So, as I already alluded, earlier this week my department was attacked as various office doors and bulletin boards were defaced with woman-hating and homophobic slurs. Fortunately, investigators are starting to focus in on a suspect. What's a clear giveaway for them: the number of gross misspellings in the graffiti.
Having spoken with different instructors, who may have had any disgruntled students last semester (of course, most of us can identify a few), one revealed that she had a student who may fit the profile. Curiously enough, this instructor - without being on campus or witnessing any of the slurs - simply asked, "This might sound silly, but were any of the slurs grossly misspelled?"
Part of my reflection on this incident concerns a couple of things: 1.) what does it mean to possibly have a student become so enraged that s/he would then go on a rampage and vandalize a place and 2.)what does it mean that public universities have gotten to the point where they are admitting students who cannot do college-level work?
Without knowing all the details, a profile is starting to emerge, and I remember thinking when I saw some of the slurs: either the guilty culprit deliberately misspelled words to throw us off, or the person is clearly not a college student, for surely, we would think someone enrolled at a university would know how to spell the word "evil." Can we be so sure that's the case?
And, if we do have students enrolled at a university who cannot spell simple four-letter words, what's going on here? I don't want to downplay the incident. It is still very much a hate crime in which faculty where targeted with misogynistic and homophobic, lesbian-baiting slurs. But if a student lashes out for failing a class (apparently due to plagiarism), and if said student resorted to cheating precisely to try and cover up their shortcomings, only to have that cover blown when a faculty fails them for plagiarism, then how do we address the various sources of that rage?
I know it sounds silly, but as an educator who is outraged by such a woman-hating attack, I am equally appalled that this attacker cannot spell simple words, and if that attacker is a student of ours, this incident certainly raises a number of issues that higher education must address.
Art by SpringLeap.Com.
7 comments:
This is why education is KEY. I often notice in my neighborhood that much of the graffiti is misspelled...I do think that some of that rage comes from feelings of inadequacy, powerlessness, and beneath THAT, a serious inability to even articulate/communicate that pain & frustration to others. If you can't engage intellectually or emotionally, the last refuge (and sometimes first choice) is violence...
No replacement for education. I also wonder how this person has made it this far within the college... I get by with a little help from my friends.
It is terrible that your school was attacked in such way!
I felt compelled to comment.
Sometimes I can't spell simple four letter words and that is because I have a learning disability. I am VERY capable of handling university level concepts. I use computers to write my exams and I am able to do well academically.
I find when people speak to me they leave with the impression that I fairly clever: however, when people see my hand-written work I frequently encounter a great deal of negative assumptions. Many people think that I am uneducated and, frankly, stupid.
I feel frustrated when people conflate difficulties with spelling with lack of education. While certainly often lack of an ability to access education is tied with spelling difficulties, it isn't the only explanation for spelling difficulties.
I enjoy this blog and I thank-you for all the time you put into producing some pretty awesome content.
-Chris
Thank you, Chris and others for commenting on this blog.
I appreciate your raising issues of learning disabilities, but isn't that still an issue of students not getting the right kind of attention and education?
And of course, it's still no excuse for the hate crime, even as I try to understand the source of rage.
Hi, I'm not quite a lurker (having left some previous comments) but I haven't chimed in as often as your postings have moved me.
In this case, let me say how terribly sorry I am that your place of employment has become so desecrated. I've had a little experience with that (not to the scale you've got) and it's so out-of-body weird. (And, I work about a half mile from the Holocaust Museum and feel this rage against hate with you.)((Wait, that sounds wrong...))
I've read your concerns about the spelling and just wanted to throw in one potential twist: I have worked with youth for years. Mostly younger than university age, but--misspellings seem to be very deliberate these days. Even kids that I know are honor students and smart as the dickens and well-read (etc etc etc), will still, when they're writing on a "public place," deliberately use misspellings and funny words.
I'm not saying that is what is going on, but it is a cultural phenomenon I've seen of late. So, it may be your friend's student who is being so hateful, or it may be someone who is being "cool" (or "kewl") just to throw people off.
I still agree with all of the points you all are making...this is just one strange twist I'd throw in. And I am appalled at the actual inability to spell at the senior high school level, so I'm not surprised you're finding it in university students.
Peace.
Please stay safe!
it seems quite clear that they were using a play on "Eve" the 'first" woman... the basis of the perceived evel (evil). my friends and i often play with words in that way...
oregon
Post a Comment