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 
I wholeheartedly agree that academia is so far removed from progression by subsuming an entire group of people to lower standards than the privileged.
However, I am unclear as to whether this comment you mentioned about the Professor indicating you ‘indicate where you cut and paste” isn’t a question of plagiarism in general and that the string of sentences may have reflected in another paper or piece?
Again this is for skepticism’s sake and not to undermine the point you’re making.
I am also an Immigrant African woman myself living in Central Europe and systems, especially in academia, consistently hamper the need for other voices to be part of the conversation. It is deeply frustrating when I work with my mostly white counterparts who are in positions of privilege and reveal surprise at how well I use the English language. They pile on their disbelief by suggesting I must’ve had my childhood education in the West. I’ve staggered many times at the ignorance and haughtiness they portray parading themselves self important where there is no indication they wholly worked worked for those credentials. At this point i have reached what I call ‘Migrant fatigue” where I am too exhausted to keep repeating and proving myself in an increasingly hostile environment.
Thank you for airing this out where I’m too much of a coward to do so.
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Reblogged this on Sir Benzon Barrientos' Classroom and commented:
“Their blue pen was the catalyst that opened an ocean of self-doubt that I worked so hard to destroy.” – Ms. Martinez.
I will teach academic writing next semester. It’s a good thing that I read this.
It reminds me of “scholarly paper in college”
HENCE, writing is to express…
Academia, love her back.
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Reblogged this on CHE and commented:
I really really know what she’s talking about.
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A woman with your credentials, who uses the word hence is accused of “stealing” the word? That is just straight up bigotry. As a former college instructor I cringe that somewhere out there is a person who claims to be a “professor” who has obviously been allowed, until now, to opening disrespect, to publically disparage such an articulate student “I am just as capable if not more so than those around me and my accomplishments are earned. ” Yes, yes you are! I shared this on social media and I hope it goes viral. That “professor” requires some reeducating.
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Also, I got a mandatory C on an informative speech cause I used a persuasive word. I said, “to score in Rugby, one must put the ball down in the end zone with control” I appealled to the professor, and she insisted that “must” is persuasive. Unless you’re quoting the laws of Rugby. You’re not oppressed, you’re surrounded by idiots; like we all are.
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Before you get high and mighty about yourself, you may notice you’ve spelled “appealed” wrong.
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you, the author bitch too much, further, you’re a pedantic writer. I’m a White male, and I’ve written papers for myself and others in college. My papers would get b/cs and when I’d write for others, I’d earn them A’s. I don’t think you’re really factoring in enough information/data to come to your hasty conclusions. See, I made a whole argument is 3 sentances. Your writing bores me; like amy academics. I have a Philosophy degree so it’s not academia itself, just a too common writing flaw
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Huelebicho
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You are an idiot. Also, considering your shitty grammar, your b/c papers were kind graders, while your A papers must have simply not been read.
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And your writing is so riddled with clumsy mistakes that we’re supposed to take your critique of her piece seriously? I hope she has the common sense to ignore you.
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You are a moron and you cannot write. I counted at least seven spelling, grammar and punctuation errrors in your single paragraph.
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Like you stated, your a White Male & while you have a valid point of some professors being idiots or overly critical, you could NEVER understand when a professor IS actually being prejudicial towards a non-white student. You come across asshole educators while we get both general assholes and the prejudicial ones Too. It’s NOT bitching it’s speaking a true moment and a true experience, that you would never understand because you, put simply, are white.
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Wow, Scott, you must have felt pretty threatened to write that post. Next time, though, check your spelling as well as your white privilege: you evidently know as much about what it’s like to be a person of color in academia as you know about how to spell “sentences.”
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The irony is strong with this one.
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“See, I made a whole argument is 3 sentances. Your writing bores me; like amy academics. ”
Wherever you got your Philosophy degree should issue you an immediate refund.
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Scott, you need to learn how to proofread before you post. Don’t know how you managed to get A’s on any paper with your misspellings and grammatical errors. js
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fuck off you misogynistic TWAT…..
mr ‘i have a philosophy degree’… blow it out your ass you fucking loser. whats your fucking point?
Your papers got b’s and c’s, and others got a’s… what does that have to do with her story? GOD i hate the fucking internet because of IDIOTS like you.
what happened to supporting each other and being decent fucking people. You DIDNT make an argument in 3 ‘SENTANCES”… you mashed together a typo-ridden, hate-filled message trying to further take down the spirits of a person who’s just trying to share her story as a cathartic way to process the hurt and embarrassment her professor caused. Nowhere in your comment do i see any argument for you to stand behind or for her to further consider and evaluate. You are a boring fucking person who got b’s and c’s in college and needs to make yourself feel better by putting down women. Way to go buddy…
You fucking loser… you’re a sorry excuse for a human being.
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Scott, but your piece here is full of spelling and grammatical errors. There are a few sentence fragments. The flow of logic in your response is disjoint and your conclusion shaky. I would have expected something better from one with a philosophy degree. Yet, you judge Martinez, whose writing is far superior to yours in comparison.
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Bitch too much, Scott C.? Totally inappropriate and false. I don’t Tiffany personally, but your statements don’t make any sense. What does you writing for yourself and writing for others have to do with what she’s trying to convey in her blog? You also began by stating you’re a white male, so clearly you can’t empathize with her struggles of being Latina in academia, but maybe just maybe you could have tried to sympathize. As you begin to critique her, maybe you should spell the word sentences* correctly.
Kudos to you Tiffany for speaking up! I hope you go see the Dean or bring it up to someone who will do something about it. Even the news!
Saludos
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You got B/Cs?
And let’s not even mention that only one sentence out of that whole mess even attempted to address the actual point.
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Ms. Martinez, I wanted to tell you that it’s good for everyone that you write this all this out, and show my support in saying, please continue to take pride in all your work and achievements every step of the way, and when you’ve adequately expressed your anger, frustration and sadness, I hope that you may also let these challenges transform into strength that reinforces your drive and personal POWER, like you no doubt already do. I have to say though, after reading Scott Conner’s unique and highly persuasive argument (in 3 sentENCES no less!) I have to add, that it’s a good thing that you, Ms. Martinez, and all of us here in internet land have YOU, Scott, to come through with the mansplaining of what it’s like to be in academia/the world as a non-white person! Jeepers, what would we do without qualified men to tell us how the world REALLY is? Scott, you make me see (spelling errors and all) that even though I’m a white woman, I too KNOW what it’s like to be non-white in academia, or hell – anywhere! And it must bring comfort to Ms. Martinez to know that even though we’re “surrounded by idiots” NONE of these idiots are actually oppressors! YAY! Some of us think (erroneously) that our experiences are a reflection of not only how we see ourselves and how others perceive us but also as within the larger historical context of being subjects of systemic oppression that since society’s inception has supported and perpetuated false and damaging social constructs that favor one portion of the human race over all others. But with you, Scott, people of color and women can rest assured knowing that all that silly stuff can be completely disregarded for the REAL world that YOU, Scott, live in and know all about!
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Illuminating the darkness is worth the pain/suffering….thanks for sharing, caring and making a difference by continually shining the light for others to perhaps one day not have to experience similar pain/suffering….
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That is interesting, as I write scientific investigations and use “hence” ALL the time. Curious, as I am also latin. Aside from that, college will do that all the time too. And the world can be harder than that. Its up to you to fight for what is fair, take it to the dean. Don’t keep silent.
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“hence” is used in place of “Por lo tanto” which equals “therefore”
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I am also a token, both as a black woman that’s a STEM student and as someone who’s been the token black at work (a graduate school in Chicago). I haven’t had these experiences as a student but I’ve worked in 4 different departments at my job and have been the token black in 3 of them and I’ve been subjected to this often. I’ve also seen our 100% white departments stay that way for the past 10 years because any minority faculty applicants are routinely ruled out due to a belief they “aren’t a good fit for the culture” while we hire someone’s white spouse or friend instead. These indignities get worse once you get the PhD in a lot of ways because they are you as competition then, so they’ll be more likely to undermine you in meetings and pull publicly humiliating stunts like your professor did here. Going through these things is always hard, but it’s even worse when you’re dealing with people who do these things while claiming to be committed to diversity, something they’re terrified of because they don’t even understand what it is. Trying to navigate this during BLM has been…well, there isn’t a word in the English language that really describes it.
I say these things not to discourage you but rather to prepare you. I don’t want you to believe there’s a point at which this will stop. The myth we tell in this country-and attempt to sell to other nations as part of our branding-is one where education is a panacea against racism and sexism and it just isn’t true. Credentials won’t validate you to a lot of people because those people will never see you as human regardless of what you do. If you want to stay in academia, I wish you the best and suggest you find support systems and mentors that can help make it easier. Therapy helps and coffee is absolutely essential ☺️ Social media has also provided me with a lot of emotional support, as other tokens tell their stories and I’m reminded I’m not crazy because far too many people are telling my stories on Twitter. I wish you the best of luck in all of your endeavors and congrats for staying on the Dean’s List while holding down two jobs, a hustle I am also incredibly familiar with.
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Wow. I like to think that at the University of New Mexico, where the chairman of my thesis committee was Rudy Anaya, author of “Bless Me, Ultima,” this would not have happened. But it still might happen anywhere. As an Anglo, I recall first using “essay words” like “hence,” words I didn’t use in speech, and they felt foreign. But to be called on them – just wow. So glad you wrote this so all can heal. Keep going, you know academia needs you;
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First, I congratulate you on your drive and intellect; both are clearly reflected in your writing. Unfortunately, some “educators” let thier biases, jealousy, or other personal issues, get in the way of helping students. I think the smarter you are, the more some of these teachers will try to discourage you. It sounds cynical, but it is unfortunately part of the darker side of human nature. Take heart in knowing that it may have more to do with your intellect than your color. I have experienced this, and my son has as well, and we are white as a sheet. Those who have achieved a high status in “academia” sometimes have a scarcity mentality, that makes them want to keep others down. Don’t be discouraged. Unfortunately, you may wind up with a few B’s on your transcript as a result. Think of it as good practice for the real world. I tell my son that, for each course, there are two goals: 1). Learn as much as you can about the subject. and 2) Get the best grade you can. (In that order of importance). Getting the best grade you can sometimes be like solving the mystery of…What does the professor want? And, how can you avoid doing or saying something that will push thier buttons (right or wrong, this is a real thing). As long as human beings are doing the teaching, this is something you will have to learn to overcome. Keep on pushing forward! Best of luck.
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Tiffany, it may be that Academia has a hard time loving you back; but as you can clearly see, much of the world doesn’t. So, go on.
Thank you for sharing.
And remember Theodore Parker’s comments:
“Look at the facts of the world. You see a continual and progressive triumph of the right. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”
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I admire you for all you have accomplished. Many of us have doubts about what we can accomplish. I too have had professors make things difficult for me. And grateful that I have had professors that helped and supported me. You are doing more than most because you are speaking out so we all can strive to be better human beings. Remember the problem with your paper had nothing to do with you. You WILL have that PhD! The problem is inside that professsor….he has ignorance and little self worth of his own…..for whatever the reasons, his past brought him to where he is today and it’s not a pretty place. It may be time for him to get out of teaching so he doesn’t pass on his prejudices and ignorance to others. Or maybe your actions will change him. It’s sad for us to hear someone would do this to a brilliant hard working student like you. But you are a shining example to all of us and will continue to be successful and an amazing professor some day. His actions come from inside him and have nothing to do with who you are. Thank you for sharing your story and changing the world for the better.
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I am sorry this happened in front of your class.
Full Definition of hence (according to Merriam-Webster)
1: from this place : away
2 a archaic : henceforth
b : from this time
3: because of a preceding fact or premise : therefore
4: from this source or origin from hence
archaic : from this place : from this time
The word “hence” you used does not fit your sentence. I would have used common transition words found on tutorial Websites such as edhelper.com or other companion sites to help those who argue your word choice. Writing at the Masters and Doctoral degree level is critiqued most often. Keep in mind, local newspapers are written for the masses on a third grade educational level, for real! Be encouraged!
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That is interesting, as I write scientific investigations and use “hence” ALL the time. Curious, as I a m also latin.
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This is a stupid, uncaring and irrelevant reply. The professor did not claim the word was used inaccurately but that she, a minority female, wouldn’t use such a word, and the professor called her out in class and ridiculed her in that public setting. Now off you fuck.
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Wow… after that whole essay, all you took away was that she used the word “hence” incorrectly, based on a picture in which you can’t even see a full sentence of her writing? And you felt the need to tell her that in a comment?
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I, too, considered whether “this is not your word” might have meant “this is not the word you want to use in this context”. I’m afraid I can’t judge whether or not it is being used correctly without being able to see the surrounding sentences–though it looks like it could very easily be a form of “therefore”–but given the fact that every other remark provided from the professor includes accusations of cutting/pasting/using the language of others, I’m pretty sure Occam’s razor suggests that the word “hence” was used correctly and the phrase “not your word” does in fact mean “this was obviously copied from someone smarter”.
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Also, like, I feel like I should mention that the reason I hedged my bets with a polite “I can’t judge” rather than “none of us can judge but it seems pretty obvious that it’s an accusation of plagiarism rather than improper word use, so what the hell” is because you seem very certain that the word was used incorrectly, like, to the extent that I began questioning whether the full context WAS visible somewhere and included improper use and I had just missed it somehow.
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The question is NOT whether the word is the correct word to use in the context of the sentence, it is the bigoted assumption that someone of a certain background cannot know a specific word.
Now let us look at your criticism of the use of the word “hence,” which is based solely upon fragmentary sentences and, hence, is of no value.
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Hm. From your paste of Merriam’s definition: “3: because of a preceding fact or premise : therefore” Seems this is the sense she was using the word in. So it totally fits.
But this is actually rather beside the point. She wasn’t corrected on the usage of the word. She was told it wasn’t “her language”. That is inappropriate and rather insulting.
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Adjunct Instructor, you are wrong. Martinez used the word, “hence” correctly, to be synonymous with “therefore.”
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Seriously? It is difficult to know where to start in critiquing your reply. Firstly almost every sentence is poorly expressed. Secondly, it is beyond me how you can assert that the word “hence” does not ‘fit’ the sentence when the full paragraph in which it is used has not been quoted. To suggest instead that she should have used ‘common transition words’ found elsewhere is meaningless. Which words did you have in mind? From my perspective “hence” is a ‘common transition word’ and I suspect it was for the author. I am not even going to start with deconstructing “to help those who argue your word choice”.
It makes little sense to say that writing at masters level is critiqued ‘most often’. It may be that spelling and grammar errors and argument are marked down more severely, or are less likely to be overlooked, in masters work, but you have suggested here that submitted work may or may not be critiqued with masters work more likely to be critiqued than undergraduate work. That is errant nonsense. All submitted work is critiqued, with none more so than any other.
There is no reason for raising the issue of the reading level at which newspapers pitch their copy. It adds nothing to your argument as far as I can discern. This sentence was less an adjunct, more a non sequitur.
However, what riles me most about your post is that you have completely missed the point. The author charges that she has been accused of plagiarism for no reason other than that the marker decided she was incapable of drafting the paper because of her ethnicity. In particular, that the word ‘hence’ did not form part of her vocabulary and must therefore have been copied from some other source. Your response is to ignore this and instead proclaim on whether the word was used correctly. Indeed you appear to agree that the word was ‘stolen’ by expressing your sorrow that the accusation was delivered ‘in front of your class’. I can only infer from this that you either accept the validity of the accusation or are disinterested in its veracity.
For what it is worth I suggest you study more what counts as adding value before instructing on it.
G
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Tiffany:
Perhaps next time you should include a few of the wrong its/it’s or your/you’re so you sound more like a real American.
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Degrading and slanderous! Tiffany, you are a courageous, amazing and ambitious human. Keep on keeping on and please do not stop your vocalizatoon of this professor’s scandalous behavior here. Take it higher and continue to be heard. You have a strength, a leadership ability, and a gift. I wish you the very best.
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Hi Tiffany, Toni Morrison spoke about this subject in the 1970s:http://mackenzian.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Transcript_PortlandState_TMorrison.pdf
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I know your pain first hand. I’m a first generation college graduate and experienced the biases you described very eloquently in your blog. However, these experiences has only made me stronger. As a result, today I possess 2 master’s degrees and I’m currently a doctorate student. Hold on to your dreams and remember no one can tare away your destiny. Latina and proud. Future Dr in the house. You have a journey that awaits.
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I chanced on this article the day after I had a conversation with my high school senior English class about words and phrases that feel unnatural to them when they first use them. I assured them that we all find ourselves a little disoriented when we first begin to use formal and academic language, but that eventually these terms and registers will become their own and feel natural. It was a conversation, from my perspective (and this is how I presented it), about the awkwardness of moving from adolescence to adulthood intellectually. It didn’t occur to me that if they took my advice, a college professor might see them as posing as white! I know that there are people in this thread who want to believe this is an isolated, racist professor, but as someone who tries to maintain a relationship with many of my former students, I am aware that racism is part of a number of the interactions they have with professors. Thank you for exposing yours. P.S. I have one question: Is using the plural personal pronoun to refer to a single individual becoming standard?
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It appears to be, specifically when the individual is undefined and thus could be either (or any) gender. I’ve had trouble explaining many an English translation of “they”for a singular pronouns representing many people with my boss, who’s a few decades older and from a very different background, but in general I have no problems.
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Michael S – not sure it is becoming standard. I used it when i was a student in the ’80s to provide for a gender non-specific personal pronoun since English lacks them, and the use of He/Him, when no specific person was in mind, played into the prevailing patriarchy. The author seemed keen not to identify the ‘professor’. And to use s/he or she/he or he/she would have been awkward given that she would have been aware which gender they were. (or should that be ‘they was’?).
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As an immigrant myself, albeit from another part of this world, I have repeatedly noticed my larger vocabulary and grammar sense, compared to the local population. ‘Fortunately’, I am white; she said with dripping sarcasm.
Charge on, my aspiring PhD. You have nothing to proof to anyone. Take this world and make it yours!
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Ms. Marinez, I read every word. They are a reflection of you and they are beautiful, through and through. What you described happening you, while hurtful, demeaning and so many other things, must fortify you and be your nourishment as you continue to grow and succeed. You penned many words that really equate to;THIS IS SOME BULLSH@T. 💪🏽
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Please remember… this comment says more about the professor than it does about you. Don’t buy into their perception of you!
ZEN lesson:
A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side.
The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman.
Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his journey.
The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them.
Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”
The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”
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Is there a copy of the original paper with all the comments on it. While racism and ignorant people have no place in our society, there is a huge lack of context provided by those who are trying to make a point.
With that said, an earlier comment was correct on saying you should go to an administrator to report him for slander and incorrectly handling the situation.
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Some people can not swallow the pride to accept that others are going to excel more than they were ever capable of. app marketing, investment, ideas, its all the same. negotiate your existence.
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One idiot does not represent all of academia or a race. Keep working, report him to his superiors and be successful. Do something. Writing on the internet may be a good vent for you but does nothing to improve the situation.
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Put bluntly: you are wrong. Speaking out is exactly the right thing to do. The notion that her experience is somehow unique, or that she should suffer in silence, or #notallprofessors, is part of the problem.
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Not-Your-Language-How-a/238239
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I read about this on “buzzfeed.”
I thought you did a stellar job of handling the situation – with grace, class, articulation and BACKBONE. Good for you for following up with the Dean of the Sociology Dept.
Good for you for publicly expressing your confusion and disappointment and ire.
Good for you for refusing to accept less than the best from your professor, when THAT is WHAT you have put forth yourself.
Good for you for being a stand and demand for equality, and a beacon highlighting racial inequity.
I am totally impressed and inspired!
Rock on!
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I’m so sorry this happened to you. Even if the professor had had some grounds to suspect plagiarism, it would still have been completely inappropriate for them to speak to you about it in front of the class. But…based on the use of “hence?” As someone (white) who used to teach college students and had to deal with some plagiarists, I find that absurd. This just would not have happened to a white person.
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It is unbelievable our society still allows this kind of behavior to happen. It is not only Hispanics who are discriminated but also people of color, heritage, “lower income,”etc. Our school system continues to discriminate because we are different. Our capabilities are not challanged by teachers because some believe our intellect is not capable of reaching maximum potential. My children will have the same experience. Fortunately for them their name will help in not being discriminated. One look at them and they will feel like you feel.
As a future Hispanic educator (social science) I hope to bring that divide to close in our classroom and teach diversity, not ignorance. I hope to encourage women to strive for learning in the science studies, Hispanic students to graduate, African Americans to overcome their stereotype, and most importantly, for all to continue their education.
Continue to challenge them, this time it is not them who are teaching you, it is you teaching them.
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Our society does not just discriminate against people of cultural color, but of whites as well. There is a two way street — regardless of the color of your skin. I have been to countries where I was the outcast and the target of the sidelong glances, local euphemisms for “white”, assumptions that I would “eat their children” or rape their women. It happens everywhere, even in this article, if you look objectively — though in limited abundance, which shows this author tried hard to avoid it while addressing it. Stereotyping is a natural part of the brain’s functionality — it is essentially a giant card catalog, and the stereotypes are the high level categories that lead us to the lower categories. These classifications are built on perceptions, what we are taught, and even our experiences. We all do it. How we use those classifications and respond to them, is another issue — that is where racism can come into play. We all need to learn to be cognizant of others, learn to dig deeper into our understanding of others past the stereotypes we have by nature, and go from there. Learn to look at the person beyond the stereotype. I am white. I am not a child eater. I am not a woman rapist. I am not a gwailo, round-eye, white devil, or gringo, or cracker. I have been called them all. The same goes for everyone else. We are all people. See the individual, and let the individual have their respect.
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Academia is LUCKY to have you, and it needs you. In fact, thank you for persevering through the insult and bullshit you have had to endure until this point.
I am a white female from an academic family who recently graduated from a dual masters program. I know how much my own hard work shaped me, and I feel deeply upset and devastated you were treated this way. Thank you for your heartfelt and courageous story. Thank you for speaking out- but you also shouldn’t have to be the only one doing it. Your story makes me want to work that much harder at systems like white supremacy and ethnocentrism.
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I needed to read this.
You’ve beautifully articulated what I am currently feeling. Not because I’ve gone through a similar experience, (im a smarty, top of class student all my life. My intelligence and capabilities have never been challenged but encouraged and admired)
but because I am trying to fight my way into an industry that has very few black, Latina, undocumented, low-income, women. All that I represent. I have been doubting myself this whole week as I have been filling job applications and thinking about my future.
So, thank you, thank you, thank you. And I hope that this experience further propels your success. You’re inspiring.
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Please DO NOT allow a small minded, bitter racist to keep you from your dream! Be the change in the world so that when you are a professor YOU will change the world! I train preofessionallybfrom the heart because I always believed that if I had the chance to do it I would reach people on a human level! Use this to inspire new passion and use your passion to make a positive impact in someone’s life! You have made a positive impact in mine already!
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Ms. Martinez, I am so sorry that this happened to you. Your professor was out of line to call you out in front of the class. I hope that you go to the head of his/her department about this, because he/she deserves a reprimand.
I can tell by that you are an intelligent, articulate, serious student simply reading this blog. I know that you will achieve your goal of becoming a professor!
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I too have experienced this damned phenomena, not in text, but in spoken word. It’s genuinely upsetting when the manner in which you carry yourself exceeds the societal expectations imposed on your race/culture. I’m sharing this on my Facebook page; and thanks for posting it.
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I’ve experienced this very same phenomena, not in text, but in spoken word. It’s troubling when the way you carry yourself exceeds the societal expectations imposed on your race. Sharing this post on my Facebook page. Thank you for this.
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It’s the hardest thing to keep an open heart but you seem to be doing an amazing job and the world is better for it!! F*** that presumptuous teacher!!
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It’s fine to unload to the internet, but even more importantly you should go to your schools administration. Accusing someone of plagiarism in a public forum without evidence is slander. If this professor actually thought you copied and pasted, the appropriate response would be to call a meeting with you to discuss his concerns than alert the dean. Brining it up in front of the class serves completely different goals — humiliating you, putting you in your place, I don’t know what. Please reach out to people higher than this low life and report his behavior. There is no room for a person like this in academia.
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Do not be disheartened. Continue to strive. Aim to please no one and stand for those discriminated by their race.
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Not trying to be a cunt here, but with a quick google you get this: “”Hence” is a final conjunction; hence it should not be used at the beginning of a sentence in formal writing, according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Other final conjunctions include thus, so and therefore. You could rephrase your sentence as: I am not feeling well; hence I am unable to work.”
And if you know that, you’ll probably interpret the sentence “This is not your word!” as “This is not the word to use here” or “This is not the word you are looking for” or “Don’t use hence here, use however” or…
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Great point, but at the moment she was asked to point out her plagiarism, the comment became telling. This butthole simply did not believe that she could produce scholarly work on this level.
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Hmmm, too bad. You are, indeed, being a cunt here.
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Nope. You are being a cunt b/c you didn’t read for the entire context of what the author wrote. She said the prof handed the paper back and suggested “this is not your language” and to go show where she cut and paste it from. Way to mansplain, though, nice work.
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You are a cunt. How dare you send this reply when you have no idea when the word hence was presented nor the context in which it was used. Get a life. You could have kept that comment to yourself. You’re just as much of a jerk as her professor.
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And yet here you are defending the honor of a stranger who doesn’t know you without knowing how the word was presented nor the context in which it was used.
Even bigger laughs at the person above your post. Mansplain? Calm down feminist. Go write a blog post about the scary man giving his two cents.
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So, you went google it, because you didn’t know yourself, and needed more information to make sure your criticism is valid? You clearly didn’t bother to read the piece, in which she writes that the professor made his meaning understood during class.
Clearly, you also don’t know how grammar works. Because debatable rules of grammar, in particular, permissible fragments – like starting a sentence with ‘because’ or a semicolon before ‘hence’ and ‘however’, are not established by Google or Chicago University. It depends on which style guide you are using. Unless her university has adopted the Chicago Manual of Style for all published content, your comment is utterly irrelevant.
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The fact that the word was used incorrectly according to the Chicago Manual of Style has no bearing on the professor making an assumption that she cut and pasted this word from another source. You completely missed the point about what it is like to live in academia as a minority and constant flow of micro aggression and oppression, hence you are trying to be a cunt and you succeeded. The fact you used that word only speaks to your unpercieved privilege as a man. You should check yourself!!!
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A cunt named John. Who would have thought?
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Actually I think you are being a cunt. In British and other Englishes it is perfectly acceptable to use the word “hence” in this way, and if you googled a little beyond the over-prescriptive CMS (and beyond other over-prescriptive US English websites) you would be able to discover this for yourself.
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Not trying to be an asshole, John says, before completely dismissing someone’s interpretation of an experience to score a grammar point. Years of lived experience show people the difference between an edit and an attack on their credibility.
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John, this is incorrect. In the thread you quoted, the author of that comment eventually conceeds to that point. Here is a recent statement by the writers of The Chicago Manual of Style: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Usage/faq0013.html
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Exactly, Lev. She could have combined the two sentences, but having ended the previous sentence with an exclamation point for emphasis, her beginning the next sentence with “hence” was perfectly correct for me.
If I need to establish my own qualifications to comment, I’m a professional writer and have spend years editing publications for an Ivy League institution. By the way, John, unless you were given an exceptional surname for your sex, you were being a dick, not a cunt.
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Not to be a dick, here, but starting off a response with: “Not trying to be a cunt here” is a great way of saying, “Hi, I’m going to be a cunt here.” Just like how by starting my response was a great way of saying “Hi, I’m going to be a dick, here.” Also, you forgot the comma before the word ‘here’.
FYI, if you really wanted to give her constructive criticism, you might have started with acknowledging the central thesis of her essay before doing so. By ignoring it completely, you are being so, so *SO* much more than being a cunt. You really sold yourself short on that one. But thanks for epitomizing EXACTLY the type of crap she has to deal with on a daily basis.
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Rants about “final conjuctions” being used at the beginning of a sentence. Begins a paragraph with “and.”
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I cannot begin to imagine the level of ignorance that professor holds nor the amount of shame, disrespect, and outright dismissal of your academic career caused through said ignorance.
Hence is a fairly common words, easily understood by those without a degree and often used correctly by children in high school. So how your professor came to the absurd assumption that you ‘copy and pasted’ your work, aside from a racist stereotype, is beyond me. It is sickening and quite frightening that your sociology professor does not comprehend the literature they are teaching! In fact, this professor displayed the very racism and bias in which they supposedly hold a greater understanding.
Keep your head held high and know in your heart that you already far exceed this professor in their capabilities to comprehend and pass on their knowledge.
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Viva Tiffany! OMG, I totally understand hermanita! Yes, I can tell you painstakingly took your time. You feel you must validate yourself …I can feel you scream and cry at the same time as I am now reading this… It hurts.
Take solis in knowing that Almighty God created you and destined you for great things. You will triumph and hold open the doors for others to soar higher. Al fin, hablales en Español que Americanos no entienden y proclama tu victoria!
Esta es mi experiencia:
My Anglo professor gave me a “C” on a simple book report and told me I must have plagiarized because of one word “unscathed”!!!! He called me to the front and asked me to define the word!!! I defined it, used it in a sentence and told him to read the book. If you find the word, I’ll take the “C”, otherwise I expect and deserve an “A”! Got a “A”…mixed emotions…
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This sounds very familiar, English isn’t my first language and I’m doing a PhD in the UK.
You have a publication in a peer-review journal, you are way ahead of the curve.
The people who would be suspicious of your abilities based on their racialised views of you are not only wrong, but are also insignificant has-beens or boring never-will-be’s.
Reaching out in this way connects you with your real academic friends and we’ll all be on the lookout for your publications.
More power to you
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I understand all that you are experiencing. As a first generstion college and professiomal
School graduate, as an italian american, as a woman it is disheartening. It seems like it has not changed since my days in law school. The professor accused you of plagerism. Stand up for yourself. You are not alone.
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I didn’t read through the 1000+ other replies, but I doubt that I’m the first to tell you DO NOT DOUBT YOURSELF or allow these pretentious bastards to drive you from your path. I did–and I’m just an average white guy who ought to have fit it, but I was also a poor Appalachian kid from a broken home who, socially and culturally, was comparatively ignorant. I felt like I didn’t fit in and took the smug, casual, arrogant hostility of academia personally. I made a good life for myself, but I also know that I have underachieved. Because I surrendered. The thing to remember is that a great number of tenured faculty are, at their core, fragile beings who feel–like frat boys who survived Rush–like their degrees, and their status, was obtained by viciously struggling to survive a perilous gauntlet, and tenure is what they earned by surviving a crucible. They are the pure, the enlightened, and it is their job–sadly–not to elevate students but to torment, purify, separate the wheat from the chaff, and determine who is worthy to join their elite ranks. In fairness, there are plenty of good people out there as well, but the overarching sense of entitlement at having earned a place despite vicious hazing (and what is a thesis defense but hazing?) pervades. The best solution for what you’ve encountered is to strive, succeed, and shoulder your way into their midst. You are the future–make it yours, and don’t forget that you now have a legion behind you. Knock down the walls, Ms. Martinez–we’re all rooting for you.
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thank you fro your voice.
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Lol been there, been told many times ‘Did you write this yourself?’, ‘Rewrite this report in your own words or people will know you copied it’, very good and insightful article articulating your own experiences, just know you are not alone here…
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If you dont publish a full scan of your paper, including the teacher’s comment, for people to check it for plagiarism, then your teacher was right.
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Just because she didn’t include a full scan of her paper doesn’t instantly prove her teacher right. You’ve completely missed the point of her blog.
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The teacher was an asshat for dealing with the issue in public.
However, every cheater, will accuse the teacher of being a racist, sexist, elitist or whatever is your favorite kind of monster. textbook case.
There is one, and only one easy solution, publish the whole thing (including comments), and everyone under the sun will be able to double-check for plagiarism using the many tools available. It’s easy, it’s immediate.
It is also the only way to even begin to have both sides of the story.
And then get the asshat into serious trouble, plagiarism is a serious accusation.
The only explanation for not doing this, would be to afraid it would fail that check. (hence my ‘until then he is right’ blunt comment)
It’s unfair, and cruel, when you are innocent, but this is still the best thing to do, go full disclosure, hide nothing.
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Why? So people can copy her work and plagiarize her? She doesn’t need to scan her paper to prove that she wrote something. “Hence” is an absurdly simplistic word that I have used back in middle school. If she was white and even pulled the word from a thesaurus then she wouldn’t have been questioned for fucking “hence”.
You’re racist and should be ashamed of yourself.
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He did not circle a lifted sentence or thought, he prejudged her based on his limited interactions with her in as little as 8 weeks and decided that the word “hence” does not belong to people like her.
And who the hell are you? If you’re not her dean, then why do you think you can demand her complete paper? What else do you need? The rest of her work from this class? Her academic transcripts?
And who is making these demands? Anon48317953? Check yourself, your privileged hypocricy is showing.
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Mr. Dole, that is ridiculous.
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Does “burden of proof” ring a bell with you? It’s on him, not her.
Besides, the word “hence” is such a ridiculously basic element of the English language that I’m stunned a professor would accuse a post-graduate of plagiarism because they used this particular expression! It (and its meaning) has been known to me since before I finished school. And heck, I’m not even a native speaker!
This guy is a racist, and so is anyone claiming that it’s Tiffany Martínez who needs to prove anything at this point.
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So much ick. I’m so sorry that this happened to you, and good for you for not letting this one asshat of a professor stand in the way of your career goals.
This reminds me of a family story about my great uncle. My great uncle was a Hungarian immigrant and holocaust survivor. He had applied for admission to law school at NYU a few years after he emigrated to the US. Because he was Jewish and spoke with a heavy accent, the school only begrudgingly let him in. He received what was possibly the most passive aggressive admissions letter of all time. It *strongly* encouraged him to pursue a less rigorous program, because he probably wouldn’t be able to handle the academic standards of NYU. Of course he graduated at the top of his class. This happened in the 1950s. It’s now 2016, and you’re facing the same discriminatory crap. That’s beyond messed up.
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I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like for minorities living in our system, but I can give you my support if only in writing this comment.
Work hard, Tiffany. Your work will speak more than this bigot’s words will in the long term.
I’m sorry you had to go through this, and for all the other negative experiences you’re sure to have. Don’t let them break you.
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