- Joined
- Jun 13, 2019
Interviewed a guy who left his PhD program this week. He told me a story about why he left, have been losing sleep over it.
He's an engineer, attended a prestigious university in the northeast. Seemed very intelligent, had a good personality, has relevant technical skills, did not appear to be afraid of work.
This is his story. He completed one year of his PhD program and left after a sit down with his thesis advisor. The professor asked him to voluntarily withdraw from the program, other people at the University have accused the department of racial bias based on graduating too many white people. The professor told him no one would kick him out but there never be an opportunity to defend his thesis, he'd be paying for a year of study that doesn't lead to a degree. The professor also said he would not be able to give him a reference to another school or any employer based on concerns about privilege. He advised him to look for work in another field.
This didn't sound believable. I asked if he had talked with an attorney, he said no and spoke about about whiteness and our culture. He was indifferent about the money he'd spent towards enrollment, he thought it would be made back over the course of his lifetime based on his identity. I asked about transferring to another school, he said no and spoke about the need for other voices in the field. His vision for himself in 5 years isn't well defined, he doesn't think about the future in terms of himself. Instead, he cares about the world being more just and making room for others.
We concluded the conversation. I got emails from him the next day documenting the discussion with his professor. Other members of the faculty were in the email chain. Their notes back were insulting, saying they were glad he was leaving, accusing both the student and the professor of being racists for letting him in the first place. One of the professors demanded this kid stay away from campus as this makes him a threat to safety. She said she was calling campus security just to make sure.
What do you do with this? I believe what he said about his decision to leave, I just can't believe he accepted everything they said. There's no way I could hire someone like this and I can't unread those emails. Everything about it seems like a crime, the fact they did this and the fact they taught him to think like this.
He's an engineer, attended a prestigious university in the northeast. Seemed very intelligent, had a good personality, has relevant technical skills, did not appear to be afraid of work.
This is his story. He completed one year of his PhD program and left after a sit down with his thesis advisor. The professor asked him to voluntarily withdraw from the program, other people at the University have accused the department of racial bias based on graduating too many white people. The professor told him no one would kick him out but there never be an opportunity to defend his thesis, he'd be paying for a year of study that doesn't lead to a degree. The professor also said he would not be able to give him a reference to another school or any employer based on concerns about privilege. He advised him to look for work in another field.
This didn't sound believable. I asked if he had talked with an attorney, he said no and spoke about about whiteness and our culture. He was indifferent about the money he'd spent towards enrollment, he thought it would be made back over the course of his lifetime based on his identity. I asked about transferring to another school, he said no and spoke about the need for other voices in the field. His vision for himself in 5 years isn't well defined, he doesn't think about the future in terms of himself. Instead, he cares about the world being more just and making room for others.
We concluded the conversation. I got emails from him the next day documenting the discussion with his professor. Other members of the faculty were in the email chain. Their notes back were insulting, saying they were glad he was leaving, accusing both the student and the professor of being racists for letting him in the first place. One of the professors demanded this kid stay away from campus as this makes him a threat to safety. She said she was calling campus security just to make sure.
What do you do with this? I believe what he said about his decision to leave, I just can't believe he accepted everything they said. There's no way I could hire someone like this and I can't unread those emails. Everything about it seems like a crime, the fact they did this and the fact they taught him to think like this.
