My name is Tiffany Martínez. As a McNair Fellow and student scholar, I’ve presented at national conferences in San Francisco, San Diego, and Miami. I have crafted a critical reflection piece that was published in a peer-reviewed journal managed by the Pell Institute for the Study of Higher Education and Council for Opportunity in Education. I have consistently juggled at least two jobs and maintained the status of a full-time student and Dean’s list recipient since my first year at Suffolk University. I have used this past summer to supervise a teen girls empower program and craft a thirty page intensive research project funded by the federal government. As a first generation college student, first generation U.S. citizen, and aspiring professor I have confronted a number of obstacles in order to earn every accomplishment and award I have accumulated. In the face of struggle, I have persevered and continuously produced content that is of high caliber.
I name these accomplishments because I understand the vitality of credentials in a society where people like me are not set up to succeed. My last name and appearance immediately instills a set of biases before I have the chance to open my mouth. These stereotypes and generalizations forced on marginalized communities are at times debilitating and painful. As a minority in my classrooms, I continuously hear my peers and professors use language that both covertly and overtly oppresses the communities I belong to. Therefore, I do not always feel safe when I attempt to advocate for my people in these spaces. In the journey to become a successful student, I swallow the “momentary” pain from these interactions and set my emotions aside so I can function productively as a student.
Today is different. At eight o’clock this morning, I felt both disrespected and invalidated. For years I have spent ample time dissecting the internalized racism that causes me to doubt myself, my abilities, and my aspirations. As a student in an institution extremely populated with high-income white counterparts, I have felt the bitter taste of not belonging. It took until I used my cloud of doubt and my sociological training to realize that my insecurities are rooted in the systems I navigate every day. I am just as capable if not more so than those around me and my accomplishments are earned.
This morning, my professor handed me back a paper (a literature review) in front of my entire class and exclaimed “this is not your language.” On the top of the page they wrote in blue ink: “Please go back and indicate where you cut and paste.” The period was included. They assumed that the work I turned in was not my own. My professor did not ask me if it was my language, instead they immediately blamed me in front of peers. On the second page the professor circled the word “hence” and wrote in between the typed lines “This is not your word.” The word “not” was underlined. Twice. My professor assumed someone like me would never use language like that. As I stood in the front of the class while a professor challenged my intelligence I could just imagine them reading my paper in their home thinking could someone like her write something like this?
In this interaction, my undergraduate career was both challenged and critiqued. It is worth repeating how my professor assumed I could not use the word “hence,” a simple transitory word that connected two relating statements. The professor assumed I could not produce quality research. The professor read a few pages that reflected my comprehension of complex sociological theories and terms and invalidated it all. Their blue pen was the catalyst that opened an ocean of self-doubt that I worked so hard to destroy. In front of my peers, I was criticized by a person who had the academic position I aimed to acquire. I am hurting because my professor assumed that the only way I could produce content as good as this was to “cut and paste.” I am hurting because for a brief moment I believed them.
Instead of working on my English paper that is due tomorrow, I felt it crucial to reflect on the pain that I am sick of swallowing. My work is a reflection of my growth in a society that sees me as the other. For too long I have others assume I am weak, unintelligent, and incapable of my own success. Another element of this invalidation is that as I sit here with teary eyes describing the distress I am too familiar with, the professor has probably forgotten all about it. My heartache can not be universally understood and until it is, I have to continue to fight. At this moment, there are students who will never understand the desolation that follows an underlined “not.” There are students who will be assumed capable without the need to list their credentials in the beginning of a reflective piece. How many degrees do I need for someone to believe I am an academic?
At this moment, I am in the process of advocating for myself to prove the merit of my content to people who will never understand what it is like to be someone like me. Some of you won’t understand how every word that I use to describe this moment was diligently selected in a way that would properly reflect my intellect. I understand that no matter how hard I try or how well I write, these biases will continue to exist around me. I understand that my need to fight against these social norms is necessary.
In reality, I am tired and I am exhausted. On one hand, this experience solidifies my desire to keep going and earn a PhD but on the other it is a confirmation of how I always knew others saw me. I am so emotional about this paper because in the phrase “this is not your word,” I look down at a blue inked reflection of how I see myself when I am most suspicious of my own success. The grade on my paper was not a letter, but two words: “needs work.” And it’s true. I am going to graduate in May and enter a grad program that will probably not have many people who look like me. The entire field of academia is broken and erases the narratives of people like me. We all have work to do to fix the lack of diversity and understanding among marginalized communities. We all have work to do.
Academia needs work.
TIFFANY MARTÍNEZ 
This article lead me through a range of emotions. I’m fearful that people act this way, I’m angered you have been so unfairly treated I had a pain in my chest and tears in my eyes. As a “white person” I feel so lost because are these people in my “community” because we share the same skin colour? I share none of their opinions or values (I’m using that second word is the loosest context possible.) please understand that you are amazing for sharing this deeply personal hurt. It helps those with good hearts realize that we need to help marginalized communities fight for the equality they so badly deserve. It reminds people like me that even the most veiled inappropriate negative comment needs to be called out and shut down. There is no room for this kind of behaviour in our world. Sending you love and a big hug. Keep trail blazing !!! 💓
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I am a caucasian woman in my 60’s. In response to my first ‘book report’ in elementary school, the teacher told me I “couldn’t have read that book and couldn’t have written” the report by myself. In high school, I was told I couldn’t have read an assigned text “that fast”. In college, I wrote a paper in which I used the word “hence” and cited not only the expected texts, but also some letters from a leader in the field. I had formed an interest in the topic a decade before, and had corresponded with the author when his book was first published. I was told I could not have done any of these things, and to use my own words.
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I feel for you teacher as her world is concrete and when people fall on concrete they get hurt. Thomas Jefferson the writer of our constitution once said its a sad man that can find only one way to spell a word .I assume what he meant by that was if you only focus on spelling ,grammar and punctuation you may not see what is truly important. I am a man who because of arthritis in my spine and a myriad of spine problems am on Morphine ,oxycodone ,4 other pain meds and I get the nerves in my back burned twice a year, I can not control my fingers even though I was an illustrator for 35 years and did mostly wildlife for retail stores. Now I hit keys I never meant to hit .I hit two keys at once miss hitting keys and can not always control my thoughts .I live in bed a lot and my computer is my voice to a world I want t o be a part of . People can be quite cruel telling me I am ignorant when things are misspelled or not the right punctuation .When I tell them my story some apologize some continue with maybe I should stop posting. But I have always believed everyone should have a voice and everyone should learn to listen because no man has cornered the market on all knowledge. We live in a hyper critical world one that feels its superiority by putting others down. But in the end the teacher should be learning and the student can also teach .But only if we are open to life in its infinite beauty.
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Yes. Academia needs work. More so, in some Latin american countries that have erased their own roots and begin to emulate Academia of the First World, in order ” to be in touch” with ultimate knowledge. Keep your work and your spirit up. Do not halt to believe in what your voice and unique perspective can do for yourself and for the world.
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As a faculty, I can assure you that the responsibility of proving plagiarism bears on the faculty. For this purpose, there is a number of resources available to us that are regularly used when plagiarism is suspected (from Goggle to Turnitin, etc.). Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and, consequently, evidence of presumed plagiarism is required before any call is made to the student. In addition, student evaluation is an absolutely confidential matter as required by law. So, I can’t begin describing how many things are wrong from your account of these events. The behavior described by your professor is indisputably unprofessional and regrettable and, as student, you are entitled to go up the line and, after discussing the matter with your professor (you need to do this in a serious way), move up to discuss it with his/her academic superiors all the way to your institution’s president. And you should do so. This is not a matter that can be left unresolved in private blogs but taken to the highest academic instances.
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God, yes. Please go immediately to your faculty advisor and/or the head of the department. (Not disagreeing with Frank’s “discuss the matter with your professor,” and I am not in academia [so grain of salt], but were it me I’d want to give my advisor a heads-up first just in case, if possible.)
Incidentally, I’ve just Googled “Hence the question” “population growth,” and found nothing of relevance. I know professors have better sources than Google available–as Frank mentioned–but my professor friends tell me they often turn to Google as a quick first check. So take that as you will. 🙂
Best of luck to you. This is absolutely horrible. Two years ago my then-nine-year-old’s teacher suspected her of plagiarism; he simply made a note on her grade sheet, which was sent home for me to look at, rather than writing it on her paper or making some kind of announcement in front of the whole class. And that’s a nine-year-old, an age when behavior or academic issues are more openly discussed in front of the whole class! It’s shocking to me that a college professor is less capable of dealing professionally with an issue than a third-grade teacher. (In my daughter’s case, I was able to clear up the confusion immediately, because it was my fault, lol; I’d helped her figure out how to phrase things, so his confusion about her sudden increase in capability was legitimate, at least. I sent him a note explaining the situation, and he apologized and removed the comment on her grade sheet, no harm done.)
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Beautifully written and my heart goes out to you. No one should ever make judgements without evidence. Keep going – you deserve every success.
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Please cite the blog page you copied and pasted from. Only rich and beautiful white people could have written such a nice complain.
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The professor made no mention of her race or ethnicity. Perhaps she and you are confused.
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I am a white woman in my 50s, and a professional editor in the New York publishing industry of over 30 years experience. How dare anyone tell you that a word does not belong to you based on the color of your skin. I am sickened and angry on your behalf.
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The professor made no statement about the word not belonging to her based on her skin color.
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I am a minority and have experienced discrimination from certain professors. However, I think it is important to provide evidence when make accusatory statement. Unlike you, I showed proof as to why the teacher was being racist. It happened in a Calculus class where I recieved a perfect score and yet the Professor felt it was entirely impossible for me to do well. You barely showed us anything and yet what you did show us, had a particularly issue that I noticed which was not corrected. “More than double” and “four children” were not cited! Where did you obtain those statistics? I also find it alarming that you would not at least provide the paragraph in which you are demonstrating racial prejudice. Trust me, I have had professors talk about my hair, and my exotic features, and describe me as feisty in class; which I felt was a form of discrimination and harassment especially as a Latina. I want to stand in solidarity with you, trust me I do. Just back up your work with reference and protect your art in a way that is true to the essence of your writing style.
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An accusatory statement* references*
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We were shown less than half of five sentences, and you’re assuming Ms. Martinez didn’t cite her statistics? What makes you so certain she didn’t cite them in the portions of those sentences we didn’t see, or elsewhere in the paper?
Given what we were shown, I would expect that the citation was at the beginning of the paragraph or earlier in one of the sentences. The context seems to me to imply that; i.e. that first sentence would be something like, “According to X study, one in every four children attending…”
And yet you assume that Ms. Martinez didn’t cite her sources at all. Why? Since you seem to feel the professor here was correct in accusing Ms. Martinez of plagiarism, did you not wonder why the professor questioned her use of the word “hence” but did not mention a lack of source for the statistics shown–don’t you think she would have, if that was a problem? The professor didn’t mention a lack of citation; does that not imply that a citation was in fact given?
Why is it “alarming” that she didn’t show us the full paragraph, when the issue was her use of the word “hence?” Personally, I find it more “alarming” that you would instantly assume Ms. Martinez didn’t properly cite her sources instead of making the far more logical and reasonable assumption that the citation was in the 99% of the essay we didn’t see. I can’t even begin to understand what your intention was with that, honestly, unless it was to denigrate Ms. Martinez and let us all know that you were a far better victim of racism than she is, and in fact, you were an actual victim of racism whereas she is not.
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I might be wrong, but I think that was sarcasm.
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Go you good thing, you are awesome!
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As a latina who recently moved to NYC and attends a school that is mostly white. I understand the pressure try and break those stereotypes that are put upon us. ESPECIALLY being a first-generation college student. I am glad you spoke up and not silenced yourself.
I have so much respect for you to not state what race your professor was, this just proves the level of professionalism and how educated you are.
Just yesterday, my roommate was watching a video of a woman talking about how mexicans “try” to be smarter and not look lazy to be apart of the community. And she agreed with that the woman was saying.
I was offended for that fact that she knows I am mexican and still went ahead and explain to me why the lady was right to say “we TRY to be smart” and not acknowledge that we can obtain the same level of education as anyone else.
Many people do not understand the difficulties we encounter to receive that education that our parents didn’t have. And why it is so important to us to have a degree.
Thank you for this post and you are not alone.
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It doesn’t make any sense to say “immediately instills.”
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Yes it does. Instill is to “drop something into”. Immediately instills drops something into all at once. Like a torrent of drops or a bucket of water in the face.
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Not quite. As the OED has it: “To put in by drops; to introduce drop by drop or in small quantities.” From the Latin, instillare, to put in by drops. Even under your definition, unless you live in a world where gravity has an infinite rate of acceleration, I think that “dropping” would take some time. For that reason, “your face was instilled with a bucket of water” sounds unnatural.
There is a second, more commonly used definition, that applies to immaterial notions (e.g. “a set of biases”) rather than physical substances. There, to instill means “to introduce little by little into the mind, soul, heart, etc.; to cause to enter by degrees; to infuse slowly or gradually; to insinuate.”
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The question here is, how do we help change the biased view that ignorant people, including professors, have about people that are different than themselves. I came to this country with 5 children who struggled but made it through school and college to become highly successful professionals. There were times when I was very resentful about how we were treated; but I must admit my view was also biased in my judgement. I wanted to stop being a victim so I could be an instrument to change the wrong attitudes and ignorance of people around me. I love it that my kids are very proud of who they are and are very kind to those who don’t get it and speak up when they need to correct someone when they suppose something about them wrongly. You need to speak up in that class and any class of yours to correct that person and challenge their view of you. We can help others when we don’t think of ourselves as victims. I’m glad you wrote this; I wrote many similar things each time I felt frustrated, I didn’t ever have the nerve to publish, but the day will come when I will use my written feelings to share with others in a way that helps both of us understand the dynamics of our views. One more thing, not all people will understand or care to change, but there are a lot of people who will.
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Where are you applying for your PhD?!?! Apply to Michigan… you’re smarter than me and a better writer and I got in 🙂
Weather sucks, but there are some wonderful, glorious faculty
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Reblogged this on PamLucas.
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I am so sorry and angry that happened to you. This is terrible and it needs to stop. And people wonder why women and people of color in academia suffer from impostor syndrome…
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So who’s word is it? Did they claim ownership?
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There are few people in this world as worthless as a professor. Overpaid and overrated. There are a few great ones, few, among the swine.
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That professor is an asshole and an idiot. Many people who speak (and write) English as a second language can speak and write it better than native speakers. We know the difference between ‘its’ and ‘it’s’. We know the difference between “there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’. We also know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’. I learned how to use words like ‘hence’ in primacy school!
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This might be a bit déclassé for the academic environment, but you might want to send the prof URLs to Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester. A note asking “see a pattern” is optional. Race and class permeate our society and all of us make groundless assumptions every day. Getting a PhD after your name will not insulate you from boorish and insensitive colleagues and superiors, or from drawing erroneous conclusions from flawed assumptions yourself. However, keep fighting the good fight. It’s the only way we slowly progress.
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What happened to the profesor though? Did she apologize? Are you taking this to the higher ups? Is she just going to live in her ignorance?
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Ms. Martinez, it would really help if we could see your entire essay, including the professor’s comments.
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Yes, I’d also like the complete eassay
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You don’t need to read her essay. Take her word. Racism happens all the time. All. The. Time.
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Agreeing. It’s clear that the teacher’s public accusation is out of line.
However it’s not clear to me…from what I read…if the accusation is racist based…or just about possible plagiarism.
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OR you can just trust what she’s said. She doesn’t need to prove her worth or intelligence to you either. How would showing her entire essay “help” anything?
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Actually, I’m the professor. What, you want me to prove it? Why don’t you just trust what I’ve said?
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Why would you need it? She isn’t asking you to judge her work, she expresses frustration and pain she has been tolerating for too long, dismissal and rejection of her work due to her being a women and an ethnical minority in her field. English is only my second language yet the word hence is common part of my vocabulary.
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Hi Tiffany! I am a producer at Uproxx and this is such an incredible and moving post. I was hoping to feature you in a video on our site. If you are interested, shoot me an email!
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When I first saw the photo of the essay, I thought the word didn’t belong because there wasn’t a need for it there. If you remove the word no meaning is lost and it sounds less awkward.
I read it as if someone wore some garish thing someone might say, “blue isn’t your color”. I read it like that. “Hence isn’t your word here”. Underlining not I got the impression this professor was particularly full of sass.
I read this with a grain of salt because before and after the lines saying how this was decimating and painful and all that, is the language and tone of someone who was clearly not offended that much is clear someone who is extremely smart and confident.
I think that the point of this piece was great and if all that happened fuck em. But I don’t think you care so much about this issue for yourself I think it’s for everyone else this could easily have happened to who isn’t as confident as you. I feel like this makes a great point but stretches the truth and that bothers me. Hypothetical suffering that is very realistic and could happen is not the same as actual suffering.
Back in the day my friend canceled plans 3 times in a row. The 4th time I really didn’t feel like hanging out but when they canceled I fumed and raged at them because they didn’t know I didn’t want to hang out. As far as they knew it was just them being shitty and they didn’t feel bad so they shouldn’t be okay with that! But I was wrong I was full of shit and pretended to be as mad as how they should have assumed their actions would have made me. It’s all stupid acting more upset than you actually are to teach people something about empathy.
I’m genuinely not trying to troll. I just think there’s a lot of minorities that don’t necessarily feel this way who are pressured to be more offended and people can smell the bull shit and get turned off of a lot of progressive policies in a general sense.
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Wow. You certainly think a lot. About yourself!
These are HER feelings. Please try to practice empathy when someone has opened their heart. (Hang on…. are you a professor at that institution??)
To me, what you wrote IS trolling, it had no relevance, it was just an attempt to diminish the importance of that persons feelings on a situation.
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Cob, I respectfully disagree. You took a potential teaching moment, added a degree of intolerance and a certain lack of empathy to a response and made things worse. Maybe next time try to see it as an opportunity to foster understanding instead of showing us how righteous your indignation is. You can’t understand someone unless you know where they come from. But you can’t forget it’s a two-way street. Besides, I get the sense that Tiffany doesn’t need you to come to her defense. But she’s might appreciate some honest dialogue.
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I’m sorry last post very trollish. Maybe something more constructive in this one though. Some general questions this piece has made me ask.
How does one go about being priveledged within a minority and advocate for those less priveledged without damaging ones own accomplishments within the system? I feel like true leadership is by example and no one ends up following someone who complains because it’s unfortunate that it’s viewed as a weakness. So how can you lead by example in a rigged system without letting go of others problems. And it just seems impossible. I feel like getting more minorities in positions of power and leadership is what’s most important and someone viewed as a victim doesn’t get there enough. So how can we advocate for minorities without generalizing them as some huge pity party, but still not damning oneself into being unfollow able? It’s really hard and we’re living a movement right now and i see it losing steam! And what’s the next step!? Pointing out all the instances of wrong doing was great for a while to raise awareness but that’s there. I talk with the janitor a lot he’s this 19 year old kid who didn’t graduate high school and talking with him he knows the term appropriation! Fuck me for being pretentious and thinking he wouldn’t but it was still eye opening this stuff is out there finally but it’s getting all tangled and contorted.
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Shmo, you might want to read https://selforganizedseminar.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/freire_pedagogy_oppresed1.pdf I would suggest there is a difference between privilege and advantage. Minorities may have access to advantages not shared by others eg college bursaries, but that doesn’t make them privileged, growing up in a social sub-group that has and maintains its possession of the best educational resources.
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please let me express that better. Individual members of a minority may have access to advantages not shared by their peers e.g. college bursaries…..
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In addition to the points others have made about your rude comment, you are wrong about the use of “hence” as a transitional word. There’s not enough of the surrounding content for you to see how it connects ideas.
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The point at hand is that douchebag of a professor who assumes a college student wouldn’t know the word ‘hence’.
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What fuckery is this?
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Dear god, I hope you’re just white and full of ignorant privilege. You also sound like a white male since YOU want to believe that how YOU feel about this is just how things are. Racism hurts. It’s causes tears. It causes years of self doubt. Don’t you dare ever say we’re faking it or feel pressured to pretend we feel the effects. Ugh. You’re sickening. You also sound like a complete sociopath.
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Dear Tiffany,
I applaud your resilience, your writing and the way that you have expressed this experience, I hear you and I am with you. You have talked for others too. The actions and the note from your teacher were really unfortunate and absolutely bias, that’s not ok, and it is good that you speak out. This event is just one of many obstacles in life, you will find people that recognize and support your talent and you will find other people that maybe like your teacher are going to be bias (aware or not) but remember, always remeber, that’s something’s to do with them, not with you, this experience will make you stronger, better and wiser. My very best for you Tiffany, you are a bright young woman, you deserve the best.
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You are very brave to speak out against treatment like this- all my best wishes from a fellow aspiring lady academic
P.S. definitely ignore all the people falling over themselves to act like the inappropriate comment your professor gave you had nothing to do with race
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I give this paper a C- = Needs Work. Clearly too long, thesis vague. Lose the melodrama.
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Several thoughts from a teacher:
– First, you’re clearly a gifted writer. You have an excellent vocabulary and a clear speaking style that comfortably straddles the line between academic and readable. I don’t doubt that you deserve the accolades you mention in your blog.
– The word “hence” is in no way advanced. I can’t understand why the professor chose that to question.
– By the time we reach the third paper of the semester, I know my students’ writing abilities and styles. I’m very quick to pick up on plagiarism, and usually when I smell a rat I have no trouble popping a line with “questionable vocabulary” into Google. If you were my student, I would’ve done this before accusing you of anything — I’d have then either approached you with evidence, or I’d have dropped it.
– Having said that, I agree with RodSterlingLives above in saying that I just don’t see racism in this encounter. The professor doesn’t say, “People like you don’t use words like this.” I do see a cruel professor — a good teacher addresses such things privately. Is it possible that you’re very sensitive about racial issues, and you inserted a racial motive where only cruelty and poor teaching methods exist?
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ok, so cruelty or incompetence are more likely explanations for this teachers behavior? Who’d have thought it? The Twinkie defence lives on.
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In your own words you´ll find the answer that will contradict your conclusion.
As you stated, the word ¨Hence¨ is in no way advanced, so if any other student would have used it it would be considered OK. But because she is Latina, then the word ¨Hence¨ seems super advanced according to the racist teacher.
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THIS! So perfectly put!
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Reblogged this on Stephen Writes.
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Appalling treatment of you Tiffany…you should not need a PhD to back up your linguistic capabilities, but goddamn, will be nice when you can add that to all your other many accomplishments. Ignorant teacher…’Hence’ is not even an uncommon word…I use it often!
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Tiffany Martínez.
The professor who consideres that the word you used is impossible for you to know it and use it, reflects his own ignorance and envy of your culture. You get your PhD…!!!
Go for him…he does not deserves to be a proffesor…!!!
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It is hard for me to deduce racism with very little evidence to go off besides the word of a stranger. I think attaching that term with very little information to support it, is dangerous.
Educators from secondary and post-secondary institutions are often able to identify changes in your personal writing style. It is not unreasonable to deduce that based on your story, instead of immediately jumping to discrimination.
This is not an attempt to attack you more than it is a request. I believe since you took this public, you should post your paper to be reviewed for plagiarism.
If you are going to drag a person and a school through the mud, you must have evidence beyond your own story. It must be something that can tangibly be proven and must show that you did not become emotionally high-jacked by pre-conceived notions of racism.
Racism exists, but we shouldn’t be looking for it in every circumstance as the driving force in a single moment or interaction. Calling someone a racist virally can ruin their life and credibility, so I hope you are being truthful and responsible with these allegations.
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this is like academical slut shaming… – who cares about Tiffany being shamed in class…it might ruin her male professor’s career
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Tiffany, not that you need this but let me spell this out anyway. RodSterlingLives and anousska find you reckless and dangerous. You dare to threaten a professional man and his position in society. (i know you never disclosed the gender of your prof). They want you to know your place and put you back in it. But you know all about this as your blog readily attests.
Personally, I find this quite shocking but as a white man i am not often exposed to this. The undercurrent of violence is well hidden, so much so that i am doubting it – is this what is meant by micro-aggression?
You showed such restraint in your post. You disclosed nothing of your professor that hadn’t also been witnessed by your fellow students. There is nothing in your post that warrants such reprimands, But i agree with your two correspondents on this point. You are dangerous. You are a danger to the self serving and oppressive institutions that are here to maintain the powerful at the expense of the powerless and more strength to you.
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Glenn P’s comment sets off some alarms for me. He’s trying to present himself as having been naive before, but suddenly moved by your experience… and yet the vocabulary and the concepts he’s referencing are too on-the-head. It seems deceptive, and he’s trying to drive a wedge between you and anyone who asks critical questions of your premise. Creepy.
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Someone needs to go back to their safe space.
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Yo Glenn P, you totally misunderstood my sarcasm…I meant they are academically slut shaming Tiffany.
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Sorry anousska, I had read your posting literally and hadn’t picked up that it was intended to be sarcastic. I am confident however that RodSterlingLives meant every word of his post.
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It’s not dangerous to call somebody a racist. Everybody is inherently racist. We have to constantly reflect on our actions and words to not be racist. It’s more dangerous to not call somebody out on their racist actions and to not allow him or her the opportunity to reflect on his or her actions.
I know we all wished we lived in a la la world where racism doesn’t exist, but it very clearly does. Don’t try to protect a teacher that clearly is not trying to protect his students.
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How is she dragging someone through the mud? She didn’t even name her professor whereas the professor accused Tiffany of plagiarism in front of her entire class.
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None of the words we use are ours. We repeat what we hear so that others can understand us. Sounds like your professor is just ignorant. Hence, he/she should not be teaching.
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Great piece!
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This happened to me in undergrad also. Since I am a WASP female, can’t say it was due to race, but maybe it was due to the quality of the work being higher than what the prof assumed it would be. The prof had set a really difficult report (to the point of maybe being unrealistic?) and I had taken a lot of time and effort to find and analyse the 7 examples in the world (all published around that time) that could potentially highlight my hypothesis. The teacher basically said my paper was a) too good to be my work and b) my theory was wrong (because she was an expert in that) and cut the mark in half. It singlehandedly dropped my final university grade from A+ to an A average… And guess how this story ends? … Went on to STILL finish top 1% in my class, got my doctorate AND MBA from top-5 global universities (on scholarship) and ended up being invited to speak at a conference this jerk-Prof was only invited to attend. Since my undergrad paper, the theory I spoke about has since been proven true and is now accepted as common knowledge in HER field and at about half her age, I have gone on to do TEDx talks, go on national news and professionally surpass her… Eff jerk-professors – just keep being awesome and remember how this story is going to end for you!!! 😉
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To Quick Question: why else would a professor say: “this is not your language” and “this is not your word”? You are evidently blind to racism even when it stares you in the face!
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I think the professor would say those things because he is accusing her of plagiarism. “This is not your language” meaning that “this is something you didn’t write in your own words” and “this is not your word” meaning that “this is a word that you didn’t write but stole from somewhere else”. Are people here assuming that when the professor said “This is not your language” that it was a derogatory comment to the author as a Spanish speaker?
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QQ, close but no cigar (sorry if this saying has no currency your side of the Atlantic). It wasn’t so much ‘derogatory’ as it was a libelous but you seem to be getting the point. Now if you think the libel was directed at Tiffany for a reason other than her ethnicity please offer up your own suggestions with at least as much evidence as Tiffany provide for her assertions.
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Glenn,
There’s a plethora of possible reasons but you know as well as I do that I won’t be able to provide evidence because we only have Tiffany’s side of the story. For example, has the professor accused other students of plagiarism? We don’t know. Did the professor publicly shame anyone other than Tiffany that day? We don’t know. Does the professor assume that all students are incapable of producing quality work, or is it just Tiffany? We don’t know, because Tiffany didn’t say whether or not the non-minority students received similar treatment from the professor. This is why I’m questioning this. We know Tiffany’s side of the story, and we can see the conclusions she’s drawn. If the professor had in fact accused other non-minority students of plagiarism in the same fashion, how can we determine he acted with racist intent towards Tiffany? There’s a lot of information we don’t know and I can’t simply assume that Tiffany’s conclusions are correct.
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If you get off the cross of Identity Politics, you might find that the professor talking to her, specifically, and not to her, a member of whatever “group du jour” she’s feeling.
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It’s disconcerting to see most of the comments here expressing “support” and condemning the prof as a racist. Why? Because the author provided no evidence to support her claim.
I mentioned in an earlier comment that his actions show that he’s an asshole but not necessarily a racist asshole. Making accusation based on unproven assumptions is a problem regardless of who you are. It’s a matter of credibility and integrity. Apparently most people here disagree because they assume the author’s assumption is correct.
People like this are easily manipulated by politicians and others who want to use them for their own ends. A politician, staying with that example, only has to say the right words and express their “empathy” and “solidarity” and this crowd will eat it up and never consider checking to see if the politicians actions match his or her words. Kind of self-defeating and naive, no?
Using the same tactics and making the same unfounded assumptions as the racists you decry is not a good policy. It makes you look like a self-righteous hypocrite.
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It’s undisputed that the professor challenged her intellect in a disrespectful manner, but there is no evidence that the professor is racist, and it’s arguably dangerous to assume that just because the author happens to be a minority.
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Dear QQ,
I wouldn’t argue any of this is undisputed. All I can say with any confidence is that there is a blog that purports to have been written by a Tiffany Martínez. But let’s assume, for arguments sake, that what has been published is an accurate account of the author’s experience and thinking. Firstly, she doesn’t assume the professor was racist so much as asserts she was the victim of racism. And that this one event was just the example of many such events she has experienced and witnessed. She has concluded on the basis of the evidence. 1. she did write the paper, 2, she was accused of being incapable of drafting the report as submitted. 3 in particular, she was accused of not knowing the word ‘hence’ 4. She was not accused of plagiarising X’s work but because she was deemed unable to write the work she handed in she was asked to declare which paragraphs were a cut and paste of an unknown X’s’ work. Now, she could have concluded the prof was a pratt but she determined in this incident a pattern of events from which she has deduced a connection and common cause. Now she may be wrong. Her evidence may not support her conclusions but please don’t insult my intelligence by suggesting she provides no evidence to support her assertions. And the issue of the conscious intentions of the prof is besides the point. It doesn’t matter whether s/he uses the same blue pen to sign a cheque for their KKK subcription or a petition in support of Black Lives Matter. The point is their actions, regardless of their motivation, are part of a series of systematic behaviours that act to oppress the powerless in order to protect the position of the powerful. You may not agree with the analysis but you can’t deny it exists.
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Glenn,
“Her evidence may not support her conclusions but please don’t insult my intelligence by suggesting she provides no evidence to support her assertions.”
In this specific example there is no evidence to suggest that the professor acted the way he/she did *because* of racist intentions. I agree there is definitely evidence, however I do not think the author can logically assert her conclusion with said evidence, meaning that she has no evidence to support her claim. Of course, this is for this SPECIFIC EXAMPLE. I’m not saying she’s never faced racism, I’m not saying she’s never been discriminated against, and I’m NOT saying that she doesn’t have the right to feel the way that she does. In the specific example she presented, it appears that she’s jumping to conclusions about the conscious intent of the professor.
I’m not coming in here and saying that institutionalized racism doesn’t exist.
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QQ, At no point does she accuse the prof of being racist. You have made that inference. She does state she assumed the prof believed she was incapable of writing the work she submitted. She does imply that this event is part of a pattern of experiences that collectively challenge her perceptions, undermine her self worth, and question her aspirations based on her background. If she hasn’t provided a compelling argument then surely the hundreds a people who share these experiences must mean something to you. However if you’re looking for E=MC² or 2+2=4 then i fear you’re on a hiding to nothing.
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So weird how defensive a bunch of people got just because some random student, on their personal blog, vented about their perspective on a situation. I mean, come on, it says “Journal” at the top and the favicon is the default. I did not see anything about the author pressing charges or trying to get some policy changed. I cannot find where she asked people to sign a petition or join a boycott. I did not read anywhere that she said she would go to your house and lecture you on how racist her professor is. Where’s the part where she swore fealty to powerful political boogeymen?
How does this person feeling this way injure anyone so badly that they MUST come over here and start lecturing about whatever fine point they MUST quibble over?
It’s okay to have emotional responses to provocative situations. Whatever people assume about the professor or writer is irrelevant. A student got treated in a way that made her feel shitty and she needed to write about it from that perspective. More power to the writer, these peanut gallery comments only serve to prove a point far larger than what she started out saying.
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This is the internet. When you share an opinion publicly you can’t expect people to not comment with dissenting opinions. By posting on a public forum she opened herself up to the reactions of the public, whether she wanted to or not, and that’s simply the way it works. You’re completely free to think that’s stupid, but I want to note that you still came here to share your opinion, just like the rest of us.
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QQ, I hate to rehash my own post, but I was talking about the defensive reactions that seem to be the first place white people, and many other people who do not like to think about race, go whenever race is even broadly discussed. Again, it’s a personal blog where someone was venting, not calling on some massive movement to start, yet first reactions are politically rooted and incredibly defensive – this is not some 24-7 news blog. Once again, how does this person feeling a certain way REQUIRE defensive responses from random people? Either you sympathize and want to let the writer know you are with them, or you disagree and want… I just don’t know what such comments are meant to accomplish aside from simple trolling.
Yes, people can react to things on the internet and the writer certainly expected it, so I will reserve my right to comment about your and others’ poorly informed reactions.
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I don’t mean to stir the pot here, but why does the author assume that the professor is making these claims because of her race? Obviously the professor is in the wrong assuming plagiarism without good reason and for not performing a very simple and easy plagiarism check online. But why does the author assume that she has been targeted because of her race? Nothing the professor said indicated that. I understand that minorities face issues daily, but how can one say that this specific case is because the professor is targeting her because she is a minority? It sounds like the professor is a dipshit, but there’s no evidence to suggest he/she’s a racist dipshit in this example.
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That is a question I have asked too but nobody here seems to care about that. They are too busy emulating the mindless behavior of the people they denounce.
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I’m pretty baffled why ELSE he would think that a COLLEGE student would not know to and think to use the word “hence” in an entirely correct manner, if he WEREN’T making an assumption about her linguistic background based on appearance and last name, though?
Can you think of ANY logical reason how this would happen that did NOT involve racist assumptions? Or, at minimum, sexism?
If we assume that Ms Martinez’s assertion that she did indeed write the paper is true (and I have no reason to disbelieve her – why would she open herself up to being exposed as a liar and plagiarist, right down to including actual samples of the text she is accused of plagiarizing, if she had?)…
…well, the only alternative to assuming (with no evidence) that she is a liar, is dissecting why it was HER that got dressed down for this, when the subtextual implication is that none of her white male compatriots were?
It’s either sexist assumptions, racist assumptions, or most likely a bit of both (intersectional) that led to that accusation. Considering the man is indicated to have had NO “you ripped this off from X” accusation but merely an assumption based on absolutely no evidence at all that “you couldn’t possibly have written this so tell me who you ripped off” and keeping in mind, this is the modern era and we have things like Turn It In, which compare your work to others’ published works and highlight “suspiciously similar segments”?
The man clearly has no such evidence of plagiarism, and did not “recognize it from somewhere”; he merely assumed she can’t possibly have written it, so it MUST be stolen.
I can think of literally no reason on Earth that he would jump to that conclusion (and it’s a pretty mighty one to jump to!) that wasn’t AT LEAST one or the other if not both, out of sexism and racism. Because literally the only difference we’ve seen mentioned between her and her classmates is she is female and Latina-or-Hispanic (the terms are not mutually interchangeable, I don’t know which she prefers).
I mean, I think we have a right to point out that considering this is a vent piece that doesn’t even try to shame the prof by name, your FIERCE determination to disprove this anonymous prof couldn’t POSSIBLY have been operating on a racist/sexist assumption, is bizarre.
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Also, as far as I can tell there has been no mention of the professor’s race. We know she is female…but given the politics of the writer I would assume that if the professor was white it would have been noted in bold font.
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