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 
Hi Tiffany – Congratulations on all your “firsts” – impressive!
Although I cannot relate to the particular struggles which led you to the point where you posted this, I can relate to the struggles of my work not being perceived as my own. It happened way, way back in the dim mists of memory – but for me, it irrevocably altered my future direction as far as career choices go. A group of us middle schooll girls were just ga-ga “crazy in love” with our writing teacher – he had a stunningly handsome face – to the point where we would write together at lunch time, and then we proceeded to do an extra credit project of writing our own serial novella a la “Dark Shadows”, a tv show popular at the time. Well, in this two-semester class, the time inevitably came for us to “show our chops” with a final project – an original tale written according to the guidelines set during the class throughout the year. When mine was done, I was so proud of my work – from the above description, you can tell there were many of us doing our very best to impress our teacher with our writing skills. He dressed me down verbally, accusing me of plagarizing my themes and storyline from a movie or two. In short – he broke my budding writer’s heart that day – and I never took it up again seriously as a career pursuit. As my father once said to me: “Don’t let the bastards get you down!”
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I know we’re still weeks away from the end of the semester and it might seem scary to take action, but you really do need to report their asses. Should you decide to extend them the courtesy they did not extend you, you could meet with them in private before reporting them. Have them explain the reasons for their assumptions, which they will most likely not be able to do.
Oh, if you do decide to be the bigger person and meet with them beforehand, LET THEM KNOW IT. Let them know you are not the kind of person who would make unfounded, public accusations without offering the other party the opportunity to explain themselves. Hence your being there…
I’m so terribly sorry you had to go through this, but take it as an opportunity to teach their asses a much needed lesson.
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Tiffany, hello from a former McNair grad and sociologist, now navigating the world of nursing. I am so sickened and disappointed by your experience. Thank you for having the courage to share. A former cohort of mine, Eric Grollman, now edits the Conditionally Accepted column on Inside Higher Ed. If you haven’t yet connected with him, you should!
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I would take this to the University’s Diversity Services. I reviewed the website and there is a place to report bias incidents. I hate that this happened to you, but I’m happy that you are speaking out. My hope is that the more people point these types of behaviors ou the less frequently they will happen.
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As a professor, I am infuriated by the ignorant, disrespectful and bigoted response of your instructor. I hope that these comments and the media attention your post is getting will give you energy to continue on with your scholarly work. You are clearly intelligent, a brilliant writer, critical thinker, politically astute, aware, and strong. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a graduate student and colleague.
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When I was an undergraduate (10 years ago) the same thing happened to me. I had to go through a plagiarism panel because a professor similarly “decided” that I was not capable of the paper I produced, despite having been a dean’s list student in university for two of my three years and landing my first professional position as a journalist in my third year. I am of mixed ethnicity, but appear white. My name is ethnic Latina. I don’t know what the factors were in my case and try not to assume without understanding because I didn’t really investigate it deeply to understand whether it was a single instance or a pattern in my case, but implicit bias is very real — and need to be directly addressed by our academic (and all our) institutions.
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Thank you so much for sharing your story.
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I just want to add my support, and my shock that you had this experience. Your professor’s actions were not only unethical (and outrageous) but probably illegal under the FERPA act, which prohibits school employees from sharing any information about student work with anyone other than the student. Accusing you of plagiarism without hard evidence is also wrong. I agree that you should report this behavior to the appropriate Dean. I am so sorry.
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I concur. File a complaint. Given your academic history, it will be hard to argue a case for plagiarism based on your presumably not knowing a simple word like “hence,” and grades are always protected.
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Your words are eloquent, effective, and powerful–and “hence” is the least if them.
I hope you take this to the department head and find satisfaction there, both for yourself and everyone else this professor has likely one this to.
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Feeling for you sister. Shout out to you Tiffany Martinez. Find peace and encouragement knowing your pain is understood although not by all, by a sizable number of people sharing a similar experience. Academia definitely needs work, and so do so many other areas within the systems that bicultural individuals navigate daily. 😐 The truth is, like you suggested, that not everyone will understand and we both know it. It’s like Selena’s dad said in Selena the movie, “We gotta prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are, we gotta prove to the Americans how American we are…it’s exhausting!” It truly is exhausting. One of my life mottos. Sadly…lol while smh. It truly is exhausting! And, somehow the exhaustion itself is never exhausted. If that makes sense…some may understand.
Much love ❤️
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Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with the world. Many of us experience this self-doubt in academia related to our race, ethnicity, class, gender, place of origin, etc. and keep it all inside or simply vent to our friends about it (who are usually going through the same thing). I’m sorry that you have to deal with this and I REALLY hope you mark this professor’s evaluation appropriately at the end of the term! Continue to be encouraged, knowing what you have to offer, and contribute to this (very interesting and complex) space of academia. Best of luck with the rest of your year and grad school. (Side note: love that you’re a Soc major because so was I and I appreciate you pointing out the lens you now use to analyze situations like these. We are slept on!)
Chelsey
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I was in the XI-th grade when my Psychology teacher asked us to craft an essay about how we see the future of humanity. When it came to mine, she took one look at the first page and told me ”You didn’t write this”, implying I plagiarized someone. I was furious. She asked me to read it in front of the class, as to prove she was right. I did read it in a trembling voice. 20 years have passed since that day and today I have 5 novels published (not self-published but with paying contracts), written hundreds of technical articles in prestigious international magazines, published studies of my own (because – ironically – I became a Psychologist). I have short stories published in literary magazines. I won a national literary prize last year.
And my teacher? She still teaches 11th graders.
Just to show you you are not the only one. I am sorry this happened to you but I am glad you rapidly came to the conclusion that what was done to you was deeply wrong. I wasn’t given justice 20 years ago, nobody believed me.
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I understand your teacher embarrassed you and that was wrong. However, you also demeaned an entire profession of people by implying that this teacher is some kind of loser by “still teaching 11th graders”. Your teacher was a bully but so are you. Don’t demean others to make yourself seem better or stronger.
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I didn’t demean her and didn’t imply she is a loser by saying she still teaches 11th graders. I said “still teaching 11th graders” to show that, like me, another 11th grader will probably go through the same scenario as I did. That she is still allowed to teach and probably hasn’t changed as a human being.
Let’s not drop the “bully” label based on what you THINK i implied. Just to be on record, two years ago I was teaching X-th graders.
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Thank you, Tiffany. As the great Buddhist scholar Atisha wrote, “Of the two witnesses hold the principal one.” You know what your truth is. Trust it. The world will bend around you if you show it the error of its ways.
Another great slogan by the same author: “When the world is filled with evil, transform all mishaps into the path of bodhi.” Bodhi means “awakenment” or “enlightenment.” While this mishap was not of your doing, I am wondering what new, brilliant creation wants to arise from the ashes of this conflagration of an experience? This paper has set off ripples throughout the internet — don’t let the momentum go without fully harnessing it!
What is it teaching you about yourself that can bring you closer to building the skills to work with situations like these? What then can you use it for to help unleash the light you wish to shine on the world?
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Thank you very much for your experience, it really moved me, and thanks to you Im gonna reflect more on my own opinions about people based on racial stereotypes. Thank you!
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Please report this to your department chair and Dean’s Office. I’m a former college professor and plenty of my students have used the word “hence” correctly over the last 30 years. There is no excuse for your prof’s bad behavior. I’m so sorry this has happened to you – try not to let it fester – keep moving forward and show your excellence, “go high when they go low”.
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Reblogged this on Nick Robson's Blog.
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Perhaps for a language professor who knew his or her students’ writing styles and was capable of identyifying ‘non-nativisms’ etc. it would not be totally off the mark to do some investigative analysis and confront students in private about what seemed unlikely to be their own writing based on word choice or syntax. However, here, your professor is outright accusing you of plagiarism simply because of using language that’s more advanced than baby talk or the language of teenager conversation.
… Speaking of which, it would be totally normal for a teenager to use ‘hence’ in oral conversation; a foreign-born teenager even. If anything, non-natives who are not completely bilingual often tend to use more formal language than is warranted by the context, not less — which is a fact a professor of English (or something related) should be aware of.
Here, your prof’s little ‘investigation’ obviously fails even the most basic criteria of proof, and the scene in front of your class not only violates the most basic standards of academic conduct but invites some inevitable questions about the professor’s mental stability. Without beating around the bush, that professor needs to see a counsellor ASAP.
Something’s going on there, perhaps a trauma in personal life. People do get promoted beyond their intellectual capability, even in academia, but being even assisstant professor exposes one to so much peer review, often conducted by two independent reviewers that are snarky little nitpickers whose names will never be disclosed to the reviewee and not told whose exactly work they are thrashing right now, that there’s very little chance of consistently getting away with snap judgments unpreceded by any sort of proper analysis. Besides, the losing it and lashing out speaks volumes.
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So timely. This experience can loom on in the workplace too. I have my Master in Psychology and am completing Intern hours. I am a relatively new employee in a mental health agency, and the interactions I have with my supervisor leaves me feeling similar to what you describe here. My actions are questioned in a way that tells me I am not trusted. I am talked to like a child. I began to feel hyper-vigilant about everything I did (which is a shitty as feeling. Talk about racial trauma), and feared being fired for just being me or lashing out in an anger filled attempt to defend myself. I fell into a depression, was full of anger, wondered if I should find work elsewhere else, wondered if I should stop being a therapist all together, and was experiencing full blown “impostor syndrome”. After some sacred self-care, I realized that I have every right to be there, and that I need to stop seeking their validation for my anger. I have worked with youth in mental health since 1997, the quality of my work with youth and families is deep, rich, and healing; and I’ve put in a lot of time and effort to earn my degree and gain my hours for licensure. Yes, I am angry, AND my supervisor doesn’t get to have my anger. My anger is a sacred navigator and wise woman. My supervisor lives in a world I don’t want to be in. A world where my anger is not valued. So no, they do to get to have my anger. I can do my good work anywhere I choose to be, and their hyper-criticism, distrust, and infantilization of me is a reflection of their broken spirit, and not a reflection of my value or abilities. When I saw your post, this post, what I saw was their fear. They had to find something to pick at because you are a threat to the system. the system they benefit from. This is a sign that you are doing good work. I hope you are able to connect with other WOC in academia, as their support will help strengthen you in your journey. Big abrazos!
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I was moved by your reply. Very well said.
I too have gone thru the same thing. Anger is my guide and they don’t get to have it.
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Reblogged this on lizaannacosta and commented:
This triggers so many memories! Back in grad school, during my Master’s program, I received a paper back virtually pointing out only diction. I had been graded down because the professor did not like the words I chose. The words were not incorrect. The words were perfectly fine (I had several people read it before turning it in). When I asked him what I could have done better, he said things that wounded me so deeply that I still carry them to this day: “You have a language barrier and will never speak English like a native speaker.” I am a Professor of English and Comparative Literature. I have been Department Chair, Associate Dean, and now University Dean. I am a writer and a theater maker. I have published in English and Spanish. Like Tiffany Martinez, “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.”
I did not know at the time that I could advocate for myself. I had no one at that moment to help me navigate the racist bias I encountered. But thanks to three professors, I was able to not lose my footing in academia and to just pushed forward in the darkness. I thank them here: Deb Wyrick, Jon Thompson and Mike Reynolds (QEPD/RIP).
Tiffany, echa pa’lante. We are scholars. Words belong to us. And thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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Hi Tiffany, I’m an editor at The Huffington Post. What a powerful piece! We’d love to share it on our site if you’re interested. Feel free to reach out to me at hayley [dot] miller [at] huffingtonpost [dot] com. Hope to hear from you!
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As someone with an English lit degree who works in publishing, I just want to express my respect for your clear, passionate and engaging writing style. Also, your professor is clearly a failure as a teacher, and not scoring well as a human just now. I hope you get some justice.
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I hope that nothing dissuades you from following your path to academia. Nothing and no one. We need you and your voice. I would love to support you any way that I can — I hope you have a trustworthy mentor who is Team Martínez all the way at your institution. If not, contact me.
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One of my professors once said: the more degrees you have, the dumber you become. He farther explained that people who are so focused on obtaining their degrees loose the human touch, the ability to relate and connect to another person. I feel your pain. Though I can blend in my easier, I have encountered similar responses solely on the fact that English is not my first language. Don’t let ignorance stop you from accomplishing your goals. Keep going forward so that one day we can make a difference!
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I am just writing to say that twice, years ago, I had nearly identical experiences as a middle class Anglo male. I was furious the first time and dropped the class in a fit of blind rage. I’m a prof today, and I have a little more understanding for those teachers: truly good undergrad writing is so rare as to be suspicious, but given my experience, I do strive to give my students the benefit of the doubt. I won’t say “don’t take it personally” because you should and you will, but please take faith that what has happened to you will become valuable in its own way throughout your academic career.
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As a professional translator I’d say good postgrad writing is rare too — at least the English stuff (probably native, but you can’t always tell) I have to translate into Polish — and good postdoc writing is probably not guaranteed either, but there’s simply no way to use this sort of generalization as a replacement for proof in an individual case. All the professor can prove is that Tiffany’s writing is not dumber than the proverbial fifth-grader’s. Heck, it’s pretty much expected of a teenager learning English as a second language on an upper-intermediate level, usually from a non-native teacher. (By the way, ‘hence’ is quite likely to be an EFL teacher’s pet word and drilled into students with all the gentle force of persuasion he or she can muster, at least from my experience. Besides, like I said in some other comment here, proficient and fluent foreigners tend to use more formal and old-fashioned language in formal contexts than most native writers would in the same circumstances, not less.)
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While I can’t claim racism, my work as a published writer has been attacked by editors who have often assumed my inexperience. I blame the inflated ego of editors who should have more respect for writers in general. I have lots of examples where they made mistaken edits. I guess that bad news is that even when you become a published author you will still have to fight for your choice of words.
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Tiffany
Thank you so much for writing this. As a fellow Chicana Phd student I too have dealt with some racist shit from professors. I have been interrupted (by professors), criticized, and antagonized by other graduate students as professor have just stood there and done nothing.
I can recite all the terrible interactions I have had in academia. Its terrible that as WOC we are always subjected to this. I guess that’s a reminder of who academia was for.
Keep doing the amazing work you are doing because you know it’s very much needed.
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When you say that you are advocating for yourself, I hope this means that you have filed a formal complaint with the director/chair of the school or the dean of the college that you are in or the dean of students or whoever the appropriate officer is at your school. If nothing else, these statements made in public were a clear violation of FERPA. And, as others have said, the burden of proof lies with the instructor. We cannot accuse a student of plagiarism without evidence — and clear and convincing evidence. If you do not know how to do this, talk to your advisor.
Is this “professor” a member of the tenure-track faculty? Or is s/he (you really could have used the appropriate pronoun, since you are writing about a specific person) a TA or an adjunct? I’m just having trouble accepting that a tenure-track faculty member would behave that way. I’m not questioning your story at all — I’m just in denial that a fellow academic would behave in such a pathetic, childish, unprofessional manner.
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It’s not pathetic or childish, it’s straight up racist.
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It can’t be both?
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The same thing happened to me twice as an undergrad. I hope you take this to the chair of the department.
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I’m really sorry you’ve had that experience. In grad school we had to be excessively cautious about not accidentally, or intentionally, lifting language from the work of others. Sometimes it was painful to see how easy it was to unintentionally reframe someone else’s thought. There could be many reasons the prof thought it wasn’t yours aside from racism. But, I’m going to assume you’ve had other experiences with that prof to lead to this conclusion. Several of my grad school profs required we use a service called Turnitin to check our work for similarities. It was invaluable, you might sign up, then, when the prof says that you hand them the report from Turnitin to shut them up. http://en.writecheck.com/
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Why do you assume that the instructor was correct?
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Don’t you think she knows whether she plagiarized the work she turned in? Funny question.
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Stop questioning the experience of people of color. Don’t patronize her and assume she misinterpreted. Otherwise, you’re no better than the person she wrote about.
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To stop questioning is to stagnate intellectually. You realise it is possible to question someone and not patronise them? Why be so hostile to a commenter who is simply offering helpful information?
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Snobbery breeds contempt hence your revulsion at that blatant inherited racism.
Fight it!
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academic=snobbery? really?
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Reblogged this on Conditionally Accepted.
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I’m infuriated and sad right along with you reading this! I am a first-gen Latina who graduated with an English degree (with honors!) and I can’t tell you how many times people compliment my English when they hear that. They assumed I went to college to learn English.
I once left a class on the first day because the professor asked us to fill out these info sheets with a question about how many languages we spoke, and when asked to explain why she said that anybody who spoke more than one language couldn’t master the English language. I told her right then and there that I would be dropping her class because I refused to stay where I knew she would already have made up her mind about the quality of my papers before even reading them.
Stay strong sis, and let us know how we can help you!
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the perfecr come back to that would be “you mean, like Joseph Conrad?” What an ass of a prof!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad
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Tiffany,
I am an amateur blogger with no university education and as a result my pieces are littered with grammatical errors and poor word choice. I write because I have a passion for my subject and people who read my work tend to agree or disagree with my thoughts rather than judge the structure and literary worth of it. I cannot begin to imagine having to deal with systemic bias in the way that you and others like you do.
Scotland tends to have economic rather than cultural bias; there is still a pervading class system – not as significant as the rest of the UK – which suggests the wealthy and titled are more competent, intelligent and capable than those from a humble background.
Your professor is a cretin. You are clearly intelligent, eloquent and probably more capable than he is. It is easy to conclude that his dismissal of your abilities relates to envy as well as bias.
I hope the comments here help you exorcise that unnecessary self doubt. The system may try to keep you down but I have a feeling your star is in its ascendency
Love,
Col
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No grammatical errors there, for sure, and your choice of words is perfect.
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Hi Tiffany! I’ve walked in your shoes, only in my case it was dealing with classism rather than overt racism. It’s great when you can change someone’s mind and I hope you do now and in the future. Other times you may have to pick your battles and just make sure your grade isn’t affected by their bias. Wising you strength and success. You have a great future ahead of you and so will the people whose lives you touch. Ser fuerte y hacer bien. ❤
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As a Research Postgrad I’m gonna jump in right now and fire off a few questions:
What size is your class – ie is this a 200 student lecture hall where the Prof can’t conceivably know you?
Was what you cited published work? Undergrads are NOT supposed to be creating original data, outside of maybe their Thesis work
If you run it through TurnItIn, which the lecturer clearly did, what does it say?
You’re assuming an awful lot here, and you’re not considering what for you is a learning environment and what for the professor is a work environment.
I get that you feel like you’re experience, but the professor doesn’t know you from Adam and clearly doesn’t think so. He knocked the “Hence” because you’re a student, which is typically a young person who doesn’t use old fuddy words unless they’re ripping things off.
Last note: I get that your upset, but playing the race card in this scenario is totally lame. In the context of this situation you’re most likely fully, if not partially, to blame and getting all triggered that Undergraduate streams are different to the outside world is childish. You have no real qualifications (letters) and so, as an Academic, the Professor has no reason to intrinsically trust you. Best of luck with your degree.
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Found the arrogant, ignorant, racist white dude!
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Playing the race card? You’re disgusting.
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I am a white female grad student and have used the word “hence” countless times as an undergrad. I have never been criticized for it. It is not an old fuddy word and there is no reason for a professor to call a single word “not your word”. Single words are not plagiarized. This is clearly a prejudiced assumption of the student’s intelligence. Please have respect for this person’s experience. She took the time to elegantly explain herself, obviously she is thoughtful about what happened.
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And he/she does not know the difference between “your” and “you’re”.
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If you’re going to dismiss her experience, at least put your name on what you write.
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And Anon needs to learn the difference between you’re and your!
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You sound like a white mansplainer. Typical for people like you.
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I’m going to assume you’re not familiar with minority struggle since you are keen on questioning their experience?
Therefore your view on this is invalid, because you were never subjected to feeling this way in any situation.
Please have a seat.
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You are lame for invalidating this person’s LIVED experience , or even being audacious enough to try to do so. I use the word hence. I use furthermore and moreover as well and I am 22. You made an awful lot of assumptions and it was actually ugly to read.
You are just as bad if not worse than the professor.
And you used the wrong form of you’re in your “last note” section. Get it together .
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So curious that you chose to attack this person on her credentials and then made simple mistakes such as there/their/they’re errors and which/who. You obviously are no English professor, so check your misguided ideals before you choose to attack comment someone in a ridiculous passive aggressive, I’m-a-real-academic, and-not-at-all-racist way.
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I thinking anon is a troll…😒
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Did the professor have any evidence–besides “hence”–that this was plagiarized work? Was the student judged guilty unless proven innocent? At best, this is bad pedagogy–why not speak to the student to ascertain whether she understands what she wrote? At worst, this fits into a pattern of aggression, which the writer here says she has experienced, in the academy on account of her ethnicity.
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As a tenure-track assistant professor (since we’re making appeals to our position), Anon (Research Postgrad… likely British?) is full of shit. It’s so sad to watch people defend the indefensible like they’re taking some bold stand.
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Dear Lord. I don’t know if this comment is meant to be some sort of prank, but it sure pisses the hell out of me mainly because of how little reason it has. I won’t bother to nitpick on every invalid, wildly offensive assumption you made (don’t want to feed the troll) but really, I can’t fathom a person who thinks ‘hence’ is an “old fuddy word” being in academia beyond high school. Maybe do some research in this area for once. Thanks!
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Last paragraph; [“I get that your upset”]. No, dimwit, it’s “you’re.” Here is the unfortunate reality: You represent the mediocre lot who get free rides to privileged spaces that you clearly do not merit; at least not with the juvenile error of contraction that you made in spelling that word. This makes you absolutely unqualified to criticize an intelligent woman’s recount of her experience. A racist one at that. Be silent!
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‘Hence’ is a word taught to intermediate-level second-language students after five or six years of study, and they are expected to know how to use it correctly, properly and appropriately. It is a bit more educated than ‘thus’, but there’s nothing whatsoever special about it. In fact, every 12 year old should know how to use it and actually use it; if this proposition leaves you surprise, then something is indeed wrong with your education system. Next, the professor’s rash accusation and judgment fails to meet even the most basic epistemic criteria, and you have absolutely no business defending him. He needs a disciplinary hearing, and you, Anon, need to rethink your approach.
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Anon, you are clearly 1. White, 2. Privileged, 3. Obtuse AF. Unless you’ve experienced racism yourself, you don’t get to invalidate Tiffany’s experience of her situation. Singling out students for public shaming is neither educational nor professional, more so in light of the chosen victim. Stay in your lane, chum
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Why not identify yourself, Anon? You’re likely one of the critics of her paper
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You’re assuming an awful lot here. You’re assuming, first and foremost, that she is guilty of plagiarism. What is the basis for that assumption?
She did not say that she cited anything. You are assuming that she did. What is the basis for your assumption?
How do you know that the instructor “ran it through TurnItIn?” I’m not seeing that in this article.
What does this phrase mean, “I get that you feel like you’re experience,?” What does it mean to “feel like you are experience?”
What is “your upset?”
Please avoid using language that is demeaning to the disabled.
What are “Undergraduate streams?”
Try using the word “understand” rather than “get.” You’ll sound less adolescent.
Good luck with that “Research postgrad.” I hope that it does not require you to write in a grammatically-correct manner or to think critically.
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Oh my fucking god would you shut the hell up
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A critique of a paper should be based on the merits and arguments of the paper, not the perceived capabilities of the writer. Hence, drawing conclusions from pre judged opinions is racist/classist/or some other form of prejudice.
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You’re making a lot of assumptions and you completely missed the point that the majority students were not treated to assumptions about their academic language skills. To believe without proof that she lifted language from her sources clearly shows that there is bias and she is not being hypersensitive.
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So much salt, but no one addressed the following:
What happens when you put it through turnitin?
What was the research? If it was original work, then to the professor it’s just going to be uncited work and they will rightly assume plagiarism.
Hence isn’t a white word, it’s an antiquated word that a published author might use.
But yeah, I’m just gonna roll around in my mountain dew fountain and wipe cheese dust on my face while I mansplain. Not using name because I’d definitely expect a litany of emails to my university attacking me on the basis of being mean on a blog.
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How dare we brave people who have no problem posting our names give you salt that you so rightly deserve? Here’s the answers to your ridiculous questions:
What happens when you put it through turnitin?
-It doesn’t matter. This isn’t what the professor did. The professor assumed certain word choices weren’t the student’s words because of a bias about what words the professor assumed the student knew or did not know.
What was the research?
-Again, not really the point here. It wasn’t a research paper, it was a literature review. Are you incapable of reading certain words that are foreign to you?
If it was original work, then to the professor it’s just going to be uncited work and they will rightly assume plagiarism.
-I don’t even know what that means as it completely misinterprets the entire situation. Please tell me that you have a couple of English classes in that fancy postgrad research of yours.
Hence isn’t a white word, it’s an antiquated word that a published author might use.
-Lots of people use the word hence. I have used it since middle school. I like it a lot. I’m concerned about the quality of your research though. Hopefully it’s not on linguistic origins and word usage in modern writing.
Not using name because I’d definitely expect a litany of emails to my university attacking me on the basis of being mean on a blog.
-Not using your name because you don’t want anyone to know how uneducated you really are or that your colleagues and professors might see how biased and poor your writing skills are.
Now, please go away and let the adults talk.
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You’re obviously not taking this seriously so what is the point of commenting? As soon as you fell back on the “race card” trope as if that were a valid assessment of the article, you sacrificed what little credibility you had at the outset.
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“He knocked the “Hence” because you’re a student, which is typically a young person who doesn’t use old fuddy words unless they’re ripping things off.”
I’m sorry, but what kind of moron are you? Did you not read the beginning of this article, where the author states her credentials, or realise that the author is in her final year of study? Obviously she has the knowledge and capability to use standard academic language.
In fact, most first year undergraduates are comfortable with the “fuddy” word ‘hence’ – it’s hardly unusual to see it used, even by a ‘typical young person’, in tertiary education. Unless of course, they are you, apparently. For the academic to underline the word ‘hence’, either they have made an assumption about this particular student, or else the standards set for their students are so low that they were shocked someone had surprised the paltry education being offered by this professor.
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Obviously I meant surpassed – apologies for the typo/autocorrect.
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I think the one who is “assuming an awful lot” here is you. For example, you assume your possible rationales are more likely true than Tiffany’s reported experience. You assume to know what language “a young person” would use, as if young people were a monolith.
In fact, some of your points don’t even make sense. For example, “Undergrads are NOT supposed to be creating original data, outside of maybe their Thesis work.” She clearly stated that she was writing a lit review–not exactly a likely spot for “creating original data” (whatever it is you meant by that), but surely one for cogent analysis and commentary. Originality in analytical thought is still available to undergraduates, last I checked.
And finally, your tendency to argument by authority– “As a Research Postgrad” (sic)–is evidence both of a weak mind and a disturbing tendency in academia to conflate credentials with validity of opinion or persuasive power. However, since that seems to be your thing, I guess I should have started off by saying “As a former professor, attorney, and psychologist….”
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Bitch, PLEASE! Shut the whole entire f*ck up. It is YOU who lack qualifications to comment on the experiences of people of color. Ms. Martinez is describing a commonplace experience that people of color have in academic and professional settings- having our legitimacy and competency questioned baselessly. There IS NO “race card” and this is not a game. Playtime is over.
It is unjustifiable to question a student based on inherent mistrust that the student is capable of cogent writing, using commonplace conjunctions. Why WOULD you run a Latina student’s paper through a plagiarism app based on the use of the word “hence”?? You wouldn’t. Unless you mistrusted the student’s ability to use standard English. And why would you do that?
You are everything that is wrong with academia for people of color and other marginalized folks. First, you jump to the defense of a professor you have no knowledge of. Why are YOU so quick to defend this behavior? Your only dog in this fight is the wish to undermine this woman’s confidence and maintain a status quo in which professors can freely question the basic competence of students of color and we’re supposed to just sit back and internalize it.
Second, your instinct to victim-blame is troubling and disgusting. You’re a bully and you have no business in a classroom teaching students of color. You literally blamed this woman for being upset at receiving unjustified criticism. Then, you tried to justify the unjustifiable.
3. You’re the one who made a whole range of assumptions– all irrelevant– in order to justify this professor’s mistreatment of the student. You threw in class size & familiarity with the individual student’s work. Unless the professor questioned EVERY student’s use of standard English based on the use of common conjunctions such as “hence,” ” therefore,” or “thus,” your position is bullshit. Not being intimately acquainted with a student’s work is not a reason for questioning her basic competence.
4) In going out of your way to defend the indefensible, you entangled yourself in contradiction. At the same time you state “undergrads aren’t supposed to be producing original work”, you justify being suspicious of a Latina’s ability to produce a basic academic assignment without resorting to plagiarism. Illogical. And insulting.
5) You repeatedly and improperly mis-used the possessive “your” in place of the contraction “you’re”, HENCE proving you’re an idiot with sub-standard English competence. I hardly believe you could have made it to post-grad work with your remedial writing, logical fallacies, and baseless assumptions.
You need to quit. You’re the one who should feel ashamed and incompetent. You have no business justifying undermining this student by questioning her basic competence. Get out of academia, because I foresee a lifetime of you getting dragged by students of color, as I just did. You know it too. That’s why you posted your shitty, self-serving, racist comment anonymously. Get used to the dragging.
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200-person lecture classes don’t generally assign literature reviews (which are part of the scaffolding for research papers, NOT always prep for independent research projects, in the undergrad context). Where are *your* assumptions coming from? (And students use “hence” all the time in papers.)
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You’re a peach. Only those who deny systematic racism use the term “race card”. Race does affect how professors treat students. It’s not a card that is played. It’s a disadvantage! How can you read these comments and fail to see this is a serious and widespread issue? Take your academic blinders off.
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Whether people commonly use the word hence in academic writing here (in the UK) partly depends on the subjects they’ve studied as, for example. mathematicians will use this in writing out derived formulae and historians will be very familiar with it.
It does not indicate the writer has cut and pasted other’s words.
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Are you seriously asking these questions?
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The only thing ‘lame’ is this justification imho. 🙂 … Notice I didn’t say the comment’s author, darling, just the justification of a pervading paradigm.
There is a flavour of ‘truth’ in the critiques to the extent that they shed light on reasons why the grader (with whom the commenter presumably empathises or at least can understand) may have behaved in a socially shaming way:
1) Presumption of distrust from the professor and between/among students
2) Presumption that a high-volume class means the group vibe is inevitably/should be competitive, abrasive, warrior-like and ‘Darwinian’ (ik, loaded word) instead of supportive or even accurate
3) Obvious check that the work is in fact original, and INHERENT DOUBT that it is; social punishment via shaming that the undergraduate is … literate!
4) Blame and devaluing of the work if it IS original, as the ‘rules’ say independent thought is not ‘allowed’ from undergraduates, i.e. enforcement of power-pyramid, command-and-control structure that is false, brittle and not an in accurate map of social ‘reality’ i.e. overlapping and co-existing perspectives
5) Feasible reality that the professor is just trying to get through work and doesn’t much care about the individual’s perceptions or feelings; or thinks he/she is doing the student a ‘favour’ in ‘toughening them up,’ keeping them from being ‘weak,’ hitting them in the soft spots so they develop armour there, and using this student as a (not so randomly selected) example for others (‘that’s the real world, kill or be killed, you eat what you kill, every man for himself, only the strong survive’ mentality); though the silent presumption is that the grader, in a position of mid-level ‘power’ in the pyramid, doesn’t much give AF and that’s the way it ‘should’ be.
Here’s the blinding mechanism in the privilege ladder … only small minority can climb it all the way to the top. That’s the structure of a pyramid, to mix metaphors … it only has one capstone. So those on it are constantly striving to kick those below them further down the ladder. Kill the pup before it becomes a wolf, eh … that’s why much of the world is so cruel. Those on the privilege ladder realise that once you’re on it, it’s a dog fight mired in distrust. And they want to keep as many classes of human characteristics as possible off the ladder, because that means less competition for the status, the reputation, and ultimately the resources.
F*ck the ladder. Create something better. Academia as an institution will never love anyone back because the way it’s currently set up is the old way … a way that concentrates power in the hands of a narrowing platform of decision-makers. And if you want the resources you keep kissing the a$$es of the decision-makers directly above you. And for good measure, the people above them.
Until then, it’s better that a person in this position can vent, and keep their feelings and soul, rather than become a hardened, dead-inside shell. Said from experience. Why ‘win’ at everything if at the end of the day everyone around you is proverbially or literally destroyed? No point. Something better is coming, it’s growing even now. In the meantime, this is the old system and it’s those inside it that will dismantle it. Peace.
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So many typos. I’m 23 with a BA in English & Writing. I’ve been using ‘hence’ since I was in 8th grade. Get a clue. A professional teacher was once a student. You do not embarass someone who is paying to take your class. If it’s their work environment then the student is the customers & the professor’s actions were unacceptable. You think pulling the race card is lame. I think a professor saying this is not your language is lame. No such thing as an old word. Writers are encouraged to use all words to write, not just shiny new ones but old fuddy ones too. Good luck with post grad. I’d hate to make an awful assumption but I assume you’re either male or you’re White to accuse the author of pulling the race card when simply reflecting on the slight she received during class & why.
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What you’re suggesting here is that a professor who doesn’t know the student well is free to make arbitrary assumptions about that student’s verbal skills and vocabulary and grade the student’s work according to those baseless conclusions. You’re also assuming that students’ patterns of language usage are somehow insulated from the language they hear in lectures, and read in books and essays as a part of their training and that they won’t or shouldn’t emulate that language in their own writing when, in fact, emulation is a cornerstone of learning how to write for the academy.
Maybe you’d better not “jump in right now” until you’ve given this a little more thought.
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I’m an academic and the ‘hence’ doesn’t bother me in the slightest. That he should circle it as evidence that it is not “her words” seems dodgy to me. I would’ve commented on the “!” in the preceding sentence (really doesn’t belong in an academic essay…) but the hence? No.
When accusing a student of cheating one needs to have concrete evidence. A ‘feeling’ is not sufficient. The only justification that i can think of that makes the teacher’s actions understandable would be inexperience. If one is a relatively young person and new to the job, one tends to jump to conclusions too rapidly–especially if one has encountered case after case of plagiarism. I mistakenly accused a student of plagiarism before and i regret it bitterly. Now, having had a bit more experience, I take the John Adams approach (better to let a hundred guilty people go free than punish an innocent person). If I do not have incontrovertible proof that a violation of academic honesty rules has occurred i do not pursue it.
There is a bigger issue, however, that needs to be addressed. The university has a duty to ensure that policies are in place to protect students’ rights and that those policies are followed. People in positions of power should not be allowed (consciously or unconsciously) to abuse that power. Even if the author had copied (and I do not mean to imply that she did) this would not be the way to go about addressing it. Public humiliation is not ok. While I am rarely a fan of red tape, I am glad that my university has a clearly defined policy for dealing with such instances. Where I am, if a student has potentially violated academic honesty rules, my role is limited to reporting it (along with supporting evidence) to neutral third parties who will make their own determination.
I am grateful to Tiffany for posting this. This is something that all of us in education need to be reminded of lest we become complacent. I do not know what motivated the person who marked her essay to make that comment, but bias exists in academia as it exists everywhere else and it we need to be reminded of it.
Thank you, Tiffany.
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” but playing the race card”
I am so sick of the phrase “playing the race card.” It is NOT A GAME.
And it implies that the person who claims to have experienced racism is just saying that as some sort of strategy in a contest.
Racism is a real problem in our society, not just a game that some people are playing at.
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@Anon:
As someone who is well past being a research postgrad, let me jump in and answer your questions, because you’re assuming an awful lot here.
This class was quite obviously not a 200-person lecture, because it is a writing course with individual comments on papers, at Suffolk University, a school with small section sizes for writing classes, as you would know if you Googled “Suffolk University.”
The lecturer clearly did not run this paper through TurnItIn, because if he or she had, that report would have been included, not a handwritten note on the paper itself. You’re also assuming that TurnItIn is some sort of foolproof test for plagiarism, when in fact it has a very high false negative rate, and a reasonably high false-positive rate as well, as you would know if you were familiar with any of the pedagogical literature on plagiarism detection software. I would be surprised if TurnItIn were used at Suffolk University at all, given the way the program has been criticized by professors in the law school there.
At prestigious universities such as Suffolk University, it in increasingly common for undergraduates to be doing their own, original research, whether or not it results in a “thesis.” The McNair scholars program, of which the author of this post is a part, is designed to enable and encourage high-level, original, undergraduate student research. This is also something you would know had you looked up anything about any of the specifics of this post before commenting.
I get that you feel like *your* experience of academia is enough for you to hold forth on How The World Works for the benefit of this Entitled Millennial Playing the Race Card. I get that *you’re* upset that the privileges you’ve been granted by the world of academia may not have been entirely earned. But explaining away someone else’s experience based on expertise you claim to have but actually do not, is, frankly, lame.
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Thanks for sharing, Tiffany. A Ph.D. represents so much … on a practical level, it is a necessity in becoming a professor. Ideally yhe Ph.D. would simply be a program dedicated purely to development and growth, where each candidate learns skills and self discipline, refines themselves at a practice, a grindstone, ultimately for their personal and society’s collective best. In reality, such systems are rife with politics and prejudices … supremely unfair. Please, a stranger implores … Do not give up. Your agency. Your voice. Your mind. Your mind is needed and you are already ‘enough,’ beyond question. This professor may doubt you but it doesn’t mean you need to doubt you. Systems thrive on control but never, ever let them get to your self worth. You have already won and you will produce wonderful work. Keep going.
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Reblogged this on Untold Stories and commented:
And this is the racial bias that colored intellectuals are subjected to everyday. The doubt. Whenever I show someone my work there’s always that doubt and it hurts. It really does.
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I would like to give you a hug, and that professor a kick in the rubber parts. Keep on Tiffany, thank you for sharing this.
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So important to know your feeling and share it so we can all understand and be more aware… thank you and yes keep working… we need you to join academia and change our world. I honor you and your struggle.
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Tiffany, as a Professor and simply a person, I am horrified at your experience, which is bullshit. I really, really hope you go see the Department Chair or Dean about this, because in addition to being racist, mean, and wrong, it is also a violation of your legal rights under FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act). Your rights as a student are yours and you should insist on them. Keep being awesome!
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I have to admit, I felt you weren’t giving enough credit to your differences. I saw a lot of similar behavior, but the prejudice rested on the fact I was a woman. I’m sorry, but you’re shafted coming and going. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is. Keep your chin up and your spirit intact. Good luck!
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I am a McNair fellow as well. UTenn, 93′ and 95′ . As somebody who is going for thier doctorate now, I urge you to remember what they taught us in the McNair Program. We are SCHOLARS. Never forget that. Remember for whom the program is named. Take that negativity and doubt that they put on us, and make them choke on it. Ultimately, you are competing against yourself and no one else, the least bbeng some psuedo-academic racist jerk. HENCE, I leave you with these words: SE FUENTE!
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Agree with everyone saying to go to the dean. By accusing you in front of the class, your prof probably violated FERPA. So infuriated on your behalf.
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I am a McNair fellow as well. UTenn, 93′ and 95′ . As somebody who is for thier doctoratd now, I urge you to remember what they taught us in the McNair Program. We are SCHOLARS. Never forget that. Remember for whom the program is named. Take that negativity and doubt, that they put on us, and make them choke on it. Ultimately, you are competing against yourself and no one else, the least bbeng some psuedo-academic racist jerk. HENCE, I leave you with these words. SE FUENTE!
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Tiffany,
As an alumni of a Suffolk graduate program I was devastated to read this story. I found my program to be full of progressive teachers who treated me extremely well. This is just another example of the privilege I walk through life with (mostly blindly until someone turns the light on) because of my whiteness. Thank you for turning the light on this darkness by sharing your experience with us. My opinion and voice is unimportant here, but I want to thank you for being strong, brave, and writing such a brilliant article.
I also want to stand behind you and use my privilege here to support you if I can, so I wrote to a network of faculty I trust at Suffolk who I hope can educate this professor, the students, and administration because you matter too much and the world needs you Tiffany, and Suffolk and all of its entities should be celebrating and lifting you not accusing and shaming.
Thank you.
Jen
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PS. Tiffany, is there any other way I can help?
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I am so tired of waiting.
Aren’t you,
For the world to become good
And beautiful and kind?
Let us take a knife
And cut the world in two —
And see what worms are eating
At the rind.
–Langston Hughes
Tiffany, thank you for your words…I feel and have felt your pain! The struggle continues, you will be stronger for it…because OF it. Academia needs help and I am confident that you will be that help!
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Thank you for the Langston Hughes poem. Perfect in this situation, and in today’s political arena.
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Your blog post should be your ‘rewrite’. These ARE your words.
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I have had this problem before as well in academia because I didn’t fit in the “mold”. I noticed a few teachers during my time in academia would be more critical of my work then other peers and in the beginning I thought I was the one who was wrong so I started to doubt myself. Later on, luckily I also had great and encouraging teachers as well that help me move forward. Racism runs deep and it’s hard to pin point all the time.
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