but on the other hand a pretty savage intimidation tactic when it comes to everyone who is accused. This is why ensuring students don’t face the axe alone is important, even if it’s just us lowly law students helping out. But the one advantage of a school that hands its plagiarism cases to bonded professionals with actual codes of ethics is that these people aren’t just sharks looking to hang students by any means necessary: they’re by-the-book professionals interested in the pursuit of justice, and the presence of a law firm in the fight pushes the university toward more procedural fairness than might otherwise be had from biased professors with a chip on their shoulder about what race a good hearty Anglo-Saxon word like “hence” belongs to (hint: in the sick mind of well-educated racists, it’s probably not the visible minorities).
In cases of verifiable academic fraud prosecuted fairly, a law firm is an unstoppable and ruthless force. In cases like this, however, they would be eminently reasonable, and probably laugh off the paranoid professor’s baseless delusions before things even got to the level of having to defend the student. I would never ever see a case like this on my desk because it would fall to pieces, as well it should, before it ever got to the level of a plagiarism hearing.
I mention this because there are proper policies for suspected plagiarism, and every accredited university has one. There are civil and respectful way to go about pursuing the matter, if that’s what a professor thinks is happening. I don’t see that proper procedure happening here. What I see is a prejudiced (and probably racist/sexist) professor with zero evidence committing a travesty of academic professionalism, and (given the calling out in front of class) might even be defamatory (I am not a lawyer. I offer a lay opinion only). It’s a shitty thing to do, and among the dozens of professors I’ve known, not all of whom were great, I’ve never actually met a single one who would ever embarrass the profession in such a classless, irresponsible, and anti-intellectual way. Not even the worst of them. this is worse than “worst.”
No student should accept this as normal. No professor or faculty should accept this as normal. Admins, of course, do whatever helps recruitment and seldom care what happens to the customers once they’re enrolled. But this kind of bullying is not okay in any university, and would get laughed out of a tribunal in the absence of further evidence.
If Suffolk had, say, a Division of Student Affairs, and *especially* if it had a robust and well-known Office of Diversity Services, it might be worth pursuing the matter on an academic fairness level with the former, and perhaps even on a human-rights level with the latter. Once again, I must repeat (to cover my own backside) that I’m not a lawyer or other authority, and these idle thoughts do not constitute legal advice in any way. The people in these offices (if indeed they existed, in someplace like, say, the Sawyer Bulding) would be a much better authority than I am on what might be done about this absurd and baseless transgression of the academic spirit, but I’d be very curious to see what they have to say.
Above all, know that this is not okay in academia, even if it does sometimes happen. If you choose to go on, it probably won’t be your last time encountering it, either. But the mere fact that it’s common does NOT mean we should treat it like it’s normal.
Do what feels right with your gift for writing. It may be that in some way this article’s going viral opens more professional and academic doors for you than one throwaway paper ever would have. Own what’s yours, be proud of what you do, pursue excellence for its own sake rather than the praise of professors, and know that the mentors who support you will matter a lot to your future (work your tail off for them!), and the bullies who denigrate you will not (muddle through and then ditch them as soon as possible). You have a lot more power in this situation than this professor would like you to believe. Don’t forget that.
Self-doubt is inevitable and maybe even healthy. It’s the friend of any great writer. It’s a tool that can make you better, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed of having it, or of things that wake it up. But let it work on your terms, not theirs.
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P.S. don’t forget to consider leading graduate schools in Canada if you do go on in academia. We are not perfect. We are not at ALL a safe haven from racism or serious diversity issues. Many of the problems you’ve encountered might exist here, as they exist anywhere. But the character and climate here can sometimes be very different, and perhaps even in ways you find freeing.
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My young sister. As I read your blog at 60 plus years old I am pulled back in time to my undergraduate days. To being told that I should work towards a degree in “General Studies’ instead of my targeted dual major in psychology and religion. Told I wold never get into a graduate school. Told that my dissertation topic was not worthy. I have been a doctor of clinical psychology for 31 years. Throughout my academic years and my professional career I have had to battle with those inner voices and those ‘other’ voices of doubt. I wish I could tell you that they go away but they do not. I have learned to recognize the quiet footfall of the inner voices and learned to slay them. The ‘other’ voices never stop but I know them for what they are and have barred the door to my heart and soul so they cannot enter.
I wish I had learned these lessons as early as you have. I read your words and admire your skil with a pen and your clean and concise use of language. I cannot see your physical form but i see your heart and your strength in your words. Those who do not see past their biases towards your skin, your gender, your culture will never know you. You are well on your way to mastering the art of shutting them out and quietly calling them out.
Grandfather says this: “The weakest step toward the top of the hill, toward sunrise, toward hope, is stronger than the fiercest storm.”
Grandfather says this: “Keep Going.”
– Joseph Fire Crow
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This actions of this professor sicken and disgust me. Take a stand here, and file an official complaint. You are a beautiful writer, and I wish you well.
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A search on Google Scholar reveals that the phrase “Hence, the question” has been used by authors from all around the world, including the USA, Japan, Germany, Russia, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Spain and so on.
Hence, the implication that this language is typical of a particular place, time or cultural group is not based on any evidence.
It’s clearly discrimination and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of support on pursuing a complaint until there is disciplinary action taken against the professor.
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Reminds me of the story my girlfriend, who is Mexican. Would get harassed by campus security when she went to a mostly white university in orange county CA. They refused to believe she was enrolled there. Your teacher should be fired and shamed publicly.
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Keep your chin up.
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Thank you for sharing your words and experience. As a woman, indigenous scholar, bi-lingual, undocumented immigrant from a low-income household, born and raised half of my life in a developing country where I received my undergrad degree, your words are a true reflection of what I go through everyday since I took up my Master’s in the US as a Fulbright Scholar, as I finish my PhD (through an international fellowship), and even as I start my adjunct professor position next semester here in the US. This blog is even more timely to the fact that just this past week I also had to overcome the same pain you feel as huge chunks of an article I wrote to get published was intensely edited to cut out my words and insert more “academically-sounding” speech by my co-author (who is what you aptly termed “high-income white counterpart”). But this is exactly why we need to pursue our goals to be a Professor, so this kind of bullshit stops happening to people of color, especially women, immigrants, bi-lingual scholars, those from low-income households, undocumented..the ones who are called minorities. We need to represent an often neglected demographic to help spread awareness about the barriers that are placed in front of us in order to even just go to college. How we had to train and work even harder to prove ourselves to that system that doubted we would ever set foot in University to begin with. If I had a dollar for every time I had to prove my credibility as a scholar just because I am a woman that was born and raised half my life in a developing country where I got my high school and undergrad degree, then I’d have enough money to actually pay out of my own pocket for the Master’s degree I have and PhD I am currently completing, and not have to prove it in the +50 scholarships and grants that I had to apply for to even get an education. And as a bi-lingual Native scholar, we know that HENCE and other words like it, are not OUR words. These are words of our colonizers, these are the words that we were trained to use in order to be understood by those who set the standard on education, those are the words we forced ourselves to learn and were forced to learn and assimilate to because our Native language is not considered intelligible. We need to remind our students that English is a language, and not a form of intelligence. We need to overcome, transcend, and re-transform these culturally-inappropriate and unsustainable out of date standards in the Academe..and my kindred sister, we do this by infiltrating the system and being true to our identity. 🙂
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The racist cretin could have Googled any “suspect” part of your paper to determine if it was plagiarized. That professor almost certainly has NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder). Look it up, especially on YouTube.
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This essay is stunning.
Make no mistake: you deserve all you have and more.
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As a white male English professor, I agree that this is absolutely deplorable behavior. You should meet with the chair of the department and the professor in question. Go into the meeting resolved to have every concern you have heard by both the chair and the professor. I know this puts a burden on you that you shouldn’t have to shoulder, but obviously something is really amiss in this professor’s head and that needs to be addressed before it can be fixed.
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I’m interested in reading your paper. Can you post it?
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Great work. I sat in a class of gringos who said I could not be a Dr and today I am practicing. BO has been President for eight years after a yes we can campaign.
It emanates from seeing the potential in minorities as a threat to the majorities.
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Tiffany, you write beautifully. The incident you described reflects poorly only on your professor, who behaved in a completely unprofessional manner. If s/he had honest questions about your work, they should have met with you privately. The behavior you were subjected to does not belong in a classroom. (I’m a college professor.)
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Reblogged this on Star Tribe Cafe and commented:
So poignant, honest just lovely.
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Absolutely revolting. The system is broken because the system was built on a broken perception of “white superiority”. This professor probably wasn’t even aware of her own bias and how it manifested in her thought process. And I’m sure so many of the students in the class will stand by the professor and the “anonymouses” of the world to say this is a radicalized person looking for an excuse. Keep on educating them Tiffany! The truth is the only way the ignorant will learn is when we educate them about the truths that the broken education system has failed to teach them. I join you in the struggle! In solidarity…
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Maya Angelo said it better than I ever could:
STILL I RISE
Maya Angelou, 1928 – 2014
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
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Thank you for speaking up on what is so obviously a painful topic. Here to tell you you’re not alone. It’s frustrating cos racism is so systematic that people don’t even realise they’re doing it, even when it’s blatant and pointed out. *hugs*
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I’m perplexed by this story. Not anything on your end, I’m just confused by the professor. That’s a very poor way to handle the situation.
My one piece of advice would be that doing the undergrad thing you’re going to run into a lot of professors who are less than ideal. Significantly so, in fact. It doesn’t sound like he’s accusing you of plagiarism but I assume that’s because he has no evidence, he’s going off his instincts. I can’t discount that it’s racially motivated, but it isn’t necessarily. The harsh reality is that a lot of people who evaluate writing aren’t very good at it (and in fact, its difficult to even determine what being good at it would mean). A lot of professors don’t focus on improving global writing skills but focus on their own idiosyncrasies.
No academic journey is without running into classes you hate. Sometimes that extends to professors you find insufferable. The discipline to tolerate and excel in such environments is part of what the academic package offers.
Keep your chin up. This is much more a statement about him than you.
tl;dr professor sounds like an ass- keep using hence
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Reblogged this on justine navarro.
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Please take that paper and put it under water until that blue ink washes away (Marine Biology, black ink or pencil only). Then promptly take that paper to the professor with an attached addendum of this article. Keep writing, keep refining your style. Most academics don’t use the language of their writings in everyday conversations and “hence” is not actually a word relegated to the ivory tower exclusively.
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I think you have grounds for a very serious meeting with the Dean of Faculty. Your professor should not be allowed to get away with this, even if the only thing the Dean can do is have a stern talking to this prof; someone needs to explain that this behavior is unacceptable (if you’re concerned about the affect on your grade, wait until the end of the marking period, but document the professor’s behavior in the meantime).
The Dean needs to care, if for no other reason than at the end of the day, schools are businesses and they cannot treat paying consumers in this fashion. I would absolutely use this to my advantage- and I have. I was in a similar situation at my school, except the instructor in question was stupid enough to write an ignorant, racist email. I followed proper channels within the school and that person was dealt with appropriately.
I tend to use my feelings as motivation to action. This prof should not be allowed to publicly insult and humiliate students. This also went on in my graduate program abroad, and in that case I went to the department chair and then the president of the college (humanities & social sciences). However, I will admit that I am probably more motivated than most
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100% agree. The professor should have put up or shut up, but now the professor should resign in disgrace.
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Beautifully written post. Your writing, your words–continue to use them well and they will never fail you. They are your tools and your art, your sword and your shield. They give you the means to express the inexpressible, they give wings to your strength, and they make it impossible for another to diminish your power. Thanks for sharing your courage with us; I encourage you to continue on your path, knowing that overcoming obstacles like this one only make you stronger. And next time, try “ergo.” Professors are suckers for Latin. 😉
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White ccounterpart? 60% of school are Asian.
I’m a first college, first generation immigrant. Have not felt any kind of racism or anything you mentioned. (Almost) haven’t had that towards me in my whole life in the US.
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I don’t doubt that the author of this is not proud! Just because you have not felt it doesn’t mean others haven’t either!
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You completely missed her whole point.
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So because YOU did not experience this, her story is invalid?
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Well, _bully for you_.
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Although I am not a racial minorityand I am much older that you(assuming you followed the usual age path school) I can attest to having biased instructors when I was one of a few women in my psychology doctoral program in a male dominated profession and later one of the fewfemale instructors in a male focused medical collge class for all male interns I had the nerve to be teaching. I understand that it is not quite the same type of oppression, but the intent on the part of other instructors and students was the same. To undermine and make the targeted person feel “lesser” and not as “worthy” and knowledgeable. I can see by your writing style and stong self integrity that you will overcome this hurtfu, cruel and petty ignorance. I would also consider filing a grievance against the instructor ( after you are out of his classroom) if you think the environment in your school would support your complaint. It might also be helpful to cafefully ask around and see if there may be other classmates who might have been targeted as well. There is strength in numbers and you might be able to indicate an on-going pattern in his behavior. What a racist , egotistical excuse for a human being!
Mary Ann Borman, PhD,
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I am so sorry this happened to you. I can’t imagine how horrible it must’ve felt to be insulted in front of a class because of HIS prejudices. I’m from Malaysia (I’m half Malaysian Chinese half Japanese) and I’m going to study in Concordia University, Montreal from Jan 2017. I really hope these things happen to us people of color but it just keeps happening. But thank you for writing this post. If anything happens, I will be brave enough to write about it and start a conversation on my blog. You’re amazing.
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Don’t commit plagiarism and then blame getting caught for it on whitey.
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Plagiarism for the word “hence”? I suggest reading the article before giving negative comments online because it could really hurt people.
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Erm. She didn’t plagiarize.
Don’t dispense advice on an article when you haven’t read the article.
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Of course, you can attack, but you hide your name. Next time, use the name Coward.
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Boo.
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What an ignorant you are. Do you know what plagiarism means?
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Stay anonymous, you cowardly asshole.
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Being articulate and using words to convey your thoughts are not exclusive to white people. From reading the entire article I would say that there was no plagiarism, just closed minds in reading the paper.
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Tiffany, don’t interalize, fight back. Challenge him. Make him prove it. File a grievance. Be a moving target. Hes only a collrge teacher, not God.
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Why don’t you have the guts to put your name to such a cowardly comment? Ms Martinez has far more guts than you exhibit, and she would probably use the more elegant “being caught”!
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Can not comment on your professor being a racist or not. But I must say I am surprised. This is unacceptable. Hence??? Who does not use hence in their writing (not that it is a must but it is very common)
As an international student, I’ve never felt like this. My professors have always encouraged me. Please complain officially!
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This breaks my heart.
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You have presented yourself beautifully which a native language person cannot do this well. I am above 50s. What I have realised is; we do not need to work to be accepted. Our measure for inspiration should be our own development and happiness. In your case, poor person is the professor because he has no knowledge. Keep watching for few years- such persons including their offsprings get stuck midway whereas you will be far ahead. Who cares if others are ignorant if my life is going as I wanted it to.
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Stay positive you will find a lot of good things in your journey.
Focus on your goal, action and karma not on results.
I know this sounds like philosophy. But it is a way of life . In fact this is karma yoga. Lot of people look at yoga as some postures. But most rewarding is karma yoga. You will find strength and happiness. Remain positive and enjoy all the obstacles because they are to be conquered
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Hey Tiffany! I’m a Latina PhD candidate at a an old European university. I relate to your story because I know those looks and criticisms too well. I have earned two graduate and postgraduate degrees in my third language and am still judged by everyday people on my capacity to work in academia in this language.
I have one simple advice for you, work on that paper until you love it and submit it for publication in a peer reviewed journal. If the professor doubted your work pay him back with the most important accomplishment in academia, getting published. Use this to your advantage.
I have no doubt you will accomplish all you set out to challenge yourself in this career and there will be people like this old professor that will undervalue, my advice to this is to move one. I’ve had to travel to another environment to be valued for my work because the milieu I was in just insisted in always seeing me as “not good enough” no matter how many international conferences I did and how many publications I got. Sometimes you get this type of comments from being the biggest fish in the pond.
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I think you should reg up an account at Academia.edu and then pdf this post, plus the comments in their entirety.
As for the sock puppets, they can fade. Your prof violated all professional standards. Accusations of Plag. are not to be tossed off lightly or used for public shaming power trips. And reverse appropriation of voice is such a freaking weird notion that all I can say is “Sir. You Anxiety Closet is Open”. The prof shamed themself.
Thank you for posting this and COURAGE!
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As a white male, I was once called out in class for using the word “thwart” in class, so it doesn’t necessarily follow that the objection raised was racially motivated. I’m not saying the prof isn’t an ass, just not necessarily a RACIST ass. Ascribing motivations to others’ actions is a logical fallacy, and a disrespectful form of communication. Just as disrespectful as it was for your prof to assume that something they found inconsistent meant that they could convict you in absentia of plagiarism.
Besides, wtf does “not your word” even mean? Maybe you just learned the word and decided to apply it. You know, to LEARN. And why is it monosyllabic words they focus on? Would they have reacted similarly to “notwithstanding” or “hitherto”?
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I take your point, and I think that at best your argument just derails the conversation. ‘He’s an ass, just not a racist ass’ – what’s the distinction exactly? Is it less fucked up if the professor didn’t specifically get up that morning thinking “Man, I wanna fuck up some w**b**k’s day”? Since the professor specifically used language like “This is NOT your word” and said that this person “cut and paste,” I’d hazard the guess that yes, this was something based on the assumption that because of (how she looks, her name, etc.) that this was racially motivated – He took items that are typically associated with people of a certain racial background and made assumptions on that basis. Last I checked, that’s pretty much the definition of racism. He doesn’t have to have lynched someone to have done something out of racism.
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You are the one jumping to the conclusion that this had ANYTHING to do with race. “Hence” is an archaic word, like ‘thou’ or ‘thee,’ which “isn’t [our\]your “word”/”language”–meaning it’s not a word YOU(or me, or anyone even close to our age group) use in your everyday conversation. It’s not the kind of “language” that is used in the 21st century context. The professor was pointing this out because you using “hence” stands out as being inauthentic to your voice and time. Whether or not it was “copy/pasted” it’s immitating tone and heightened language which isnt your own. Sometimes when I’d be writing an essay on Shakespeare or something, and I’d use some of those archaic words or phrases in my essay which were Shakespeare’s language–not mine. And I got called out for it–just like you. I’m a white female. My Shakespeare professor was a white female, too. Your professor’s comment had NOTHING to do with your race or background. It really sucks that you didn’t ask your professor what they meant before you jumped to conclusions and assumed you were being persecuted.
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Hence actually isn’t archaic, in this context. This is completely reasonable academic writing. If she had used it to mean “over there”, fair enough, but she didn’t.
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NO
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I also don’t get why people are immediately jumping on the Racial motivation angle.
Even the writer herself does not say it was Racial motivated, only that from her perspective/position those comments made her feel as though her heritage and intelligence was a factor.
We also have no context here.
Did the writer use this style, these words etc in previous papers?
If it is something new to her work, then the person viewing it may well feel that it wasn’t her work.
I do think the person who checked the paper was wrong to call it out in the way they did. It is something that should have been discussed privately when there was opportunity to question and review with all the relevent facts and information.
I also strongly believe that the writer should make a formal complaint and discuss the matter with people in a stronger position to deal with the accusation.
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in a buzzfeed article that she submitted this information to she said that it was her that initiated and spoke up loudly to make sure that people in the back of the class could hear how frustraited she was. From what I read the professor didnt bring it up in front of the class it was ms. martinez. Beyond that there are snippets of her paper on that buzzfeed article provided by the author and just show her “well written piece” was riddled with errors in the 1st paragraph, not to mention the title itself was corrected. I dont jump to side with any pieces or stories I hear over the web as the further I dig and get concrete evidence and true sources the more BS and blatant misrepresentation of facts come out from the frameworks. 98% of the shit we read is just that, shit, and once someone catches them in the lie people backtrack and state things like i was being satirical or this is a personal opinion piece.
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