Academia, Love Me Back

Academia, Love Me Back
in journal, student activists, Uncategorized 1,106 Words

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.

3,813 thoughts on “Academia, Love Me Back”

  2. Can we review the full text or at least the full sentence? You used abbreviations inconsistently, which is awkward but the professor totally missed that suggestion. Best of luck to you, don’t quit.

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  3. Thank you for being transparent and sharing everything you have here. This same looming feeling has overcome me these past few years in grad school. I’ve watched and heard professors tell international students to their faces “I do not know how they let you people in these programs” It is a disgrace that professors disrespect their students in such a way. I hope this is only fuel for you to push towards all your goals because it seems like it is!

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  4. I don’t know what it was like to experience this. My hope is that you have been able either to send the prof a link to this article, or else were maybe even able to respond to them in person at the time.

    I am not into witch hunts etc but I really, really want to see this prof learn from their mistake, at the very least.

    I’m really sorry this happened to you. 😦

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  5. This happened to me because I was dyslexic. My heart hurts for you and I hope there is some resolution. (I ElisaGraybill.com) wrote a paper for my women’s studies prof at Evergreen State College and was told I had plagiarized my paper because the writing and idea’s were very smart but my errors were very basic, therefore it couldn’t be my own work. Even now as a professional writer, I have to have everything proof read for just this reason. When I went to my other faculty for help, he told me he couldn’t help me because she had tenure. The tutoring office told me the best they could suggest was to dumb down my paper. I had to leave the class at the counseling offices suggestion with this woman’s horrible statement about me hanging over my head. Ironically that class was called Search For Justice.

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    1. I know that this situation was painful. People experience bias in many forms. I had a college professor tell me that I should quit school because I had eczema so severely on my hands and had lost my eyesight to it for a time. She said that I would never be able to do anything so I was wasting our time. She said this in front of the entire class. I have experienced similar when gaining weight.

      I have learned that these are not MY problems regardless of how it seems. I have a moment of overcoming their adversity. This is what it is like living among people. Their bias will not stick inside me. This is is my main job. I would call out the Professor, then and there. It is understandable if this is not comfortable. I would definitely report the Professor.

      And then, I would let it go. It doesn’t mean that your “mostly upper class white” college mates nor your other Professors are all against you for your last name. It doesn’t mean that whites and others are not discriminated against (I am white). The fact is that living among people means that we run into people with issues that put them on us – fat, race, handicapped, poor or different class, whatever their ammo. Don’t believe it is all, hold your head up, hold them accountable for what you can and walk on without a trace. This may be the most important lesson any of us will learn.

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      1. Im sure your comment was well meaning but it is not at all helpful. This young woman should not ‘walk on without a trace”. She should fight. These micro aggressions eat away at our core. Its time we start calling people out each time this occurs.

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      2. I think you have lots of good points for the author and I think it sucks that any professor would forget that college is a liminal space for nurturing children into independent adults. I think it’s so important that people get the opportunity to go to college and to live on campus. They get community and the familiar mixed with a safety net on adulthood responsibilities like living alone, paying bills, feeding ourselves. It’s such an amazing time and it’s by choice that we submit to the experience. I am sad that a professor would forget that in the Ivory Tower their job was to nurture your mind and help you craft an amazing, brilliant person to unleash on the world. I’m glad that you gave you fire and that you fight for yourself. Huge lesson in self love if you can take it in. I’m sure working on that one.

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  6. I work at a university and find this appalling. Please notify your campus office for equity, diversity, and inclusion. The professor’s dean may not want the publicity that comes with an investigation and try to sweep it under the rug. A diversity officer will not.

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  8. I believe you. As a white-passing, first-gen Latina college graduate–I’ve seen this happen to my brown peers…I”be seen it, too. And this pisses me off. Seeing that double underline makes me want to punch a man. I want to offer my support in fortifying you as you continue to brilliantly climb into power despite white supremacy. Hit me up if you want some resilincy tools that helped me. I love you! Courtney@therespectinstitute.org

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  9. This is so sad. First I would challenge the department. As them to submit the document to a service that checks for plagiarism. And when they find that they are WRONG, not only should the faculty member apologize to you, the faculty member should be required to undergo counseling/training. While the counseling/training may never change the heart of the person, it would at least provide some challenge to their beliefs.

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  10. Please keep working on your PhD. Stay strong and write write write. I experienced some sexism when I pursued a Chemistry degree in the 80s. Fortunately the sexist profs were outnumbered by the affirming ones. Hang in there.

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  11. I wish I could be there for you in person. I’m a laconic man, but I can see your pain and strength that fills me with a fire to speak out. There are so many people supporting you. People with names you do not know yet. When you bring this issue to the university know that we are all standing behind you.

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  13. “How many degrees do I need for someone to believe I am an academic?”

    -Well, it seems you are an undergrad, so I would start with one…

    “The entire field of academia is broken…”

    -No, that statement is a hyperbole, you’ll learn about identifying those if you ever get the pleasure of taking the GRE’s or MCAT’s. The grain of sand that is the undergrad program at your institution, and in this case apparently a specific course is ‘broken’. That does not include the countless other undergrad institutions you have no experience with, the entire graduate community you have no experience with (yet), the entire medical school community you have no experience with, or the entire post-doc and career community you have no experience with.

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    4. Ugh!!! First of all: Quit deflecting with that “not all academics” whining!

      By demoting her experience- ie, saying she’s “only” an undergrad, despite her obviously enviable CV- you’re adding insult to injury. The whole damn point of the article is that she finds that she constantly has to “prove” herself to people who don’t believe she has the stuff, and here you come saying she should shut up because she “doesn’t yet know” what hyperbole means (and if that isn’t an obvious belittling patriarchal assumption, I don’t know what is).

      So I do congratulate you in further proving the author’s point, that academia needs to collectively pull its head out of its ass.

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    5. And what gives you the qualifications to refute her claim? Do you have multiple degrees from multiple universities from a variety of programs? Probably not. It’s not a specific course that’s broken – this is a societal issue. She explained how this is something minorities have to live through. It’s not just college: it’s how we saw our parents treated, it’s how we were treated growing up, it’s what we’re sure to experience throughout our careers. I work at a renowned high tech company as an engineer, and I still feel I have to overcompensate because the color of my skin. I was raised in the US, but when people hear my name or see my skin they assume English is my second language. Multiple times I’ve been told my English is very good. Well I hope so – it was my first language. Actually I know so, since I scored higher than the average student in the writing section of the GRE. And yet, here I am validating a claim I shouldn’t have to validate. Sadly, this life of refuting assumptions and working past the stereotypes is something I will always have to endure.

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  15. I’m a professor of research methods and I work mainly with students of color pursuing their educational doctorates. This is an example of the deep-seated deficit thinking about Black and Brown people that has been written about at length in K-12 settings but less in higher ed, and it is SO INFURIATING. I add my voice to those above who express their support and send you love and light in the face of your professor’s massive ignorance and deep-seated prejudices.

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  16. Dear Tiffany Martinez, I am infuriated that your intelligence and work ethic was insulted by your professor in this manner.

    This middle-class Anglo white boy, summa cum laude graduate of Georgetown University and recipient of top marks on the UK English Literature GCSE, sayes that he can shove his racist arrogance up his own ass.

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    1. Middle class Anglo white girl, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University with a degree in English and American literature, plus 30 years of experience as a professional editor with major publishing companies such as Simon & Schuster, also says he can shove his racist arrogance up his ass. 🙂

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  17. Pingback: Academia Needs Work (repost) | latinasinstudentaffairs

  18. I’m curious as to why you used a plural gender neutral pronoun, “they,” to refer to one particular professor. Is this a compilation of your experiences or one particular experience?

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    2. ‘They’ is commonly used in the singular and has been since before Shakespeare was writing, but I’m confident you know this and are simply being obtuse.

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    5. Is this another critique of her writing? The answer is simple with a basic knowledge of modern American English: “he/she” and “they” can be used interchangeably in order to make the identity of the individual anonymous, no matter what the old formalist rules may say.

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    6. I would assume it is the singular “they” because she aims to anonymize the professor entirely, not even revealing the gender of the person. It is increasingly common to use “they” that way.

      And Tiffany, you have my support….bias and underlying assumptions are all too often so invisible that many people don’t even realize they exist.

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      1. (Sorry, I didn’t realize this comment had already been made several times (in very different forms). Wordpess commenting system not working too intuitively for me :-))

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      2. I am completely understanding of and respect Tiffany’s decision to use “they” as a pronoun. What I am not ok with is commenters who assume the professor is male, and use that assumption to attack the male gender. That is hypocrisy.

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    7. Hi Joseph, please don’t take offense just FYI the pronoun “they” has been used as a generic single person pronoun in certain circumstances since before either of us were born. Nowadays we may think of it as related to the spectrum of gender issues, but honestly it goes back farther than that.

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  19. This incident sounds highly unlikely. It takes some time to find out plagiarism, and profs have to have strong indications before they even MEET with a student, let alone humiliate some one in front of the class. If you feel you have been singled out because of your race, contact your adviser and the dean of students immediately. That is how to “work” on academia.

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    3. That’s actually not true. Professors are quick to judge and claim plagiarism without any proof whatsoever. Do not try and tell her that her experience sounds “highly unlikely” when you were not there to judge. She is most likely taking those steps already, but it is important to share stories like this to bring awareness of the discrimination we face daily. People like you are part of the problem

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    4. As a former assistant to a professor, I can say this absolutely IS likely. They make plenty of assumptions about who might be plagiarizing and I was asked often to see if I could find evidence to prove it. I also would never doubt that a professor would somehow be above embarrassing someone in class.

      Of course the author should report her professor’s behavior, and we all (right alongside her in solidarity) SHOULD expect more from academia. It fails all of us when it so blatantly fails one of us.

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  21. Your article touched a part of me and i wept. I am not in academia and have never experienced the type of prejudice you write about. I have lived with people who consider me equal to them in capability and other areas. How dare he? I am so upset!
    There have been some recommendations to report this to the university authorities. You deserve an apology from the professor. More than that, you deserve to be treated with respect and assessed fairly at all times.

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  22. We can’t wait to welcome you as a professor and graduate student in the Academy. You slay, lil Sis. Go get that degree so you can affirm all the students like us who are out there. I went to Berkeley Ethnic Studies for my PhD to sidestep this insanity. Want feedback on your statement of purpose? Contact me.

    Gabrielle Foreman, Ned B. Allen Professor of English, History and Black Studies. University of Delaware

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  23. Do NOT let this get you down. This essay is beautifully written and it conveys perfectly the pain and self-doubt you have had. This professor had no right to single you out in this way. It is a serious charge and could’ve been easily checked privately if he weren’t determined to cut you down publicly. I look forward to hearing a LOT more from you. Best of luck in all you do. Keep. Going.

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  25. Thank you for writing this–I am also sad that many of the above people trying to be allies needed to include “I have trouble believing this” and the like…experiences like yours are unfortunately all too common for “Other” students (of color, disabled, LGBT, women etc). I am so sorry for your pain and I am infuriated such racist idiots continue to abuse those for whom they have only clichéd beliefs. Please please report this jerk to the department chair, dean, President, and board of trustees. Send your eloquent blog post to your student newspaper. Most of all–thank you for your courage and hang in there. Best. Susan

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  26. What an incredible situation, but I agree with you wholeheartedly—academia needs work! I wish I could reach over the internet and give you a hug! You nail that bastard to an academic cross and make him pay dearly for his assumption. I am incensed by this unwarranted attack against your character. You claim that word! Put it on a white t-shirt with bold brown lettering underlined twice in blue. Wear it everyday to his class. Viva la raza!

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      1. Why are you stating this on every comment rather than focusing on the actual issue at hand? Considering only about 22% of professors are female, it is much more likely that the Prof. in question is male. Stop making this asinine comment over and over again.

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  27. Tiffany,

    I am a proffesor of English and Creative Writing. I am Cuban-American. And I am angry (VERY) and disappointed (VERY) to hear this story. Not sure where you are in this journey–whether you’ve spoken with/written to the professor or the chair of their department yet, but I wanted to say that if you haven’t, I encourage you to. If there’s any way I can help–if you’d like a second eye on a draft of an email, for example, or simply someone else in academia (and, yes, you ARE an academic) to chat with, please feel free to give a shout. I am floored by your willingness and courage to speak out about this. You are changing the world. Thank you.

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  28. Pingback: Academia, Love Me Back – Tayé Foster Bradshaw Group®

  30. At my university we have a program called TurnItIn that scans our paper and compares it to see if it matches any documents on the Internet anywhere. You might want to find a program similar that can validate your paper to your dean who can then back you up against your professor. Best of luck!

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    1. ALL universities have a program of this sort. So, the professor is OBVIOUSLY lazy and narrow minded, but too lazy to run it through the program OR ran it and it didn’t show up so he is still determined to move forward with incorrect assumptions.

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    2. I would be happy to run it through Turnitin for you if you don’t have access to this software. (Professor here, joining the chorus to say we aren’t all this way. Though the system is seriously flawed there is hope.)

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  32. Please report that professor to the dean or whoever handles those affairs at your school! That is blatant racism that should not be tolerated at any school!

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  33. I would go speak to the head of the department for which this professor works for. And if this one is the head go above his/her head.

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  34. I refuse to believe a Suffolk academic (or any other educated person) is capable of something like this. Only the most misguided, ignorant and disgusting humans would dare to call themselves professional educators and treat a student like this.

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  35. Thank you for taking the time to write this out. I wish I could say that the non-academic world was any different, but it’s not. The same prejudices, the same sexism, the same racism, all of it is even more prevalent than in academia–and uglier. Please continue your fight. You might even rephrase your article and present it to the offending professor as a personal note.

    Please don’t let this nasty setback do more than drive you forward in your career. Please use it as an impetus to drove you into positions where you may be able to fight back.

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  36. So sorry that you had to experience this. At the same time, it had to Be you. I grew up in a very bad neighborhood, however I too use words like hence, therefore, etc. in day to day conversations. oftentimes I’m misunderstood but its just the way I think and speak. Thank you for sharing your story and I will be sure to share throughout my network.

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  37. Reblogged this on Rise Like Air and commented:
    An eloquent blog that really needed to be written. This type of attitude has no place in our world let alone in academia. It is time we all stand up and make difference, challenge our perceptions and others and treat people with the respect, dignity that we all deserve. Small minded assumptions end up hurting everyone unless we use them as a catalyst for positive change. Do not let others determine your worth, stand tall and be all you can be. Be who and what you want to be.

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  38. Tiffany, I am having trouble believing this. There is software out there that teachers scan your work into to check for plagerizm. They even do this in high school. Why would a teacher accuse you like this? Have you gone to the dean of the department or are you just looking to get a rise out of people and stir up trouble? I can write a paper too, take red ink and circle mistakes and write comments and then go on a blog and complain about being discriminated against. Your story doesn’t jive with me. I’d have the person fired by now.

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    3. Wow, how ironic that you play out the very same bias discusssed in the article. What basis do you have for this disbelief other than the fact that Tiffany is a woman of color? None. Plenty of professors don’t consistantly use the technology you are talking about – I should know, I actually taught at university. And frankly its common knowledge that a lot of professors don’t use said software. So… please stop doubling down with the white supremacy.

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    4. You are clearly ignorant to this type of experience which is very common. This is an overt case of something that happens in some form or another constantly to people who look a certain way. But the fact that you immediately choose to dismiss it has fake shows where you’re coming from.

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    5. Why would she bother to do that? I find it easier to believe that the teacher is a jerk than that she would go through all the trouble to write fake comments on a paper. I agree that she should complain, but it’s also hard for students to stand up against professors who have control over their grades and who have strong relationships with their school. If some random person on the internet doesn’t believe her, isn’t it possible that the dean wouldn’t either?

      Also it’s spelled plagiarism…

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    6. Salibra,
      Thank you for the quintessential ‘victim – blaming’. Your demeanor has essentially validated every word she has said.

      PS – YOU misspelled “plagiarism”. You should use some of that highly touted software. In this case, I believe we call it ‘spell check’.

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    7. Sad, don’t know your background, but you have obviously never experienced discrimation on any level to openly question & accuse this young lady. “Why would a teacher accuse you like this?”….There are far to many discriminatory acts that take place in the world to find this account outlandish & unbelievable.

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    8. That’s so rude. Why are you implying she is a liar? There are still plenty of professors who don’t use modern programs and prefer ‘old school’ methods. I know one who still puts the reading list on the notice board and refuses to send it out electronically. It’s people like you that is the reason the author still have to fight, because you immediately presume she is lying rather than yes lecturers can be awful human beings. Shame on you

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    12. Saibra, I’d recommend that you use any of a number of electronic tools and check the correct spelling of the word “plagerizm.” (Hint: it’s plagiarism.”)

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    13. When I was in college, I took a Spanish class and, on a test, I was asked an opinion question. It said my opinion was not being graded, just the Spanish. When I got my test back, she had written “The Spanish is correct, but I disagree” and I was given no credit for the response. You know who I could have gone to about it? No one. She was the head of the department. This kind of behavior had happened all semester, beginning after add/drop, and all we could do was take our lumps.

      I can’t judge the OP’s instance as discrimination because student writers often lose their voices while attempting to sound academic. I have taught writing classes and I have called kids out on this, albeit not publicly. But, as I was not in the room, I am also not going to say it was NOT discrimination, just that I don’t have enough information.

      What I can say is that this is likely a very true story. Teachers do these things all the time. It’s not right, it’s just fact. A fact that needs to change. And students often have very little recourse. Heck, parents of K-12 kids have little recourse! If you are not actually stuck, you sure as heck feel like you are.

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    14. 1) Simply because the software exists does not mean the professor used it, or even required use of it. I haven’t had to use it in an academic setting beyond Community College and I’m currently finishing a Master’s program.

      2) This incident only happened yesterday, by the date of the blog post. Even if she has initiated due process against this professor, it can take up to an entire semester to resolve, so she couldn’t possibly have the results yet

      3) The purpose of a journal-type blog such as this one is to express sentiment, emotion, and opinion felt during one’s personal experiences. If you’re looking for empirical evidence, you are in the wrong place.

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  39. Dear Tiffany, thanks for writing this. I had that happen in high school and at the University of Iowa—oddly, not at the University of Chicago—told both times the writing was too good to be mine. The blind arrogance. But it didn’t happen publicly to me, and that’s a whole world worse. It’s so clear you are a fine, thoughtful, persuasive writer. In academia or out of it, you’ll make your mark. Bravo to you for fighting back, and just in general! Bravo to you. Stay strong.

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  41. Pingback: Academia, Love Me Back | Dour Mouse

  43. I can only echo what others have said here. The professor’s behavior was deplorable, especially the public shaming aspect of it, but I hope that you will persevere in spite of it. Your work was obviously impressive, otherwise the professor would not have needed to work so hard to discredit it. Take it as a badge of honor and keep going. Find the spaces in the Academy that nurture you, that appreciate you, that welcome you. They are there. There may be a support group, based on academic interests or background, that can put some salve on the wounds you endure in the wider Academy. Seek them out, they will revitalize you. Thank you for sharing so others can see and learn they are not alone.

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  45. The dissonance in voice between the exclamation point and ‘hence’ is jarring. One could justifiable infer that she, who uses wildly inappropriate punctuation in a formal piece, found her ‘”hence” in a thesaurus or one of her sources.
    It was wringto call it plagiarism without running it through Google…
    Commenting on the discord of her word choices and other tactical missteps would have been more appropriate.

    Although I can empathize with Tiffany’s struggle, a “safe” space in the classroom for students from poor or minority backgrounds is completely separate from a student clearly in need of remedial language support. Her writing is full of emotion and spirit, but the syntax and grammatical failings make even this article painful to read. Being poor or Latin doesn’t excuse bad writing.

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    1. You’ve also missed that he wrote at the top refers to ‘cut and paste’. I think you’re giving too much benefit of the doubt to the professor and reading to much into a punctuation point in a very small snippet of her paper. To assume bad writing based on one punctuation excess is a bit much.

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    3. “wrong to,” not wringto. Your quotation marks surrounding hence are not correct. Latina, not Latin. For such a tough comment, your copy is not great, either.

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      1. Also: justifiably. the clause between ‘she’ and ‘found’
        Also — we don’t run texts through Google afaik but rather TurnItIn and the like
        Also — sentence subjects would be better as familiar noun phrases than long clauses (e.g., “Commenting on the discord of her word choices and other tactical missteps”)

        But what’s wrong with the quotation marks around ‘hence’ in his comment?

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    5. As you are making a commentary based on the last two words and punctuation mark of the previous sentence and the transitional word at the beginning of the next sentence — with no further context — your qualifications for judging the appropriateness of any of her word or grammatical choices.
      It seems you are a person who takes a small piece over information and overgeneralizes into a broad judgment. As a person who, I assure you, has more education (and higher quality) than you, and b/c I’m sure it matters to you, a white person, hear me when I say that I see no problem, given the online journal context, with Tiffany’s grammar. Yours, on the other hand, is ironically glaring with confusing syntax, incomplete thoughts, typos, and a clear desire to sound smarter that you are.
      Two final points:
      1) She never asked for a “safe” space, so please check your emotional baggage about that issue.
      2) $10 says you are either a Trump supporter or at least a conservative Republican.

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    6. Full of “emotion and spirit”? What stereotypical way to describe a Latinx person and something they produced, and based off of almost no data. This is not a student who needs remidial language support. I taught english at the undergraduate level, there is no evidence of that level of need in this snippet, let alone in the blog itself. And wow, quit pretending this post is about her trying to “excuse bad writing”. You have some remedial bias issues you need to look into.

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    8. Your logic is flawed here. To say that it poorly written as a defense is to say that the professor thought she plagiarized something poorly written. And who plagiarized something that is poorly written? Also, what professor would notice something poorly written as plagiarism? I think it credits here writing skills to say that she plagiarized. But your logic is quite flawed here.

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    9. You’re attempt at trying to come across as a good writer by awkwardly inserting certain words throughout your bitchy comment gives you away as a douchey troll

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    11. She’s hardly in need of ‘remedial language support’. If there are any language issues in her paper, they can be handled in comments written on the paper and not addressed in front of her class. Even then, this is an undergraduate work, not someone writing an essay for a PhD class or a grad proseminar, so it is the professor’s job to help guide to more academic or professional writing, not to just shout ‘wrong’ and mark off points or, worse, accuse and humiliate a student.

      No matter what you think of the writing, this teacher is 100% in the wrong.

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    12. Look through your own comment, and you might be surprised to find one or two errors. You clearly are prone to jumping to conclusions, hence your jarring non-point about an exclamation point being unable to precede the word “hence”. Pray tell, what is the standard number of spaces to be observed before this hallowed word can be deployed after using an exclamation point? As for “wringto”, perhaps you could save a space for Tiffany on that “remedial language support” class of yours?

      Your comment is in bad taste and ignores the very real point made by Tiffany – her work was denigrated because the Professor assumed it couldn’t be hers. Your judgement of what constitutes “good writing” (someone should trap and fossilize that particular animal for proper study) is quite dodgy if you genuinely think that this article has “syntax and grammatical failings” that make it “painful to read”. If it caused you pain, you might need to look elsewhere for the source.

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    13. The professor was not right to assume plagiarism. Period. Even if we grant your (largely unsubstantiated) claim of emotional discordance, that discordance would not have been interpreted as plagiarism had the professor recognized that the writer is clearly competent and engaged. If the same words and punctuation had been used by a Jane Smith, at most, it would’ve received a comment on punctuation choice. Instead, she was discriminated against, plainly and clearly. I’m not sure what you were trying to contribute by “playing Devil’s advocate,” but I don’t think it justifies further insulting her. Separately, I’m not sure what you mean by “grammar” if you think this piece had problems with it. I’m a PhD candidate in Linguistics with a focus on psychometrics and ESL, and I can say with confidence that this piece is far more in accordance with the norms of academic writing than most undergraduate work. My only qualm is the word “vitality,” which, for me, doesn’t convey importance so much as liveliness. I would suggest looking for a different way of engaging with an author instead of falling into condescending apologetics for racist behavior.

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    14. In your attempt to further discredit the author of this article, you have demonstrated the precise point that she has tried to make: She has been held to an unfair standard. While you have rebuffed or criticized her writing ability, and implied that she needs remedial help, your posting is riddled with errors.

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    15. If her professor had given the feedback that you suggest, there would not be an issue. It would be up to the student to learn from the feedback and improve her writing. Instead, the professor challenged the student’s integrity, in front of her peers, based on her use of specific words. College is a place for students to learn, and a place to hone their skills. I doubt this is the only paper that the professor received that had grammatical issues. Students have deficiencies. That is why they go to school. Those deficiencies are not acceptable reasons to dismiss concerns about bias. The student knows that she did not cheat. Her frustration is understandable, and she has the right to question her professor’s assumptions.

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      1. To be clear, I don’t agree with the assertion that this is bad writing. My point is that it doesn’t matter. Also, in my experience as a woman of color, it is easy to feel that you have to be perfect to have a valid argument that warrants attention from others. Comments like the one made about the quality of the writing just reinforce that notion. I hope this situation is rectified in a way that restores Tiffany’s dignity. She deserves that.

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    16. Intentionally or not, your comment only reinforces the author’s primary point. The exclamation point may well have been inappropriate for the “literature review” she submitted. I am forced to concede, as it is a matter of taste, that you found the use of the word “hence” to begin the sentence following the exclamation point “jarring.” However, her professor said neither of those things. The comment on the paper was “this is not your word.” To suggest that the professor’s comment was directed at the exclamation point, or to the stylistic choice to use the word “hence” in that place, ignores the plain meaning of the professor’s comment. I agree with you that “being Latin does not excuse bad writing.” But the professor did not address the author’s writing, bad or not, in any way. Instead, the professor denied that the writing was the author’s at all.

      I would point out that finding a new word in a thesaurus and using it, without citing the thesaurus, is not plagiarism. One of the most offensive aspects of the professor’s comment, to me, is the implication that the author needs some kind of permission to expand her vocabulary.

      Also, if we are going to snipe at each other for grammar and syntax:
      Your second sentence should read “One could *justifiably* infer…” and omit the apostrophe preceding “hence”.
      Your third sentence should read “It was *wrong to* call it plagiarism…”

      Finally, on a stylistic note, I found the author’s writing no more or less painful than your own, or mine.

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  46. You need to take this matter to the President of your university. The attitudes and behaviors of your professor are completely unacceptable, and this professor should not be teaching.

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  47. I am so sorry you experienced this, and thank you for delaying your English paper to write this and for your bravery in sharing it.

    To add to what others have said: your professor was not only lazy and racist/sexist/classist, they were completely out of line to accuse you of this publicly, in front of your classmates. It’s a FERPA violation, for which they should be disciplined. Even if you had plagiarized, the professor’s actions would have merited a reprimand.

    I know you probably cannot pursue this formally without burning necessary bridges, but please report it to your department chair or DGS.

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  48. Students are the best teachers. I hope your professor is willing to learn from you, but it shouldn’t be your job to teach them. I am seething, angry, upset at what happened to you. I hear you, and see you.

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  49. Tiffany, I’m also a college professor, and you are indeed correct that “academia needs work,” for so many reasons. I find it appalling that your professor accused you of plagiarism without any proof, and also did so in front of your classmates.

    I will circulate your post among my friends and colleagues in the hopes of reaching those who need it.

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  50. I am assuming that by the time you read my response, you are already heartened by the outpouring of support for you. More importantly, you have demonstrated in the real world the power of your words. Henceforth, no one will be bold or stupid enough to challenge your right to use any word in the dictionary as you see fit. I’m pretty sure you not only got the connecting word, you also get the last word.

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