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 
Well, you are in Boston so there’s that. What a crappy place to live. Hence, your struggle with the snobs of academia. My heart goes out to you. Keep fighting the good fight.
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I know that I am not the first to say this, but it is worth repeating–accusing a student of plagiarism without concrete evidence is unethical. This is completely indefensible. For the amateurs here trying to grade her paper through her blog post or her picture of a handful of cropped sentences, knock it off.
You did the right thing, Tiffany.
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Although I am not defending the teacher at all, i wish to convey to you, Tiffany, that moments like what you are going through are pretty darn common in minorities’ lives, and you, at your age should be at least marginally able to rebuff, redirect, justify, deny, or otherwise use rhetorical persuasion and logic to neutralize the “biased” teacher’s obvious mistake whether intentional or not. As an older woman that attended college starting in my forties, I ran into an instructor who said, “Allowing you, an older person, to attend college is hurting society because you will not be able to contribute many years of value or service to the economy or academia. You are taking the seat of a qualified younger person who will be of more value to the world with an education.”
It certainly, at first, made me think about quitting. It is now 25 years later and I am so glad that the teacher said what she said. When I wrote my next paper for that woman’s class, I included a retort that she read to the class as she apologized and gave us some information on ageism that the younger students would not have heard or seen, had the class lacked an older student. You have plenty of time to find the words that persuade that teacher, and many others, that her/his logic and conclusions are wrong. Go for it, girl! You have the opportunity at the beginning of the ascent of power for women to direct our behavior into a better way. Please do it!!!
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Soncera, I believe you did not mean harm with your comment, but that was incredibly disrespectful, dismissive, and hurtful to me as a scholar, professor, and woman of color. I cannot speak for how Tiffany received it.
It is not for you to tell Tiffany, or anyone, how they should experience bias, racism, and bigotry. You’ve strongly suggested that she was remiss in her response and that she should have a) known how common this experience would be; b) taken different action to “rebuff, redirect, justify, deny, or otherwise use rhetorical persuasion and logic to neutralize” the instructor. Unfortunately you then added salt to this wound by speaking about your experiences, which while uncomfortable and inappropriate, do not align with the experiences expressed by Tiffany.
I am glad that you persisted in pursuing your educational pathway. Tiffany is a woman, not a girl, and deserves the respect of being able to express her own feelings, thoughts, and reactions without having the claimed by you and repackaged into a list of things she should have done.
Please don’t take a person’s lived experience, which she has explained to you was rooted in racism, and attempt to co opt it into your personal narrative about women pursuing higher education. Feminism is only worthwhile if it is intersectional.
The only appropriate shoulds here apply to the instructor. The instructor SHOULD NOT have done any of the things she allegedly did in this scenario. Full stop.
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This is like Donald Trump suggesting women just ignore or stand up to sexual harassers (great idea …until they fire you then blackball you in your industry).
If the teacher fails a student over something like this, the student may not be able to pursue career goals. This could drastically diminish her income and opportunities for the rest of her career.
While biased comments are concerning, in and of themselves, it pales in comparison to biased actions with serious, tangible consequences.
If someone stole a million dollars through fraud, that person should go to jail. If a particular degree or career path is worth same, and this teacher’s lie prevents the student from pursuing it, how is it different?
As I stated elsewhere, this is an attack on equal opportunity and upward mobility very thinly disguised as academic assessment. Only those who need and benefit from the favoritism of the status quo would suggest such a ineffective response. ,
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From reading this “blog” whats clear is the bigot is you. It’s truly unfortunate when a person with a bigoted viewpoint, such as yourself, accuses others of bigotry.
Grow up, learn to admit your mistakes and learn from them.
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Hahaha, hooo boy your comment was worth a good laugh. That’s the only defense left, isn’t it? “I’m not the racist, YOU’RE the racist! Lalalalala I can’t hear you!”
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Wow.
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Who, Vic, are you speaking to here? I can see several possible posts that you might be referencin, including me.
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Amazing. Tiffany, academia, NOT you, needs work. You have that so right. As a Woman of Color (African descent), academic scholar and leader, I know the journey to be heard, seen and face into and, ultimately silence the ever-present imposter that wonders, along with others, whether I should sit where I sit, speak when I speak, or be where I be. It sounds like you are engaged in work to tame that beast too.
I wish you well, strength and clarity to know the difference between your abilities, and others’ shortcomings and shortsightedness. There is a difference, and you are going to have to be the one to know the distinction.
No matter, I know the impact it has on you and the potential effects are very real, however these’ perceptions of you are misguided and a true example of FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real.
Good luck and many blessings around you!!!
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Here’s the real mystery revealed: This professor gave Tiffany everything she had ever wanted. I have Tiff profiled already. She doesn’t have an issue with “fitting in” with white America or being discriminated against by whites -she has a problem fitting in with other latinos. Tiff doesn’t know “hard times” she’s had all the facilidades. She can’t relate to other stories about life on the island. She isn’t “in” and her Spanish really isn’t that good and she knows it. The second she gets a word wrong she knows it, the other latinos know it, and she feels like less of a latino. It’s an identity crisis which she is taking out on the white world to endear herself further to the latin community. She can’t share the true latino culture so she tries to share in the latino grievance cutlure.
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You didn’t get a thing. I feel sorry for you.
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Don’t worry everyone, turns out Sherlock Holmes is here and has cracked the case! With just a few paragraphs he was able to tell the writer’s deepest darkest motivations – even deducing how great the professor actually is, contrary to what is well known about academia through statistics and longitudinal studies. None of this is even mentioned in the post but that did not stop him from building a “profile” about this person he has clearly never ever met! His thoughts are so important he needed to share them with us, too! Generous! Amazing!
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But I have met her. “Tiffany Martinez” is in every classroom. She’s a first generation minority female who has found her identity in “identity politics”. Over an over again I’ve seen her make reference to the instructor (who is female, and probably not white or it would have been mentioned in 48 point font) “not believing that someone like me could have written this”…as if what she has written is PURE GOLD! So let’s see what Tiffany gets – she gets to validate her own racial struggles, indict white academia (which actually FAWNS over ethnic minorities) and she gets to tell us that her work was SOOOO good that the professor couldn’t even fathom that it was her own.
If everything Tiffany told us about the event was true, then I would agree that this professor was a complete buffoon. However, I have a hunch that there is a lot more to this story. I suspect a Tiffany Brawley.
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Well, Pfeil Pfrei, you’re clearly way too far ahead of the curve to be wasting your time commenting on someone’s personal blog. You need to start making your own posts where you can ingeniously profile more minorities and reveal their true thought processes through your powers of… Deduction? Reasoning? Critical thinking? Nah, those don’t quote fit what you are doing here – too brilliant for me.
I suggest you start posting on StormFront or a video game site; maybe YouTube comments. Your ideas are sure to get you a lot of supporters there.
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I don’t want to sound offensive, but since I came to the US, I noted how people in my “same academic level” use a poorer vocabulary than comparable population in Spanish-speaking countries. Maybe is related to the fact that one word in English is use for many purpose, while in Spanish there are far more word to the same object, maybe is because in our grammar we use more words to say the same that will take less of it to say in English… my point is: discriminate an academic Spanish speaker assuming her vocabulary is more limited that the average American is according to me, the ultimate racism.
(And my field is not even close to literature)
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There must be racism, we are not all the same, logic? Basic understanding of life, you may want to say, there shouldn’t be extreme racism.
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racism is not about make distinctions, as you say we are not the same. Racism is about discrimination of a group based on those differences
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Never let anyone tell you who could you be or where you can be!!! Im proud of you and the response you gave making public this article and pointing out the problems of racism in society!!!
Bravo for you!!! and keep fighting!
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Reblogged this on and commented:
When I was a senior in high school my guidance counselor told me that I couldn’t get into the local community college honors program and that I shouldn’t even bother trying. This is a story I resonate with.
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When I was a freshman in college I was able to take a peak at my high school paperwork. Among the grades was a remark from my guidance counselor that, although I should go to college, I would only be a “C” student. Not only did I graduate with honors, I went to graduate school and have been employed in higher education for over 30 years as a faculty member at several Midwest colleges and universities.
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Duh, peek, not peak!
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What’s your Professor’s name. I hope it’s an English name (as opposed to German, French, Russian, etc.), otherwise he shouldn’t be using the word “hence”.
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Put heat on all of them until the guilty party comes to light! The faculty in her department are:
Amy Agigian, Associate Professor
Carolyn Boyes-Watson, Professor
Averil Clarke, Assistant Professor
Erika Gebo, Associate Professor and Program Director, Master of Science in Crime & Justice Studies
John Holley, Associate Professor
Keri Iyall Smith, Associate Professor
Geraldine Manning, Associate Professor
Donald Morton, Associate Professor
Maureen Norton-Hawk, Professor
James Ptacek, Professor and Department Chair
Susan Sered, Professor
Steven Spitzer, Professor
Felicia Wiltz, Associate Professor
Education Studies Faculty
Sheila M. Mahoney, EdD, Associate Professor
Elizabeth A. Robinson, EdD, Assistant Professor and Director
Carmen N. Veloria, EdD, Associate Professor
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Very sad and alarmed to hear this. I am even more saddened to let you know it never ends. I was subject to this when I was young. My parents were factory workers and the teacher didn’t believe a working class kid could produce such a paper.
But, even my daughter gets this. This occurs in spite of the fact I am in the top 1% of the income distribution and have two professional degrees. Our accomplishments and lack of haughtiness mark us. The favoritism of established, old money, traditionalists is very obvious.
Those of us without advantages have to be smarter and better to get to the same level. But, it puts us in close proximity with those who are less accomplished and intelligence, and who see us as a threat to their transmission of privilege.
The teachers and profs tend to be selected (and fired) by boards and committees stacked with those from the long-term privileged classes. Their children’s work will always be judged exceptional and they will be given extensions, extra help, etc. Everyone else will be in an no win situation — either you dumb down your work to avoid the accusation (and thus stop be exceptional and a threat to them) or when it is too good to be given a mediocre grade without raising suspicions of bias, then it simply can’t be your work.
In the age of Google, the latter ploy should be extinct, if those in power cared to stop it. If the teacher didn’t look for/can’t find the alleged source, then he/she should be subject to disciplinary action.
We need to call this out for what it is. It is not a mistake. It’s not even unconscious bias. It is a blatant attempt to undermine upward mobility and meritocracy and maintain the status quo.
I remember what I thought and felt as a 10th grader in this situation — insulted and angry she thought me not only dishonest but not good enough to write what I had. But I also smirked with pride — she just told me my 10th grade prose was suitable for publication !
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I wish all of us could use less inciteful language and use more insightful comments. .
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I wish all of us could respond more maturely and make constructive changes when called out for obvious bad behavior. It’s 2016. Calling your 40 sexual assault accusers liars doesn’t work anymore, neither does this.
Being favored and passed through the educational system creates degreed individuals that lack intelligence and critical thinking skills. Thus, they are unable to see how obvious their ploy is and simply try another tired worn trope. It is another catch-22 of “your grievance will be characterized as alarming and shocking until it is so watered down that we can ignore it”. (Please note these”alarmed” individuals are often the same people who ridicule safe spaces as being for coddled students.)
Teaching people their place has no place in academia.
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Try a Christian college, Tiffany. It is clear you are not getting the “love” from the liberals.
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So helpful, she posts a heartfelt and intelligent essay on a major problem in Academia, and your response is simply to proselytise, and insult a huge social demographic in the process. This has nothing to do with left/right, conservative/liberal, it is not a partisan matter and your statement betrays the considerable limitations of your own intellect.
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Please tell us who “you” is here. Thank you.
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I concur! I just received my masters degree in Education from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon and I am happy. There is so much support.
Magdalena Oliva
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Walter, why did you feel the need to make this a political comment about “liberals?” How about just focusing on what fair-minded people of any political persuasion can agree on here? That is, she was treated poorly and implicit (and explicit) prejudices are still quite prevalent in our society, even among well-educated and presumably well-intentioned individuals.
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Because Christians are never, ever, prejudiced.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/pat-robertson-schools-with-interracial-dating-bans-deserve-tax-exempt-status-if-its-based-on-the-bible/
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I know exactly how this feels! It happened to me with a new science teacher in high school. She assumed that my well-written assignment was a result of plagiarism, being ignorant of the fact that I had been taught to expand my vocabulary by a great teacher in grammar school. I contested the grade, which she changed, and advised her not to expect my papers to be written in “Dick & Jane” language. Among other things, I was furious!
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Your feelings are so astoundingly felt reading this. I greatly appreciate your sharing your experience. Though regardless of what your professor thought he should have spoke to you in private. Degrading you in front of the class was and is completely wrong. Please don’t let this jerk professor hold you back on your dreams. Thank you again for sharing your experience with so many others
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Stay strong Tiffany! Glad you posted this and didn’t keep it to yourself! I have been taken for less because I have an accent. Seems than for some people being a latina means less educated. Reading your story boils my blood. But nobody can take away your education honey keep going! Xo
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You need to get a grip…why does the opinion of one person effect you so emotionally. You used the word ” Hense ” incorrectly and you should never end a sentence in a preposition. You are well on your way to achieve that which you have dreamt about and worked so hard to attain. Get over yourself already…if this slight of ignorance , criticism bothers you then you are in for an emotional breakdown. Look through all the BS and just strive to do the best you can. Be secure in your self esteem and keep on trucking darlin’…this is a tiny blip in what I hope will be a fun and joy filled journey. Get a grip, you will be just fine. Don’t forget, don’t be hurt or crushed or mad, just get even. Your success is the greatest revenge ever. Now, does that make you feel better?
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Hense?
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She began a sentence with a preposition, and it is spelled “hence,” not “hense.” Hence, your criticism is totally invalid.
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Hense???? You “have” no Standing in your “Baseless Criticism”….Take a seat!!!
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I don’t know if I get it wrong, but I think it is always arrogant and inconsiderate to belittle someone’s suffering. It was not you who got publicly shamed and insulted in front of all your peers and it was not you who got your ability doubted by somebody you looked up to just because of your race and skin colour. Who are you to say that the author is bull shitting and making a fuss out of something trivial?
And the point is it is not trivial at all. It reflects a bigger picture of racism within the academic world, in particular the field of humanity subjects.
But I do agree with your last sentence that success is the best revenge ever.
P.S. Hence should be spelt H-E-N-C-E, not henSe and it is an adverb, not a preposition.
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White. Guy.
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This post gives me an opportunity to demonstrate why I cannot rule out that the comment by the professor (not just a teacher since the student at the time was in college) may have been a mistake.
I used analysis to predict Rocket is male The ‘tone’ is definitely masculine and wording reminds me of several male comedians. and I imagine he has a good sense of humor. A statement to be secure includes a patronizing addressment, ‘darlin”, and is supported by the closing sentence. Men prefer to find solutions and there is an impatient note to the post indicating a male trait to not tolerate well big reactions to things they consider minor infractions. I even go so far to say that Rocket is probably older than 30 years in seeing ‘tiny blip’ sentence implication of a perspective from further down the timeline.
If I am wrong, okay; but if I am right, and this is from so few words by Rocket, it is possible that Tiffany in her use of an archaic term and won’t know until we read more of Tiffany’s writings ourselves and do the analysis. Is the paper under question in her usual voice?
By the way, Rocket’s post resonated with me. But if this subject was important enough for Tiffany to become so indignant over another prejudicial and biased event such as all the other ones she has experienced as a young woman of color…I have a niggling notion in the back of my head…”Me thinks she doth protest too much….”
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Oh. FFS. It’s “The lady doth protest too much, methinks [which is one word]”.
Not only are you yet another person who tries to undermine the blog’s author by projecting a false sense of intellectual superiority, and not only do you seem to be unable to grasp the concept of threaded comments, which leads you to constantly butt into conversations asking to have your hand held and basic conventions of internet discussion clarified for you, but you also insist on trying to dictate to the author what she experienced. I tend to give more weight to the person who actually experienced events being discussed and have firsthand knowledge of the context and people involved, not random people on the Internet who have their own personal agendas for trying to write over someone else’s words.
Have you ever considered that, as a white-presenting person, you have wandered through life largely ignorant of such biases because you could afford not to notice what was happening? I’m Asian, and I can 100% back up that the author’s anecdote is both utterly true to life and very common.
In addition, what you and others who are essentially accusing the author of whining about nothing are missing is that it’s NOT simply this one incident. Do you have no reading comprehension skills? It’s clear from the post that this one incident is part of a constant and recurring phenomenon in this woman’s life. Sometimes, people in this situation finally decide to vent about it in a public forum out of built-up frustration and out of the knowledge that, the fewer of us speak out and the less we do, the more it empowers whitesplaining denialists like yourself and allows you to maintain your comfortable world view in which minority grievances are baseless.
And because you seem to have problems with following the course of conversation, yes, Soncera Rendt-Scott, I am talking to you.
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Oh, look, another pedant with a superiority complex who thinks Strunk and White (which, FYI, is almost universally reviled by writers who have written more important things than a college admission essay), is the be-all of usage in a language as broad and complex as English. LOL. This attempted show of superiority would have worked much better had you not shown that you have no idea what the word “henCe” is.
And for Soncera Rendt-Scott’s benefit, by “you” here, I mean Rocket, to whom I’m clearly (well, clearly to everyone else) replying.
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Preach.
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Keep up the unapologetic drive. The vision will come to life.
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Reblogged this on Arguably Kelly and commented:
Definitely worth a read!
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Hence os not even a dificult word! I use it and i don’t feel it is not my word as he said! He is an ignorant. He doesn’t know latin community has lost of people which read and learn languages without a problem.
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En espanol, que es la palabra por “hence”?
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The translation of “hence” to Spanish is “por ende”.
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So sorry to hear about this incident and the painful ongoing struggle of which this is just the “tip of the iceburg”. Continue to believe in yourself. Also hope that you can create/find a community of support as you continue to pursue education and The Academy. We need you there!
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Dear Ms Tiffany,
Thank you for sharing publicly this experience!
We all are brothers and sisters. Our race is Human. And the racism is just a sign of immaturity.
Stay strong, and God bless you.
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If the professor thought that the work was plagiarized, a simple check online on several sites could have confirmed that. To publicly embarrass someone because the prof was unsure whether the work was plagiarized was a classless and terrible gesture. More fitting would have been to privately talk to the student. If the prof had assigned several short papers prior to a major project, they would have known whether the student was capable of the caliber of work turned in. Writing style is like a fingerprint. The use of language and expression is unique to each person, and the voice of the piece would have been consistent and evident to the earlier pieces. I am a high school English teacher. You know what you must do. We need more voices like yours to be writers, professors, and other writing professions. Persevere.
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Dear Tiffany,
Sorry for ur negative experience and i am happy for u that u posted it online. These experiences should be made transparant. I as a minority in the netherlands have experienced this kind of bull shit my whole life. When my sister and I were on high school the internet did not exist. My sister got the highest grade in language lesson Dutch and the teacher said loudly in the class that an immigrant had the highest mark.
My sister was good in writing essays and when she had written a good one the teacher would always say to her did ur big sister write this for u?
When I was at college i had to turn in my thesis and i had included several excel tables in it and the teacher asked me if i had made those simple excel tables myself. He did not think that someone from college level with a immigrant background was able to make a simple excel table.
At university during my accounting studies a teacher asked a question and i answered. and he said in the class i want u to use ur own language. he thought as a minority i was supposed to have a certain level of language. so my white friend defended me immediately and said that is how she talks, these are her own words.
Fact is racism and prejudice exist. from a minority ppl are still not expecting intelligence.
so i applaud u in making this public and now go to the dean and make a complaint about his attitude.
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Academia especially in America is broken. College used to be federally funded. Over 80% of high school graduates would go on to pursue higher education and over 80% of those students would graduate with at least a bachelors. America was more informed as a whole then. Funding was cut. Conversion rates declined. Also, seemingly unrelated but I will tie it up I promise: more social government funding was cut in general. Legislation was changed in favor of the rich. Middle class is slowly descending into poverty. High rate of those in poverty or declining middle class are minorities. When there were more socially government funded programs the bottom %15 of America progressed at the same rate as the top %15 of America. Upper class didn’t like this, HENCE (see what I did there? Lmao) legislative changes. Systemic racial oppression? Class warfare? I don’t know, but it’s certainly implied. Source: Requiem for the American Dream as narrated and explained by Noam Chomsky. I highly recommend any and everyone watch that if you truly care about the well being of others, this country, and the world in general. Honestly in my opinion it’s one of the most important films of this generation, maybe even ever. If we can get even half of America to watch and digest that and films like it, or even just the information provided, it would surely aid in your cause to repair academia and probably a whole lot of other impending issues.
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Dear Ms Martínez,
Your blog, or to be precise this posting, came to my attention through a facebook posting. It has prompted some interesting debates, some of which I have contributed to.
I am not a particularly frequent contributor to on-line ‘discussions’ but when I have I note the very raw and strong emotions that often lay at the heart of many contributions. This is no less so with the people responding to your post. Of course this is not surprising given that your posting is a reflection on your own emotional responses to the situation and personal history you have described. Thank you for doing so.
There have been a wide range of themes in the responses published; the sharing of similar experiences, sorrow that you endured what you did, challenge to your conclusion that the events are an example of systemic racism, and, more bizarrely, whether you should or shouldn’t have used the word ‘hence’. People have reached out to support and encourage you as well as attack you, though thankfully not in equal measure. Others have asked for the full story while some have presumed your post is the full story and are critical of what you didn’t do. Many have felt the need to protect you, with some wishing to protect your professor.
What has disappointed me is the lack of solution. I accept there has been much written about challenging racist behaviour but there is something of the ‘locking the door after the horse has bolted’ in this. I readily understand that it isn’t for the victims to solve the issue of their abuse. My point is not about victim blaming. Indeed there is much in what has been written over the last few days that addresses healthy and affirming strategies for surviving the experiences you have described and this includes fighting back against them. But this is precisely my point, these contributions swamp any voices that describe how we can prevent these experiences happening in the first place.
Where are all the posts from the perspective of the perpetrators? I agree that there have been more than a few contributors that have perhaps revealed themselves to be perpetrators but precious few have owned it.
I wish to suggest there is a false dichotomy at work here. Perpetrators are always the other, or so it appears. But surely we are all perpetrators? Surely the sorts of thinking and behaviours that lead to racism are perpetrated by most if not all people. Firstly, I accept that racism is more than individual behaviour and that such individual behaviour need not be motivated by racist ideas. Racism isn’t just me thinking my ‘race’ is superior to someone else’s. It needs many others along with the support and reinforcing of those ideas through the prevailing social structures, be they economic, religious, family, education, etc etc. At worse I am a believer and a proponent but at best I am a disbelieving cog.
But even if I don’t hold beliefs of superiority to an ‘other’ chances are I am going to find myself on the wrong side of an ‘ism’. One can be both a victim of racism and a perpetrator of sexism. Or be subject to heterosexism whilst being ableist. And even if I am not I am still likely to unconciously act out a sense of superiority albeit one that doesn’t deliver with it any privilege.
What I wanted was, in addtion to what has been posted, some sharing of peoples experiences in checking their own oppressive behviour. I am curious that few if any respondents seemed so disposed. It is right that we perpetrators of oppression, either conciosuly or unconcsiosly, need to get our own house in order and it is not for the victims to sort us out. But it is disingenuous for us not to own our experiences as oppressors and share how we challenge ourselves to check that behaviour. I belive it is an important part of the solution and we avoid it at our peril.
This weekend marked the passing of a tree that held pride of place for the past 90 years in the quadrangle of my universtiy. A friend posted on facebook his fond memory of the two of us sitting under the tree during a feminism turotial. One abiding memory of mine was being challenged for how much I dominated discussions in the group, I was called out for my mansplaining (the word didn’t exist in the 1980’s but the concept was well understood). It was a salient lesson and I hope I have been much more conscious that I have a role to play in ensuring others’ voices are heard and not just mine, and that sometimes that just means shutting up. But it also means thinking about whether I have anything meaningful to contribute, and I have also learnt to appreciate silences and discovered that they never go on forever even when I don’t jump in to fill them.
Grateful for any thoughts you and your correspondents have on this point.
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The simple answer to your question about where are all the perpetrators is simple. One cannot discuss with a Christian anything about religion unless the framework of the bible is used. When excluded, Christians have nothing to say.
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Seriously? You think only Christians oppress? Am I right in thinking you don’t identify as Christian and therefore think yourself incapable of oppressing others? Good for you.
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Check your facts. At no point in our history did 80% of high school graduates ever go to college. And while some states had heavily subsidized higher education, the federal government never paid the majority of it.
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Your teacher’s academic liberty ends when he starts acting with a prejudiced mind. You should go to the Dean and discuss what happened. If the University wants the prestige that comes with recruiting “non-whites”, it should also train its teachers to respect them. By defending yourself you are defending others in similar position.
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Simple solution, publish the entire paper online and let the world search for signs of plagiarism.
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Good idea! And a few more to compare for voice, tone, syntax, etc.
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Too funny I had something similar happen to me in my undergrad. I do not write normally or structure thoughts in the same way as the “ideal”. I used to think I was just bad at English.
But, I had a class where I was bad for showing up late or not attending, and the teacher knew me as the “bad” student. However, I was bad at mornings and young, and just silly in my approach; that being said, I consumed information outside of class and was more than on top of the content.
So, I write this paper and dude misses the thesis, then the approach, then critiques the whole thing based on his lack of understanding or dismissive attitude to this “bad” students paper. I got it back and read the notes, and to my utmost chagrin didn’t do anything about it, assuming my “bad” English was the reason even though I felt I had been stereotyped and he had missed the point.
Then I wrote another paper and forgot to put my name and student number on it. So, class rolls around and everyone is getting their papersite back and I’m like, ” oh hey, you forgot me!” And he was like,” oh well, did you hand it in?” and, in my head I’m like, oh well would I be asking for it if I didn’t, but I say, “ya of course I did” and he’s like we’ll I did have this one with no name on it… and the look on this guy’s face when I grabbed my paper. Like, but your an idiot you could never have written this masterpiece, 96… because he didn’t know who I was…. bonkers!
Also, very insulting and silly that he thinks “hence” is a fancy word.
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I am wondering why you said we’ll instead of well. You maybe have a good reson but I just do not see it. Your mastery of english good. Teachers are not as smart as they think they are. It was not until my senior year of college that I felt comfortable with my writing. Just st say what you feel. Read some Hemingway. Really terse sentences in his books. Good luck.
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Oops. Typo. Meant reason instead of reson. Also st in front of say.
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I one time had a doctor lay into me, not only in a humiliating way, but he also cursed, and this took place during grand rounds, in front of everyone. When he finished, I spoke directly to him and told him I did not think the issue or place warranted this language, and that it detracted form his message. I then respectfully told him that it was a misunderstanding, further explained my reasoning, and then granted him the fact that he was exhausted, and I didn’t take it personally. I spoke loudly, clearly, and with respect. But, I essentially chopped him off at the knees with a verbal slap. He actually apologized! I simply said it’s not necessary, we are on the same team, and I know your exhausted, and gave him a very empathetic look.
Now this Doctor was a brilliant, and highly respected doctor, that most people wouldn’t cross or say boo to, however, we all have to remember EVERYONE is the SAME SIZE!
After the meeting was over, people were all staring at me. The crowd was split. “How dare she speak to a doctor that way?”, “WOW! Good for her!!”
However, one of my colleagues later overheard him say to another Doctor, “See Susan over there? Don’t mess with that woman, she is brilliant, and she’s one tough cookie!”
From that day forth, I can say honestly, EVERYONE understood exactly who I am. I don’t take bullying, nor demeaning. I KNOW I am the same size as everyone else, and I tret otherss as I want to be treated.
In a moment of aggression, don’t run away. Use your power and go after anyone who demeans you!
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This is great advice if you can muster the will required to respond in the moment. Unfortunately anyone who’s ever been that “uppity” Latina, African-American, or queer faces a multitude of aggressions and it’s exhausting.
You’ve found your voice Tiffany—keep using it. Expect people to push back often. Find people who will have your back. And don’t let the rage consume you.
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For all people, it’s not easy, but the compromise is carrying the entire burden of feelings. If she cn present for Audiences, she has the skill to address this in front of witnesses – her class. Maybe EVERYONE will learn something valuable!
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Like good story!
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I’m glad you shared this …
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Reblogged this on teentitans.
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smile, you are very intelligent, you can do it, animo , smile and not sad
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These tangram icons are fascinating.
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Reference to subject at hand? If not, be a dear, and do not post irrelevant crap.
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Ms. Martinez,
I am a university professor as well. You sound quite accomplished for someone at this stage of their academic career. Having no familiarity with your writing as it compares to the paper you discuss above, I won’t comment on the substance of the professor’s criticisms. I will however say that the experience you recount is understandably disconcerting and painful. No professor worth the title should have confronted you publicly as you indicate this person did. No professor should have first made the assertion that the language was not yours without first asking whether it was. Indeed when a student tries something new (perhaps a new way of articulating their thinking) this should be something a professor inquires about because it may help enhance their teaching and your learning. For instance, when Winston Churchill was learning to write well he talked about reading Edward Gibbon because he found the language a model to which he aspired. A thoughtful professor would have asked what had changed to prompt your turn of phrase. Were you reading something/someone new? Might it be possible to suggest to you supplements to that reading or counter-weights to it that will be important for you to be a well-rounded scholar?
To give you some perspective from the other side of the desk, know that the worst cases of plagiarism are not those committed by students, but by faculty. Some faculty may make hurtful comments out of sheer thoughtlessness, others may be more calculating and intend to upset you. In either case, you will soon be on your way. If they were thoughtless they will be mortified. If they were calculating, they will be left to stew in their own acid broth.
Remember as you progress to remain humane in your treatment of students; learning is as much an affective process as it is cognitive.
Good luck,
Chuck Green
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You raise some excellent points! Beginning with improving one’s writing through use of language, new words, and phrases. Even while improving my own work, if I read something and it is not concise, or seems redundant, I absolutely pick up a resource and look for a better term, or more concise phrase. This is what dictionaries and thesauruses are for! I am a native english speaker, but ANYONE, who care about the quality of their word will pause to edit themselves!
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The professor should face professional review. For being a bigot, yes. For being rude, yes. For being too tech-RETARDED to check online for plagiarism. I am sorry this happened, and also sorry that it won’t be the last time it happens. Continue with your education and be good to others whose problems are as difficult as your own. You will reign supreme!
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Lol. You can’t even recognize that the word “hence” had been used incorrectly. Bring it to a review. Watch this idiot get laughed at for using a word that doesn’t fit the context.
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“Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste.” Words of the professor.
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Sorry to burst your bubble, but the word hence was, in actual fact, used perfectly correctly.
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How do you know the professor did not check for plagiarism, and simply minimized Tiffany’s potential embarrassment by pointing only to a word issue?
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So a complete idiot can’t recognize that the professor is suggesting the use of a different word, as “Hence” wasn’t the best choice, and rather than correct it, student cries racism? Hahaha, never go full retard.
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Prick, the professor wrote: it’s NOT your word… not: I would suggest another word, so what else is supposed to extrapolate from that bullshit?
And then to assume that she plaigerized, because she used the word is insulting because it assumes that this young is unable to write on the level of the material that she reads… which further assumes that she doesn’t deserves to be in that program.
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did you read the paper? obviously not. how do you discern that the word “hence” wasn’t the best choice when all you’ve seen is a thumbnail.
fucking white fuck. liberal is your ass getting rammed up by a truck.
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Yep, idiots are not able to read the full article before criticising it. “Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste.” Use of different word? Either you didn’t read the post or you are just stupid. I believe the second is more appropriate for you.
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What a bunch a bullshit. I can’t believe I wasted my time reading this garbage. I’m a liberal and this makes me realize why people hate liberals. The professor wants you to use different language that’s a better fit for your writing style and the special snowflake is offended. Spend the two minutes marking up the paper instead of writing a 2000 word blog post crying about inequality. It’s not because you’re different, it’s because your paper wasn’t good enough. This is almost enough to make me want to vote for Trump… Almost.
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She was not given a bad grade, she was accused of plagiarism because the teacher did not believe she was capable of writing the paper she submitted. Get off your high horse and learn to read. No liberal would speak with intolerance and bigotry the way you do.
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No. Hence had been incorrectly used. Are you people this dense?
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Yeah except she wasn’t accused of plagiarism. If she was, she would have at the least gotten a failing grade on the paper, not asked to change a word. We don’t know the whole story, we haven’t seen the paper. We can only see the picture she took of a few lines of the paper so we have no idea if “hence” totally doesn’t fit the vibe and flow of the piece.
I’m curious, where is the bigotry in my original comment? I do admit, the Trump comment was a bit too much.
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It baffles me that anyone can defend the professor when they have used even worse language to suggest using correct language!!
Irrespective of whether there has been some ambiguity around the professor’s meaning, it was a seriously unprofessional way to deliver the message and not at all conducivl to teaching and empowering students in the classroom.
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Jt, you are not getting it. Prof didn’t say use a different word, he accused her of cheating, because and said specifically she needed to indicate the source of her fancy language.
Get off your high horse, and really read the post to understand, not show your ass.
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I do get it. He said use a different word. He didn’t accuse of her of cheating, you and the special snowflake are grasping at straws. Do you know what happens when you get caught cheating at University? You fail, get expelled, face a board of peers, etc. You don’t get asked to change a word. He never said it was fancy language. Anyone who has cleared 10th grade will have “hence” in their vocabulary.
Come on……There is plenty in this world to be offended about, but a college student getting a marked up paper and not liking how the professor presented her with it is not one of them.
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“Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste.” Different language? Either you didn’t read the post or you are just stupid. Period.
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Randomly saw this on Facebook. This happened to me in high school. I’m sixty-four now and it still hurts and I’m just beginning to stand up for myself……..I feel your pain.
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Keep going strong never stop writing. Never lose the passion for those who have nothing left in them other than to hurt. As a professor he should be pushing his students to their limits and beyond not cut their wings. Be proud of yourself and shame on him.
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It’s really sad such ignorance won’t die. And the comments on the various pages with your story drive home the point that these wanna be Trump supporter types just can’t seem to get it that Hispanics can, and often are every bit as smart (or smarter) than Whites are. It really screws with their order in the universe, which is a good thing, as is the fact that we’re breeding out the difference in races and eventually everybody will be a little of everything else. But, please don’t let these people make you cry. You worked hard to get where you are. Don’t let them take that away from you. They’re insignificant and jealous. My wife is Peruvian and has to deal with nonsense like this all the time. My ex was Peruvian and a Tufts University graduate and had to deal with it. There are racists everywhere. With luck this “professor” will get fired. Keep your head high, always, and have a great day!
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Nice virtue signalling. Had it dawned on any of you that “hence” was not the right word to use in that context?
Are any of you older than 12? This is embarrassing. Now you believe that correcting a mistake on a review of a paper is racist.
Hahahahaha, I’m living in an onion article. This is the funniest bout of stupidity I have ever seen.
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write the sentence in full, in which “hence” is not the right word to use.
write it.
white fuck. or go fuck yourself.
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As a university prof, I’m appalled by this. You write with such clarity, intelligence, and passion. This hurtful incident will make you stronger. Love, Michelle
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I agree. Martinez must be fairly accomplished in her field of concentration and the professor may have seen this in her. So the purpose of the professor being deliberately tough on Martinez could be viewed, as you say, “This hurtful incident will make you stronger”. At least that’s how I see it.
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What are you a “prof” of, because her writing is crap This young lady has a horrible case of run on sentences and an intense desire to be more erudite than she can be. She needs to hope her intellect catches up with her passion.
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please reproduce the exact sentences that indicates her writing is crap.
or go suck yourself. white fuck.
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You,
Missed da point.
He’s a pretty dope rapper.
“Hence, the”
“Hehe, cent”
“Hehe, Penny”
“Pen, hehehe!”
Funny right? Write funny in your inner ride.
“Please go back plus… plus…”
“Policies go back. Plus, please go back. Pull us. Let’s go.”
Add soul,
ADD Ass Hole
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