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Upsetting situation at school

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04:34 / 01.03.07

Please help me think this through. I was killing time before class by wandering through the math department looking at the cartoons and notices that the instructors have posted in their office windows. Most of these are of the 'pumpkin pi' variety. One, however, upset me so badly that I spent the next several hours in class barely able to concentrate on the lecture. Please bear in mind that I attend a community college in Los Angeles, and given the demographics here, this was particularly loaded.

Links to large images:
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For those unable to view the images at high resolution, the first and final passages of what appears to be a forwarded email read:

Teaching Math In 1950
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 2010
Un ranchero vende una carretera de maderapara (sic) $100. El cuesto de la produccion era $80. Cuantos tortillas se puede comprar?

Don't laugh, amigos ... It ain't gonna be funny.

As sickening as this was, what was posted just below it was worse:

medium size image

He doesn't go so far as to describe this as a final solution, for which I suppose I should be grateful.

My problems now are:
1. To break this material down line by and explain precisely what is wrong with it.
2. To figure out what action I think should be taken and by whom.
3. To draft a letter conveying 1 and 2 as concisely and effectively as possible.
3. To get the letter to the Latino Student Association, the head of the Math Department, the staff of other departments, the school administration, the students currently enrolled in his classes, the staff of the school newspaper, and anybody else I can think of.

Any help with phrasing, analysis, etc. would be most appreciated, as right now I am thinking primarily in terms of expressions of contempt and disgust.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

05:48 / 01.03.07

How about sticking a sign underneath saying "So, how do I complain about racism from the teaching staff?"

I'd check with the LSA first, action is probably going to have a positive effect if it comes from them or from you with their back-up.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

05:56 / 01.03.07

Is this the fella? http://www.indiana.edu/~arthist/faculty-fac.shtml
(Deliberately not hotlinking this, just in case)

Ex

07:41 / 01.03.07

I think it's the Mathematics department, so no.
I also rather hope that anyone writing on black feminism wouldn't be sticking up those jokes, but my faith wears thin.

miss wonderstarr

07:45 / 01.03.07

Sorry for being dumb but (as English) I might not understand the full cultural import of this. Wouldn't the idea of the moat full of alligators be to discourage illegal border-crossing? Isn't that already heavily policed? I'm not sure if I understand how this is racially-offensive.

Ex

07:55 / 01.03.07

I think it's mainly racist because 'ho ho, in five year's time our kids will be forced to learn maths in Spanish (in a particularly broadly-drawn tortilla-eating stereotype of Mexican Spanish) because THE IMMIGRANTS ARE TAKING OVER. DON'T LAUGH, AMIGOS.'
Implying that we really need to keep THEM out with alligators because otherwise they'll take over seems to sit ill with a multicultural learning environment. Particularly when you can bet that a lot of the student body and the workforce are going to immigrants, descended from immigrants, or indeed one of the high-fee-paying international students that the University is ardently wooing.

The UK has issues around immigration; the situations are slightly different, but I don't see a huge gulf between simialr cases in the UK about circulating racist poetry (Manchester 2005, will dig out a link). I would consider jokes about my children being forced to learn Maths in Polish, or the suggestion that Dover be ring-fenced by rottweilers, to make my workplace a really hostile environment.

Ex

07:58 / 01.03.07

And the policing of illegal immigration is a fact, but it's not an incontroversial fact - even just from bits I pick up from US chums, there are ongoing debates about arming the borders, building more physical obstacles, violent deportation events, and racial profiling in deportation.

Immigration is exactly where a lot of the debates around race are played out in the US (as in the UK) if I understand correctly, so simply saying 'I support, and would strengthen, this legal and physical barrier that already exists' is not a neutral statement, it's a political one. And in this case, in this style, I'd say it's a racist one.

miss wonderstarr

07:59 / 01.03.07

Ah yeah, I was talking about the second "joke" as I didn't really grasp the first at all. OK, I see the point of the first example thanks to your explanation.

I'm not sure if a proposal to have Dover heavily-guarded by Rottweilers would be a direct equivalent, because we don't currently have a heavily-guarded border there. That's the point I was trying to make, really ~ I thought the Mexico/US border was already policed and that illegal immigrants risked being shot.

That doesn't make #2 a funny joke, of course, but I wondered if it was that radical a step from the current situation.

ONLY NICE THINGS

08:03 / 01.03.07

Well, MW, it is racially offensive because a) an awful lot of people in California are of Latino origin, and may not want to see their people represented as the kind of threat that needs a moat full of crocodiles to defend against. Also b) because it advances the thesis that English as a language will be somehow "swamped" by Spanish. Also, c) because it suggests that the only way to interest Latino people in maths is to show you can use it to determine how many tortillas one can buy with twenty dollars. Compare a similar joke suggesting that in a few years' time maths text books in England will be in Arabic and deal entirely in the cost of carpets and chickpeas, because the Islamics have taken over.

08:03 / 01.03.07

British Physical Education departments are known for not being the most shining example of high-minded academia, so when in my school they decided to start teaching the 'pinch an inch' thing (this was where they would line up the class and in front of everybody, they would pinch your waist line, and if there was more than an inch of flesh between their fingers, they would declare you 'too fat'), they got a bit of a shock when my sister wrote a very strongly worded letter to the headmaster and governers and then refused to attend any more lessons in any class until this arbitrary form of body fascism was dropped and sensible, informed lessons were implemented.

sadly, this didnt happen and PE reverted back to kickabout/bunk-off afternoon sessions, but she never had to go to another PE lesson again....im not sure whether this is a victory or not.

miss wonderstarr

08:06 / 01.03.07

I didn't understand #1 at all, Haus. I get it now. With #2, my question was based on my understanding that there were already physical borders and the threat of violence to keep people from crossing from Mexico to the US.

Ex

08:07 / 01.03.07

I see what you mean - weirdly, although the UK doesn't have such a clearcut border to police, I find people tend to construct an imaginary one when discussing imigration - hence the Dover reference. Maybe because it's a boundary (coast), a barrier (cliffs), a 'weak spot' (shortest distance to France) and a symbol of Britishness (bluebirds over etc).
I'd dig up some examples, but I don't really want to Google British immigration jokes, as I'm feeling a bit sad.

I too welcome any more explanations of the 'jokes' - I don't speak Spanish, for starters, and they may have dodgy elements I missed.

08:09 / 01.03.07

I would also suggest writing a letter to the Principal (Dean?) explaining the situation and why it is utterly inappropriate for such material to be displayed in an educational facility. Further than that I would also suggest reporting the fella to whatever local government body deals with this kind of obvious racism.

But definitely speak with the LSA first.

Wouldn't the idea of the moat full of alligators be to discourage illegal border-crossing? Isn't that already heavily policed? I'm not sure if I understand how this is racially-offensive.

I think that suggesting that lethal deterrants (in this case alligators) be used to stop illegal immigration from one country is within the range of racism. It was mentioned in a thread over in Switchboard there is a lot of illegal immigration from Canada too yet this fella isn't suggesting moats full of dangerous lizards to stop them getting in. It's specifically targetting a racial group.

miss wonderstarr

08:14 / 01.03.07

Yes... given these explanations I tend to agree, thanks.

ONLY NICE THINGS

08:26 / 01.03.07

Ah. Lots of interposts, which said what I was going to say, largely.

Back on track - it's possible that this was put up by a TA or even a favoured student with the keys to the notice board, rather than the instructor, yes? And also that what we on Barbelith call a Protocols has happened - that someone has been so tickled by what they read as a complaint about falling standards in maths education - a subject close to their heart - that they have entirely failed to notice the racist content. This is probably optimistic, but in either case it has no impact on the content or the message it is giving out.

My first question would be whether in this situation it is best in the first case to contact the instructor (with the message that somebody has put a paper on his board that you find offensive and believe that others will also) or the decanal authorities of the institution.

I'm consistently amazed by how people seem to feel that offensive material is somehow not their problem if they have not written it themselves but only disseminated it - there was at least one case I know of in which somebody forwarded gay porn to his boss, because he hadn't bothered to check all the attachments he was forwarding.

08:47 / 01.03.07

My first question would be whether in this situation it is best in the first case to contact the instructor (with the message that somebody has put a paper on his board that you find offensive and believe that others will also) or the decanal authorities of the institution.

I think it would be appropriate to contact both. Simply because there is a possibility that (assuming the instructor in question didn't post it) the instructor might simply take the stuff down and not actually take any further action.

Drawing the attention of the "higher powers" to it might ensure that it is publicised on an official level.

miss wonderstarr

08:58 / 01.03.07

Maybe we can mail Catherine Henderson, asking why she forwarded these jokes in the first place.

09:08 / 01.03.07

Although at first, I wasn't sure whether this unfunny posting had crossed the line between xenophobia and racism, I can see why the last line "amigos, etc" can be considered racist.

I can imagine if the thing had been worded here in the netherlands to express a fear and a condemnation of muslims "taking over", there would be actions taken as well.

The best advice I can give is though, not to let one's own outrage about such images being presented in an educational facility be an obstacle to a debate in civil terms. Not that I'm suggesting you would barge in to an office demanding the immediate resigning or torturing of whoever wrote it, but I think it would be best if you started a debate with the persons resposible about why you feel this is a bad thing, and maybe you can help to illuminate what is a dark corner in the minds of some of your instructors/peers.

I found that when it came to my own brand of misconceptions about other cultures or social issues, bordering on casual racism, the most enlightening for me was to have people explain my misconceptions to me and thereby show me the errors of my ways.

09:09 / 01.03.07

That's pretty appalling. I don't know how much you even need to break it down to explain what's wrong with it, you could just direct attention to what you rightly believe is wholly inappropriate. You could give this person the courtesy of informing them of your complaints first before going to the administration, but that may cause more problems than solutions. Good luck. I can't imagine in any public institution in California that others aren't going to complain as well, though. God, I hope so.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

09:20 / 01.03.07

That's absolutely fucking disgusting. I'm so sorry you have to deal with it. Congratulations on being so restrained and taking time out to put together an appropriate, effective response--I think I'd probably have been unable to prevent myself from steaming into the guy's office and giving the bigoted little shit an earful.

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:45 / 01.03.07

Not that I'm suggesting you would barge in to an office demanding the immediate resigning or torturing of whoever wrote it, but I think it would be best if you started a debate with the persons resposible about why you feel this is a bad thing, and maybe you can help to illuminate what is a dark corner in the minds of some of your instructors/peers.

Yeah, you know, I have, or had, similar instincts, but gourami is paying to be taught by this institution, you know? She's not paying for the privilege of educating its employees. Also, to be honest, if living in Los Angeles Count has not made you aware that Latino people exist, occupy the same spaces that you do and deserve a modicum of consideration, it seems unlikely that the beam of gourami's illumination, be it ever so forceful, will abolish those dark places. I would still _hope_ that this was put up without the instructor's knowledge, but it is the instructor's responsibility to give the keys to his noticeboard to people who are not likely to put racially offensive material on it.

miss wonderstarr

10:35 / 01.03.07

If I were in that position I would try to talk to the instructor politely, just to clarify whether it was he who displayed the email forwards or gave permission for them to be displayed ~ to find out whether he endorses these jokes and what his own position is about them. It could possibly (perhaps not at all probably) be the case that they were displayed without his knowledge, or that he didn't realise how offensive they were, and that he takes them down immediately, thanking you for bringing them to his attention.

If you get nowhere satisfactory with this informal approach, then I would take it up with other authorities ~ perhaps a student union (if you have such things), Latino Students Society, Dean of Students or the instructor's line manager.

ONLY NICE THINGS

10:40 / 01.03.07

Again, that was my first instinct, but actually, I'd probably start with the Latino Students' Association - after all, if the instructor simply and silently takes it down, there is every possibility that many students will already have seen it and either been adversely affected (but not felt able to complain) or encouraged to treat Latino students as a threat to the quality of their education. It might take a bit more than that to balance the scales.

miss wonderstarr

11:00 / 01.03.07

I think you're right, Haus. Damage has been done, and the fact that a member of faculty could put up notices like that (or allow them to be placed where it seems as though he endorses them) is troubling.

I don't know why I have some gut feeling that I wouldn't want this instructor to be really harshly punished, to lose his job or have his career at the institution ruined. Maybe because I got the impression this guy was fairly junior (is an instructor below an assistant professor?) and I've been in that position ~ also because, however dodgy the jokes, I got the impression he thought they were just wry and amusing (ie. the first is, on one level, a comment about declining standards in math education) without taking on board the racially-offensive overtones. How much intention matters is open to debate, of course. Maybe I'm being too charitable.

11:06 / 01.03.07

I only worked at a college for nine years, so I'm kind of a novice in these things, but here's my advice:

A direct complaint to the instructor from the Latino Students Society or whatever is unlikely to have the desired impact. You don't want to give this knuckleknob the chance to cast himself as the victim, and if you bring studemnt pressure into it, that's exactly what's going to happen—the instructor will piss and moan that everybody's so GODDAM SENSITIVE these days, and the shithead will come out of the woodwork to defend him in letters to the school papere.

The problem here is simple: This instructor is creating a hostile learning environment for Latino students. That's an academic problem, and should be taken to someone who has the power to deal with it—to put the guy on probation, to mandate sensitivity training, whatever it takes. Take your photographs and go straight to the Academic Dean.

Academics are animals, and you have to talk to them in the only language they understand—the language of hierarchical bureaucracy.

ONLY NICE THINGS

11:08 / 01.03.07

Way-ull... unless we're in a Phillip Roth novel, would this lead to someone losing their job? Again, I think that a body with experience of dealing with casually offensive behaviour, such as the Latino Students Organisation should be involved ASAP. It is quite possibly a Protocols moment, but two notices? Both about Latinos? That does need to be addressed, and I'm not sure it's fair to send gourami in to bat against a potentially hostile authority figure on her own, you know?

miss wonderstarr

11:09 / 01.03.07

Academics are animals, and you have to talk to them in the only language they understand—the language of hierarchical bureaucracy.

I think that's pretty inaccurate and unfair, as a general comment. I can understand you'd have no time or tolerance for this specific guy, and that reading about this case could have riled you, but I don't agree with your broad theory here.

ONLY NICE THINGS

11:10 / 01.03.07

Interpost with Jack Fear - the decanal authorities I suppose would also be such an experienced body, of course. Hmm.

miss wonderstarr

11:11 / 01.03.07

It is quite possibly a Protocols moment, but two notices? Both about Latinos? That does need to be addressed, and I'm not sure it's fair to send gourami in to bat against a potentially hostile authority figure on her own, you know?

Yes, I was more trying to be honest about my own, possibly misguided investment in a junior academic's career, given that it does seem possibly a "Protocols" moment as you put it ~ and to examine my own reasons for having slightly more sympathy for this person than perhaps I should.

Disco is My Class War

11:57 / 01.03.07

mw, if you're not interested in offering gourami help/advice on how to deal constructively with the situation, please clear the hell out of the thread. I don't want to speak for gourami, but it's not her place or anyone else's to explain to you why this is offensive. Go figure it out someplace else.

That's aside from mentioning you have sympathies for an evidently racist asshole, even in the process of saying those sympathies are misguided. This thread is also not the place to figure out why you, personally, have misguided sympathies for racists. By all means, though, start a thread on it somewhere else. I'm sure we'd all be thrilled to help you out.

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

12:00 / 01.03.07

Even if they don't make a story out of it, any longer-term (a couple of years) school paper staffers should be able to recall if there have been similar incidents with the same prof or others and who got involved at those earlier points. Just asking them what they know of past problems could give you some helpful advice on the path of least resistance to get something done, and they won't have an agenda (as school staff might) to sweep things under the rug.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

12:11 / 01.03.07

I don't know why I have some gut feeling that I wouldn't want this instructor to be really harshly punished, to lose his job or have his career at the institution ruined... Maybe I'm being too charitable.

You know what? I wouldn't care if he did lose his job over this. If you're not competent to do the job you've been hired to do, whether it's flipping burgers or filing paper or an academic post at a University, then you don't deserve to have that job. If you are a thoughtless bigot who happily and openly discriminates against a section of society--including your students or potential students--then you are not competent to hold an academic position. You should either gain the required competence, stat, or you should be fired. End of.

miss wonderstarr

12:17 / 01.03.07

mw, if you're not interested in offering gourami help/advice on how to deal constructively with the situation, please clear the hell out of the thread. I don't want to speak for gourami, but it's not her place or anyone else's to explain to you why this is offensive. Go figure it out someplace else.

That doesn't feel entirely fair. I did take up some space on the thread asking for the "jokes" to be explained, but that was because I didn't understand the language in the first, and unfortunately didn't quite grasp the cultural connotations of the second. When others took the time to do that, I agreed. I'm grateful for that, and I'm sorry that it wasn't directly on the topic of helping gourami deal with the problem, but I don't think it's offensive to ask for something to be explained because it's culturally specific.

When it was explained, I gave advice above. It was advice that, overall, Haus tended to agree with (I suppose I'm using Haus as a reference-point for reasonable response on this thread).

That's aside from mentioning you have sympathies for an evidently racist asshole, even in the process of saying those sympathies are misguided. Don't go digging that hole any deeper, now.

Look, I'm sorry it came across badly to you, but "digging a hole" here seems like another way of saying "being open about your own responses and trying to examine them in public". To me, that's quite healthy. I recognised that I had some weird feeling of reserve about this guy being booted from his job, and "unpacked" that, all the while saying (as you note) that it was probably misguided and over-charitable, and bound up with my own previous experience as a junior academic in a precarious career position.

If it means exposing my prejudices and having them corrected and addressed, then I don't see that as digging a hole... or maybe I see digging a hole as something positive, if you invite people to look at the hole, see why you dug it and help you get out and fill it in. (Ouch.)

miss wonderstarr

12:20 / 01.03.07

Believe me, I don't want to sound defensive, except that I do feel it's OK to discuss closely-related topics as well as how gourami should go about reporting this issue.

I feel rotten about the way what I said came across. I just also feel that it's perhaps better to say mistaken things and be corrected, than think them, not say them and carry on thinking them.

12:26 / 01.03.07

It really is a matter of behaving correctly as a person in a position of responsibility, I mean this applies throughout academic bodies and business environments. Even if the instructor in question does hold these views and believes them to be true he's not there to teach "my personal views on the immigration question", he's there to teach mathematics.

The person who posted these notes might argue that they were simply exercising their freedom of speech, however most official bodies have rules against racial discrimination (which this constitutes). In my company posting something like that on a noteboard would, at the very least, have the perpertrator in front of a disciplinary.

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