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JANUARY NEWSLETTER What Emerson doesn’t want you to know, in your inbox monthly
In this issue: Another Set of Course Evaluations Come and Gone: Grappling With Discrimination and Course Evals Musings on Voice Your Choice - A Brief Round One PostCommentary Celebrating Where We've Been (And Where We'll Go) More ways to get involved with ECSU
ECSU FEATURES • ECSU FEATURES • ECSU FEATURES By Anonymous
ANOTHER SET OF COURSE EVALUATIONS COME AND GONE: GRAPPLING WITH DISCRIMINATION AND COURSE EVALS Every year without fail, I question the impact of how I rate whether a professor made me feel respected in class. So many of my learning experiences at Emer$on have been tinged with moments of hurt and exclusion. It’s painful when professors I respect misgender me. It enrages me when my non-Black professors say the n-word. It makes me feel like my voice is not valued when my class syllabi assign works almost entirely by white and cisgender thinkers. I don’t know how to confront my professors about these instances due to the power imbalance between professor and student. Bias reports are an avenue for this conversation, but their results are disheartening. (I lost faith in the process after a
friend’s multiple bias reports about a professor repeatedly misgendering them were not met with corrected behavior or even an apology.) POWER did an incredible project called the #NameNames Initiative spotlighting this pattern. Anonymous course evaluations feels like my last hope. It’s a space to express to my professor that when he refused to offer trigger warnings for films containing sexual violence, I was afraid to come to class or do the assignments because I never knew if the material would trigger a panic attack. It gives me a blank to write in why calling a class “Literary Foundations” but centering only Western works in the syllabus reinforces the false narrative that only Western cultures have created works worth studying. When I share these criticisms, I do so hoping to encourage changed behavior, not simple punishment. However, the course evaluation process doesn’t seem built to support this mindset. It does not give me any way to see whether the professor implemented changes to future classes and treatment of students. Additionally, the current guides for how professors should interpret their course evaluations make minority voices vulnerable to being ignored. Instruction guides encourage professors to judge their success based on where the bulk of their responses land and in comparison the results from other classes in their department. I know that in the realm of statistics, this makes sense-- if 15 students agree that they were treated respectfully in class and just 1 student selects “disagree,” then it makes sense to believe that you as a professor are treating students respectfully. But data isn’t immune to bias. It isn’t uncommon at Emer$on to be the only trans person in a classroom, the only Black person in a classroom, etcetera. Constructive criticism from these students pertaining treatment of their identities frequently exist in the minority. That one hypothetical “disagree” might have come from the one Black student in the class. If a professor decides their performance based on what the majority responds with, then they’re only taking into account whether students belonging to a majority group feel respected. Students can elaborate on their answers in comment sections within the evaluation form, but from my understanding of the faculty instructions, these comments are only visible to faculty if they choose the “Detailed report + comments” download option. I’d like to think that a professor would always want to choose this option, especially if there was negative feedback, but these instructions make no guarantee. Knowing all of this, I believe that there has to be a better way. I don’t have a fleshed out idea for a new system-- but I also believe that if a new system were to truly work for everyone, it would need to be built collaboratively, and not just by some anonymous person writing an article. I just know what I envision-- a transparent process founded on the principles of restorative justice that helps us grow and
liberate each other. A process that protects marginalized students and prevents future harm.
By William Ridge
MUSINGS ON VOICE YOUR CHOICE - A BRIEF ROUND ONE POSTCOMMENTARY The first round of Voice Your Choice voting has come and gone, with all classes putting their share of the $100K towards 'Student Access' for the second year in a row. It's at least a little encouraging to see the student body is of one mind about the prohibitive expense of Emerson College. That kind of mutual discontent is a critical building block for solidarity, and I can only hope it means we're moving toward a student body that won't settle when it comes to mistreatment, financial or otherwise. And we might get tested on that sooner than we think. By this time last year the very first Voice Your Choice had seen a major controversy. During the initial round of voting all classes had voted to put their allotment toward Student Access, just like this year. However, the action committee decided to go against that and distribute the funding across all initiatives. This was quickly reversed following student outcry, but it remains a testament to why we must hold the college accountable when they try to disregard the will of the student body. Is it so far fetched for them to attempt something like this in the next round of voting? However minor, incrementalist, and undemocratic Voice Your Choice is in the grand scheme of Emerson economics, it's still a little whisper of our collective willpower as students. We should not be content with such a paltry affordance of selfdetermination, but until the student body is galvanized to act more directly as to its own interests we must struggle to keep that little whisper, and maybe turn it into something louder.
ECSU ACTIVITY • ECSU ACTIVITY • ECSU ACTIVITY CELEBRATING WHERE WE'VE BEEN (AND WHERE WE'LL GO) As the new year begins, we want to take a moment to celebrate the ECSU’s first full semester of campus activity. We couldn’t have done it without you! This semester, we: Published a Disorientation Guide about the need for students to mobilize to hold Emerson accountable and how we can do it.
Started a Meal Swipes Exchange group on Facebook messenger so students with meal swipes can share them with students who need them. Started a monthly newsletter with an ever-growing list of subscribers. Got endorsed by the Emerson Staff Union and met with them to discuss how we can be allies to each other. Met with Students Supporting Survivors and planned ways we can support each other. Set plans in motion to create a Free Textbook Library where students can drop off unwanted textbooks so students who need them can take them for free. Kicked off the first of many community movie nights with a screening of Sorry to Bother You. (We will be hosting more of these in the spring, so make sure you follow our Instagram to know when they’re happening!) The work has only begun, and we’re looking forward to the acts of resistance and community care to come. We hope we can count on your continued support and involvement in the new year. As always, we stand united in the belief that every student deserves a voice AND a vote. To join our non-hierarchical team of organizers, email us.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS: HELP US CREATE OUR SPRING DISORIENTATION GUIDE We’re getting ready to release a spring Disorientation Guide at the start of the semester, and we need your help. This edition will feature anonymous quotes from students about what tuition increases mean to them. How does a tuition increase affect your life? What does a tuition freeze mean to you? How has Emer$on’s hefty price tag affected your relationship to the college? Whether you’re a current or former Emer$on student, we want to print what you have to say. If you’re interested in having your voice heard, fill out this anonymous form to submit your comment.
ACTION ITEMS • ACTION ITEMS • ACTION ITEMS
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