11 ms·

Academia, Love Me Back

• otoburb 10y ago
  It somehow feels that we are missing the other side of this emotionally charged post. I just used the word "hence" in a previous HN comment, but realize that I rarely use this word in verbal conversation. However, this doesn't excuse the alleged behaviour of the professor in the article. When making a plagiarism accusation, is it common to call this out openly without attempting to address 1-1 first in academic settings?
  • lucozade 10y ago
    Indeed. She seems to be jumping to the conclusion that her prof thought she would not use that word. When I first read it I assumed he meant that someone else had written that sentence that way before. If she is right then what he did was heinous. If I'm right then what she did was pretty bad too.
    • danharaj 10y ago
      > 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. How are you possibly interpreting this passage as not an accusation of plagiarism?
  • CJefferson 10y ago
    I've never heard of such a thing, but perhaps that's because I am in a UK university. We have a formal procedure for dealing with such things, which certainly doesn't involve public humiliation. It also provides students the chance to defend themselves, which is obviously missing here.
    • justin66 10y ago
      There's a formal process at this girl's school as well, I'm sure.
  • apathy 10y ago
    Is it common to accuse a student of plagiarism without, oh, I don't know, actual evidence? You know, like the fruits of searching Google for five seconds to try and locate "the offending phrase"? What kind of a fucking fossil can't be bothered to at least substantiate their bigotry instead of ranting themselves out of a job? (And no, tenure doesn't cover obvious failure to abide by university policies. Of course it could just as well have been some adjunct making $8/hour) "Hey there, you with the beaner name. I have absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing on your part, so go fetch me some" What a twit. I'm not a particularly nice person and have no problem failing students who won't put in the work, but this is beyond the pale.
• IsaacL 10y ago
  We (as outsider observers) lack the evidence to judge this story objectively. It sucks to be unfairly accused of plagiarism (it happened to me once in high school). However, we don't know why the professor came to the conclusion that she plagiarised. Maybe they jumped to conclusions on limited evidence, or maybe this paper was written with vocabulary and sentence structure which was inconsistent with the student's earlier work. Either way, it's incredibly unlikely that an academic professor of sociology would be a closet racist. tl;dr It's unfair to be accused of plagiarism for submitting a paper which sounds "too intelligent", but it's also unfair to be accused of racism for attempting to enforce academic standards. Unfortunately, this a story which is going to press the internet's hot buttons.
  • ASpring 10y ago
    > Either way, it's incredibly unlikely that an academic professor of sociology would be a closet racist. Just as unlikely as a priest being a pedophile.
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  • danharaj 10y ago
    > Either way, it's incredibly unlikely that an academic professor of sociology would be a closet racist. Your priors are naive. To be honest.
  • jseliger 10y ago
    it's incredibly unlikely that an academic professor of sociology would be a closet racist. That's probably true in the sense of using racial slurs or joining the KKK or something like that, but IME of academia in grad school as an adjunct, lots of people are paternalistic or condescending—often without quite realizing that they are (which would be consistent with the original article). Efforts to be culturally sensitive can also backfire in incredible, spectacular ways (for example: https://jakeseliger.com/2014/12/22/how-do-you-know-when-youre-being-insensitive-how-do-you-know-when-youre-funny/ https://jakeseliger.com/2014/12/22/how-do-you-know-when-your...).
• learned 10y ago
  This is a truly well-written piece, and it accomplished everything it set out to describe without a diatribe or personal attack on the anonymous professor. Considering how viciously accusations and personal vendettas can be carried out online, I think it's a great mark of character that she refrained from such tactics and explained the injustice she felt in a levelheaded way.
• CJefferson 10y ago
  This is crazy. If the story is true as written, the academic in question needs to be fired. I would expect nothing less at my own University. I find the story hard to believe only because it is so terrible -- and that an academic would be stupid enough to accuse a student of plagiarism without concrete evidence (in particular, the text from which they plagiarised). However, even if the academic in question had such evidence, they still should give the student the chance to defend themselves.
  • rocqua 10y ago
    There is a lot I feel like I can get done at my university. Outrage will do a lot. That said, I know of a few professors that could get away with this shit. There are always a few professors that are thoroughly entrenched.
• lisper 10y ago
  Wow. Just, wow. "This is not your word"??? Even when I stretch my charitable suspension of disbelief to its absolute limit I cannot come up with any interpretation of that phrase that is even remotely defensible.
  • ht_th 10y ago
    Well, if taken out of context supplied by the author of the article, "This is not your word" could be interpreted as an observation that there is a phrase that does not fit the style of writing of the piece as a whole. That would make it constructive criticism.
• rhapsodic 10y ago
  It looks like the professor pulled a jerk move, jumping to conclusions based on scant evidence. Yet the writer seems to conclude that happened because of her ethnicity, without offering any evidence to support that. Maybe the professor is just a presumptuous jerk who pulls that with students regardless of their race, sex or ethnicity. I'm not saying that's the case, because I have no evidence either way.
  • rflrob 10y ago
    Maybe the professor pulls that stuff on people without conscious regard to gender, socioeconomic status, or ethnicity, but in the context of longstanding explicit and implicit discrimination, I'm not inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt that all of his students are equally likely to get called out. Ask your brown friends if they've ever been pulled out for a "random" screening by the TSA.
• revelation 10y ago
  That sounds too much like l'esprit d'escalier. We all encounter jerks and most often there is not much more behind it than that some people are jerks.
• M_Grey 10y ago
  Never trust just one side of a story. Never.
• CalChris 10y ago
  I side with the student. This is beyond a jerk move. To be clear, the beyond a jerk move part is doing this in front of the class with such flimsy evidence. I have see this before. It happened to a black woman friend. In this case the professor's flimsy evidence was a shift in tone which happens in editing all the time. That said, hence is an adverb and not a conjunction. Hence there is no comma after hence. BTW, this punctuation mistake argues strongly against plagiarism.
  • hooloovoo_zoo 10y ago
    This is not a uniformly accepted rule. Commas are common after adverbs such as therefore, nevertheless, and hence. There is no mistake here.
    • deleted 10y ago
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    • CalChris 10y ago
      You might be right. She may have used hence in the conjunctive adverb sense. Having looked it up a bit, it still goes both ways. The argument against the comma is that if hence is a transitional word then you would omit the comma. If you feel the need for a pause then you would insert it. So it's a fielder's choice and not a mistake.
• gravypod 10y ago
  I've had professors do this to me. I don't understand what's wrong with this. This is a common thing I even do when grading programming assignments. When I notice a stylistic choice that is outside of the norm for the students I can usually tell exactly who the work came from. Every semester I catch at least one group of cheaters (This semester I caught two!) and they admit to it after I confront them with it. "Hence" is fairly common in modern English, but is it common in the writings of this student? One such example of this is that one of my students used a "while not in" loop which they had never done before. I looked at it puzzled for a second and then went "wait a minute, one of my other students used this in every lab since we introduced the while statement". I pull up the code, compare it, and BAM! I've got a match. Just because something is possible/correct in a language and that the person wiring the piece has every bit of ability to use the complex structure at had it doesn't mean they would normally do so. Sure it's not accurate, and sure you may not be right with every call (hasn't happened to me yet but other TAs have called people out and have turned out to be wrong), but it's something that I'd call a "clue" that something is different. Either the student put more time into the work and found a better/alternate way of approaching the problem, the student asked a friend to help with describing the structure (or in this case what wording to use), or in the only case that presents malice: they copied it. The only way you can find out is by going to the student and confidently saying something to the effect of "I know you've engaged in some questionalbe academic behavior, this is your time to explain yourself before I contact my boss and have them run a more though investigation". Cheaters usually crack instantly. (pro-tip for anyone on the outside who is cheating: just lie to us, we're probably not going to follow up unless it's extremely obvious if you've got a 1/4 way decent explanation). I see nothing wrong with this. Just talk to the professors boss and they'll sort it out. This is especially true for cases where you actually did write the work. Also, I highly doubt anyone questions the intellect of the writer. They are obviously a gifted person.
  • CalChris 10y ago
    What you did makes sense. This is the standard two tier laboratory testing process. The first screening test is cheap with some false positives. The second confirmation test is more troublesome but more accurate. The professor did the first and evidently only the first.
• thaw13579 10y ago
  I think academia has a big problem related to diversity and what the author described was deplorable behavior by the professor, but that said, I don't think this specific example can be fairly used to generalize. Every academic institute I've interacted with takes accusations of plagiarism seriously, requiring formal procedures and evidence, and possibly expulsion. Maybe things are different elsewhere, but I wouldn't attribute this awful treatment to academia as a whole.
• stirner 10y ago
  I am amazed that a professor would be so surprised by a student using the word "hence". Most professors I've had would probably have taken off points for using it over a simpler alternative like "therefore" or just a different sentence structure that incorporated the two sentences without needing an adverb to tie them together.
  • tnecniv 10y ago
    In every humanities class I've taken, the professor wouldn't grade us based on word choice nitpicking.
• todd8 10y ago
  I've always been, and to this day continue to be, a poor speller. Hence my prepared writing is always a bit more erudite than my casual spoken communication or even my in class exam answers. I simply don't trust that I'm spelling a word like "erudite" properly without the help of spell-check. Is it really so odd that someone would use a phrase in academic writing unusual in their other forms of discourse? Its a terrible thing to be falsely accused. Especially so when it is by a person in authority and in front of others and when the accuser has the power to issue a grade. I hope that this article helps professors deal more sensitively with their concerns over plagiarism in the internet age.
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• return0 10y ago
  Yes, let's all jump on our white horses and scream racism.
• simeonf 10y ago
  Interestingly this happened to me and to my younger brother. There was no racial component to it although we do belong to a religious minority, come from low-income backgrounds and were homeschooled. I personally felt some prejudice at various times on account of these characteristics. In my case I was a 16 year old high school dropout taking a history class at a Junior College. My prof had a lengthy conversation basically trying to get me to admit my parents wrote an essay for me and eventually gave up, although clearly unconvinced. In my brothers case a few years later (different college, different prof) I believe he was given a zero on a test and had to file a grievance to be able to redo the work or retake the test. This is circa 2000 so my memory is a bit fuzzy. In both our cases there was no evidence - just the perceived mismatch between our presentation and ability prompted the accusations. (We were bookworms and in a family of bookworms despite being poor and lower class.) My only comment and the only relevance to the linked story is I remember how OUTRAGED I felt at the accusation. It wasn't even the accusation of cheating - that I would be dishonest. It was the condescension, the implied "obviously you are not good enough to have produced this" attitude that hurt the most. In my case the professor was obviously trying to give me a break and be friendly but I remember how hurt I was and in my brother's case... I don't think he would ever speak to the prof again. Being judged incapable of producing your own work BURNS.
  • tome 10y ago
    > My prof had a lengthy conversation basically trying to get me to admit my parents wrote an essay for me and eventually gave up, although clearly unconvinced. Couldn't she have spent the time talking to you about history and confirming your analytical and literacy skills were up to the required standard?
  • Eridrus 10y ago
    I had the same experience in high school, I assume it was because I thought English as it was taught was total garbage, so I obviously didn't show any interest in class. Was really weird being accused of plagiarism for something I knew I wrote. I mostly didn't care enough to contest it though.
  • danieltillett 10y ago
    >Being judged incapable of producing your own work BURNS. Or you could take it as that you are so much better than your class mates that your work stands out as being exceptional. This is a huge complement. I used to be a professor and I can tell you plagiarism is rampant. When a student hands in a work that is far above their peers you are suspicious. I would never accuse a student of cheating without evidence, but I have asked many about their work to ascertain if they had actually produced the work themselves. In every case where I was suspicious (around 20), the person did not have the slightest clue about what they had supposedly written. Professors are cynical for a reason.
• apathy 10y ago
  First rule: Institutions can never love you back. http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/5/9/2281 http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/5/9/2281 Simone's Maxims are possibly the best piece of career advice anyone ever gave me. At least she's learning this early in the game. She's clever and tough and will either go far or be smart enough to make much more money at a real job. Her prof? Not so much.
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  • Gatsky 10y ago
    That's a great link, thank you!
    • apathy 10y ago
      Everyone in academia should internalize it
    • apathy 10y ago
      Please share it with everyone who might benefit. Be the change you want to see in the world ;-) (Ha ha only serious. Being an idealist made me cynical. Then it brought me back again. In the end we only have each other, those who we live and love and work with, in this world. It may as well be the best world we can make it.)
• bobthechef 10y ago
  Her post is largely vacuous and superficial. Why? Because it doesn't really provide any evidence that would help the reader understand what really happened. Most of it consists of descriptions of her feelings, uncorroborated accusations, tired ideological slogans, a pervasive self-pity, and the presumption of racism. Add to that the other interesting bits in the article such as how she demands to be recognized as an "academic" even though she isn't even a graduate student. What delusion! The topic of the essay also suggests she's been indoctrinated with the ideology of resentment, one that recently has taken on a frightening degree of irrationality on college campuses in the US. Many of these people require psychological help and should not be roaming around college campuses where they quickly find convenient scapegoats for their issues and rationalize their choices. Also, it's not like she's going against the grain here. Academia, especially where the humanities are concerned, is overwhelmingly leftist in this country. An accusation of racism in one of these departments is socially damning. If she were a conservative Catholic arguing in defense of sexual morality during a gender studies class at one of our glorified ivy league universities or women's colleges, then I'd say she's got courage. However, this is not the case. Her choice of language indicates that she is riding briskly and blandly on the profitable coattails of the oppression gravy train. Whether it is calculated or merely the result of intellectual error upon intellectual error is another matter altogether. Bottom line: these shows of support she's receiving are not only inappropriate, but presumptuous. This idea that we must believe what people say on their own authority, or based on their feelings (constrained by the prevailing ethos, of course), with no evidence is a worrying trend in left-leaning humanities departments. I've come across jerk teachers myself. I have been suspected of plagiarism when my essays exceeded the average length for the class. I've had arrogant teachers presume things in ways that defy common sense. Just because some teacher is an ass (and for the purposes of this post I'll grant her that much) doesn't mean there's any reason to invoke all of that baggage. Victimization ideology is a pathological condition that's being propagated by leftist academics that does severe harm to those concerned. It's used for political gain in the Alinsky style and has the effect of entrenching poverty and cultural pathologies. Sure, upper middle class white (or occasionally black, etc) academics can generate this vile substance with no effect on them, but it does have a real affect on those whom it concerns.
  • vladsotirov 10y ago
• jimhefferon 10y ago
  What an admirable post!
• tigroferoce 10y ago
  This is ridiculous. I'm not at all a native speaker, but after a few years in academia, I learnt to use "hence," in that exact same way
• tigroferoce 10y ago
  This is ridiculous. I'm not at all a native speaker, but after a few years in academia, I learnt to use "hence," in that exact same way
• albertgao 10y ago
  I just saw an interesting attitude when a people encountered a tough-time. They didn't fight, instead, they accused, they accused every people dared to question them, accused them as racist, as mean, as not polite, as any possibility they could think of. Come on, this is how the society goes and this is happens every time. And if you tends to have this kind of mindset. Every time you face a challenge, you accuse someone else. To be honest, you are just a lamentable loser. Life is hard and everyone will face their low tide, fight back, not only accusing.
• albertgao 10y ago
  And I remembered, when I was a freshman, in my Chinese writing class, my teacher insulted me in front of the class like this, "good novel, but never copy and paste", why? because he thought this kind of writing style can't be accomplished by a freshman. I just simply answered, "Thanks. But I never plagiarize" The teacher shocked for few seconds, then he apologize and said "I will recommend to the publication". And my classmates all can't wait to see my novel since the curiosity of human being. If I just accused them without fighting back, things will went to another direction undoubtedly.
• achievingApathy 10y ago
  Maybe he just couldn't get over someone using an exclamation point in a paper. From Strunk & White: "Exclamations. Do not attempt to emphasize simple statements by using a mark of exclamation. The exclamation mark is to be reserved for use after true exclamations or commands."
  • GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
    Strunk&White is full of bad advice tho.
• billy8988 10y ago
  It is comforting to know. the world is same! As a student from a government run poorest rural village school in India, my college professors constantly questioned how I was outperforming and even suggested that I might be using the bribery system to get good grades in standardized final exams. TBH, I actually enjoyed that experience.
• Sideloader 10y ago
  She doesn't say what happened after she got the paper back but going by what she wrote there is no evidence that the prof singled her out because of her ethnicity. If he or she just handed her the paper back with that scrawled on it that's a dick move, absolutely, but she's reading a lot into "those aren't your words" and doesn't provide any information that backs up her claim her prof is racist. I checked out her blog and the comment section is full of posters piling on the prof for being "racist".bHow do they know this? Became a stranger on the internet says so? The mob mentality that self-righteous liberals exhibit doesn't help them much in the credibility and integrity department. I
  • Sideloader 10y ago
    Whoops...please pardon the typos and stray letters