“On the Front Lines: Graduate Student Roles in Shaping Discourse in Digital Spaces”
by Mandy Olejnik and Cara Marta Messina | Xchanges 15.1, Spring 2020
Channeling the Back Channels
Guiding Question:
- How do we as graduate students negotiate our public posts as well as both public and private responses?
Cara: After I posted my response to the Heterodox Academy controversy on the WPA-L, I received a lot of positive support and feedback. The responses validated my choice to post, and reminded me why I love this field.
Then, I received a longer, private email from a senior scholar.1 He began by complimenting my response, stating that he had originally been interested in the heterodox group, but after reading some posts, grew wary of its purpose. He also asked me to rethink my perspective on “believ[ing] the voices from the margins” because people who do not immediately accept these perspectives are villainized.
Before I responded, Mandy messaged me; he emailed her, too, and mentioned me. She warned me about his past indiscretions that are infamous through whisper networks. Suddenly, his critique of listening to marginalized voices—to people who have been discriminated against—seemed more calculated; his choice to email two women graduate students, asking me not to forward the email to the WPA-L, felt sinister. His email reminded me of what I already knew: certain harmful behavior patterns are reinforced because those committing them do not face consequences.
With words of wisdom from advisors and colleagues, I told him not to privately email me. Establishing boundaries, however, does not always stop people. And not everyone is privileged enough to have the same personal and professional support I have. Creating infrastructure for support and accountability, whether in our local institutions or online, is a necessary step to protecting each other, especially people in more vulnerable groups.
Mandy: I want to thank Cara for her courage. I also want to point out, again, how difficult it is for us to write so publicly and honestly about these experiences, but we choose to do so because we want to enact real, meaningful change and share our lived experiences to help start that change. I talked to my advisor during this situation, asking what I should do and if I did something wrong, and her response to me was one we all as graduate students should take to heart: Chin up. You are the future.