Josh & Cathy's family photos, reposted

Pointless Graduate Degrees

I applied to grad school because I think learning is fun, and the prospect of being paid to learn and teach seemed too good to be true! (spoiler alert: it was) Obviously you saw my post from last quarter, about the general elitism exhibited in class. This quarter is no different, with constant posturing and condescension at every turn.

At first, I was tolerating it. After all, students are rewarded for showing off, so could I really blame them? But now it's become personal. I questioned Marx's position as a hero of humanity, and the next day was given a comic book called "Marx for Beginners," forced to sit with it in front of me the entire class to ensure that I knew that my classmates thought I was a "beginner." That move honestly shocked me with its bitchiness, but I tried to laugh it off. If people have to insult me rather than engaging in productive discourse, that's their problem.

Over the weekend, I was publicly humiliated on the listserv that is sent to everyone in our department. A conversation began about the way certain voices are silenced or ignored (note: for once I did not start this conversation!), and I chimed in that I felt the same way. Within minutes, I got a response offering to help me with my academic struggles. This is ironic, because I hadn't mentioned anything about academic difficulties. Now the entire department thinks that grad school is too hard for me, and that's why I'm complaining. As I attempted to defend myself, the mocking became more vicious and personal, leading to a classmate forwarding this blog to the entire listserv. I later found out that she had posted a link to the blog on her Facebook last month, and a lecturer in the department (who has never met me) took a stab at me as well. Dehumanizing and downright offensive language was thrown around, and I have decided that I'm at the end of the road in this program. If no one will even listen to me anymore, what's the point of banging my head against the wall?

This is what your tax dollars are funding, my friends. Snarky comments intended to make others feel less intelligent, vicious listserv battles, and stroking their own egos. If anyone dares to question a grad student's intellectual superiority, they will be publicly mocked until they cease and desist. This is an educational environment - unless of course, you disagree with someone who feels they are infallible! Then it's a grade school playground.

I hope not all graduate programs are like this, but there are clearly enough people who think that this is acceptable behavior. To those of my friends who do not have college degrees, please don't think that a master's degree automatically makes someone smarter than you. Perhaps they are a thoughtful and intelligent academic, but it is equally likely that they belittled and silenced anyone who got in the way of that diploma. A large vocabulary and haughty tone do not make a good argument, so don't put up with shit from anyone just because they think they're better than you.

I'm disabling anonymous comments on this blog, by the way, because people who leave threatening comments on others' blogs should at least not be so cowardly as to hide their identities. I had assumed graduate students had better things to do than stalk their enemies on the Internet. But...I am naïve!