about me

Hi there, I’m Tiffany.

I haven’t posted on here for a very long time. If you’ve followed me for a while, thank you for being patient with me. I’m committed to share more of my journey now.  Today I live in the Bronx. Before that, Boston. Before that, Miami. Before that, the same area I live in now. In my studies and in my life, I’ve committed myself to producing inclusive research and vulnerable art.

Passionate about social justice, education, and all things creative I am also Program Director for Girls Inc. where I strive to nurture an environment full of love and eagerness in workshops aimed to inspire and empower young women to be their best true selves.

Thank you for spending some of your time today on my blog. It means the world.

Disfruta mi trabajo. Gracias.

196 thoughts on “about me”

  14. I think tiffany should have beat his ass in front of all those students and embarrass him like he embarrassed her!!!!!!!! but that’s just my opinion

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  15. Tiffany,

    I would like to cite your professor’s comment on your paper–reproduce the image–and I will need your approval for that. I also want to make sure I address it appropriately. Is there an address–email or other–that I can send the request to. Thanks. Keep fighting.

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  16. I would like to cite your post about the teacher comment in a book chapter I am writing. I will need your permission to do this and want to be sure I am using it in an appropriate way. Is there an address I can send my request to. Thanks–and keep fighting!

    Tom Newkirk

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  17. Doniel Berdi. So says the Croatian guy whose unmarried sister has made a poor job of single-parenting 6 or 7 young children.
    Do explain your views on why there are ridiculous numbers of white (Caucasian) teenagers in your hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, dropping out of school, substance abuse issues of epidemic proportion, having babies, committing crimes and dealing drugs on a daily basis. Very few persons of colour.

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  19. Yes Tiffany, many before you have felt the pain of implied illegitimacy. The best example is the 8 years of implied illegitimacy of President Obama. The Congressional Republican Party refused to cooperate stalled every opportunity available and are determined to erase everything he was able to accomplish ” to get our country back” and to make America Great again”.

    It’s hard and it is insulting but you have the right attitude. “Press on” and call it out when you see it.

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  20. I live in a city where more than 95% of the people are Chinese who speak the same Chinese dialect. But even here, people are complaining about immigrants who in turn are complaining about being discriminated (aka Mainland Chinese people from other provinces, or other towns in China). Even for Chinese, we speak different native dialects and even if we are taught one single official Mandarin Chinese in schools, we speak with different accents depending on what area of China we are from. So we have our disagreements among ourselves and we have our own problems on getting along with each other despite the fact that we are of the same race. Naturally, people are more inclined to group with those who share the geographical proximity, and the same culture. Racism is really one group’s perception of being treated unfairly by another group. In the USA, people think it’s because of the skin color and the difference in race. But in China, we still have the same problem, mainly because we are from different provinces, cities, towns and villages. But here in China, we know we don’t get along with other Chinese from different regions and we just feel it’s natural for people to gravitate towards their own kind. We accept it and we just mind our own business. We don’t think it’s possible for everyone in the world to be treated equally because this is impossible to achieve. It’s like hoping that siblings in a family are going to be treated equally by their parents. This is why in Africa, there has been wars launched by one tribe against another. So we Chinese mind our own business and focus on our education and our work instead. We just don’t expect others to treat us as well as they treat their favorite ones because even Chinese treat Chinese differently from village to village. I think most people who live most of their lives in a big country recognize this. But for children of immigrants born in the USA, they don’t understand and they dream of living in a world without racism… Minorities have an easier time getting federal jobs and getting scholarships in the USA, except for the Asians who aren’t being rejected by universities even if they have better grades than whites or other races because the U.S. gov’t think there are too many Asians in universities. If only the USA treat everybody blindly and fairly, based on pure test scores, education and work performance, then most universities will have majority Asians from all over the world, and all the good jobs will also go to Asians mostly… So do you still wish for an America that is absolutely fair? Remember the old saying, “Be careful of what you wish for.”

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    1. First of all, go to Guangzhou and look for the immigrant community of Africans there, and then tell me whether there is not racism based on colorism in China. Tell me there is not police harassment. Ask any black person in China about their experience. See whether they get stares and photos being taken and being touched everyday or not. Look for Uyghurs community all over China, and then tell me there is not racism based on religious belief, phenotypes, and the terroristic actions of the few (alarmingly similar to what the US is doing to the Muslim community within itself). Second of all, how do you think people in big cities in China, such as Beijing, know who is from rural areas and segregate and discriminate them? Their SKIN COLOR and their ACCENTS (just be aware that in the US accents contributes to racism). Also, why is it so wrong to just want to have something that is systemically denied to you all your life just because of who you are? Also, surprise! Chinese is not one race. It’s the national myth of Han race that Sun Yatsen started in the legacy of Western scientific racism, so read your history before perpetuating any myth. Also do you know how hard it is for people from rural areas in China to get a equally good score as those in the cities, and still not able to go to the top universities? You think pure meritocracy is fair and square? No. The SYSTEM IS BROKEN. Not all people get the same quality of education so how do you expect to have them compared of their scores and pretend there is equality and fairness? Not to shittalk Hongkong or China, but we all need to seriously decolonize our mindset. British colonial rule in Hongkong and semi-colony in China has done some internalized oppression for real.

      I suggest you read up on Chinese presence in Africa, especially in Kenya, Howard French’s book would be a start. I suggest you read up on how the Chinese community in the US practice anti-black racism, look for Peter Liang’s case. Read about Uyghur and Muslim minorities in China. Read about ethnic minorities in China and how tourism objectify and marginalize these people while capitalize on their labor as the bearer of the gaze. Read about the history of racial tension in China in Red Racisms. Be ware that, according to the Han race myth, you as well as I and most people in China are privileged. We are the dominant group. Not saying regional differences don’t exist, but this is a Globalist age; Western ideologies and mindsets are everywhere in China and Hongkong.

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  21. Dear Martinez,
    I have read this piece and some of the a few comments in here. I have to admit how painful this is if I am to put myself into your own shoe. But I would definitely echo you in in your action of advocating for your rights and may be rights of the a few who are marginalized.This is a war that you’ve started and therefore you have to finish it,
    THE FLAME MUST BE KEPT BURNING UNTIL YOUR MISSION IS DONE

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  22. Dear Tiffany,

    I just read about your “hence” problem. I want to offer a few words of encouragement.

    People who criticize most often do it for their own sense of validation. A teacher is supposed to curb those impulses and offer “words” that propel students to learn more and become better human beings. Some teachers do not learn this skill, either because they were daydreaming when it was brought up in teacher-training school, or because their position does not require any such training. You know, like a college professor. They do not get basic teacher training, don’tcha know?

    When we were in high school, we were in a bubble that protected us from some of the nasty things out there in the “real” world. Sometimes, that bubble continues in some form when we go to college. We might be surrounded by decent people who do their best to make our day better. Or not.

    We all make assumptions and judgments about each other, based on things we observe. This is human – we do it all the time. It helps us make decisions – who to buy from, who to rely on for information … it’s a long list. These judgments are sometimes accurate and sometimes unfair. We often don’t feel the unfairness of it until that judgment is pointed at us.

    I’m what most people would think of as a privileged white male. Because of my physical appearance. But I’ve faced discrimination – one time because I’m not a veteran. Another because I reported unethical behavior to my employer. Another maybe even because I was not the same ethnic group as my employer. This stuff happens. So what do we do?

    We speak up about it as best we know how. Of course, haters gonna hate, so someone is going to call it “whining”. They think it’s whining? That’s their problem, not yours. You are working to correct injustices, right? It’s usually an uphill battle – not easy street.

    Now, you got a chance to talk to your professor, and I hope that went well. But if it didn’t, in the end it doesn’t really matter. You will have learned who you can trust, who you can rely on for a letter of recommendation, and who not. You WILL be stronger for it, believe me. It’s like how your muscles hurt when you work out the first time.

    I know I’m kind of rambling – I’m still trying to process the election. 🙂 Your own essay, however, was dynamite. Keep up the good work, and don’t let the haters get you down. Sheesh. Look at how Hillary has handled defeat. She doesn’t have to be President to be Presidential.

    Neither do you.

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    1. I had the SAME thing happen to me but in reverse. The Hispanic accused White people of only helping minorities, at the turn of the last century, only to control them. I told her I didn’t agree and my grades began to suffer. This was 15 years ago PRE Facebook….but I took it to the DEAN and they accepted my version of the story. The school found her to be racially biased against me and I got a refund. Not a fun experience and it held me back on my teacher certification for months. Probably not normally Latina vs White..but it can happen. It it is frustrating. Teachers should not use race EVER in judging and grading.

      Period

      Good Luck

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  23. Hi Tiffany! My name is Laura Monegro and I am a junior Elementary Education major at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. I am the president of the Multicultural Student Coalition and part of a presidential subcommittee that ensures that there are enough events around diversity issues on campus. I would love to host an event with you on campus on what you’re experience at Suffolk University has been and particularly your experience with your professor. I was wondering what the cost would be to have you come to our campus. If this is something your interested in, please email me at the email provided! Thank you!

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  24. Tiffany, do not allow yorself to be offended (not even a little bit) by some of the rude comments in response to your blog. Some people who are perhaps educated in certain areas are completely clueless when it comes to things or issues they are privileged not to have experienced. Racism and discrimination are perfect examples of that. While some with no experience about discrimination and racism are able to acknowledge the veracity of such problems, others prefer to deny it and lash out at the mere mention of these issues. As they say, the truth hurts.
    I kindly advise you to learn to rise above the negativity and ignorance, so you may focus on what you are called to accomplish here on earth. Continue to make your loved ones proud!

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    1. Do you have a problem with it, sir.
      Many people struggle with it ever day, including many famous artist, painters writer, ….etc.

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      2. But you trust the judgement of an unfit professor that decides to embarrassed a student in front of a class, over a word.
        A word that many use including myself in their writing.
        Who is really being vindictive here?

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      1. This is her blog! She has every right to write how she experienced the situation.
        And the way many people are acting, writing and commenting, has proven her case.
        A minority stands up for herself and every one gets bend out of shape!
        Get used to it! It is about time minorities stand up for themselves.
        And that professor should be fired!
        Isn’t he a teacher. He or she should, not humiliate…

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    3. It explains that you’re ableist and don’t know the first thing about mental illness, certainly, but was that really a secret? I imagine anyone who ever comes into contact with you is well aware that you’re a whiny bigot 🙂

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      1. Yes minorities need to stick up for them selves! However, they must be proven guilty . I think the internet court is not Fair for anyone…..

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  26. Can you post the entire passage that the teacher critiqued? Very few people would use the word “hence” in a sentence these days. Nor would most people use the word “thus”.

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      1. Everyday words for you. But not for the average person. Can you post the entire passage that the teacher critiqued?
        Respectfully,
        Jayson

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    2. It wasn’t a “critique”, it was an unprofessional and frankly terrible response. If a professor wants to accuse ANY student of plagiarism, they need to present an actual case for that claim. Circling a fairly common transition word and scribbling “This is NOT your word” does not qualify.
      Loudly announcing your suspicions so that the entire class can hear you is ALWAYS unprofessional, even when you have a strong case for believing one of your students plagiarized.

      The professor behaved abominably AND failed to provide sufficient proof that Tiffany plagiarized, hence the outrage here 🙂

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  27. I have encountered very nasty and racist comments from a Professor. I go to Regent University in Virginia Beach V.A., and I have seen firsthand that racism is a very upfront attitude. My GPA has suffered because of harsh hatred attitudes and humiliating comments of others in power. The comments are not about my paper but more about who I am and what I look like.

    I am an African-American disable veteran and this is the comments on my paper:

    Is this how your name is actually spelled: “SmithJacobs” with no hyphen or space? It is unusual. I checked via Google and your LinkedIn page shows a hyphen.
    COMMENT: This essay begins with what appears to be a typo in the name of its author as well as in the header of the pagination (e.g. “page1”). This immediately sends a signal to the reader that this essay really was not taken seriously by its author and that was is likely to follow is sloppy work
    Also, I note that the pagination is unlike any I have seen: “page1” and “page3” with no space. Is this the default setting on your computer? If so, I urge you to change it – I have never seen something like it.

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    1. I’m not trying to be mean, but those (the pagination issues, the possible discrepancy over use of a hyphen in your name, and even the typo in your comment about it) do seem like errors that you probably should have spotted before turning in a paper. I’m not a racist, yet I, too, would have flagged them, if only to help you improve your writing. I don’t know much about your situation (i.e. perhaps your disability is processing related and maybe the professor should have been taking that into account..?), so I could certainly be wrong (also, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to hear of racism at Regent ‘University’), but honestly, those seem like reasonable calls, in my opinion as a teacher (and an admitted grammar nazi <– *hence* my nitpicking & rambling here…). Hopefully your professor is also coaching you on content and providing support for any technical areas that are an extra challenge for you..? If not, I suspect there are alternatives these days. As an aside, allow me to share a cool proofreading tip: print out your work, then trace just below the words with the tip of your index finger on your favored hand, being careful to match the movement of your finger to whatever pace allows your mind to adequately process the individual words. The secret is to do this *backwards*, as this tricks the brain away from its natural tendency to seek comprehension and opens it to perceiving misspellings, repeated words, and other 'trivial' errors that might otherwise distract the reader. Speaking of the importance of not distracting your reader, get thee a copy of _Strunk & White on Style_; increasing your radar for the sorts of things addressed therein will go a long way to smooth any unfortunate divides that might heretofore have resulted in friction with obsessive, hyper-grammatical professors (said the hyper-grammatical professor). Peace!

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    2. BTW, if your twitchy professor really wrote, “I have never seen something like it” on your paper, then frame that one, because it should be, “I have never seen anything like it”. 🙂 Talk about some sloppy professor-ing!

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  28. This is the first blog I have ever subscribed to, and based on this experience, probably the last. I wasn’t prepared for the cruelty and continual desire to prove superiority. Tiffany, best of luck.

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  29. Hi Tiffany,
    I agree with some of Dawn Sardez’s comments went it comes to grammatical critiques as I had teacher’s and professor’s like her in college that could have written the book on correct grammar. I don’t know whether the teacher was saying “Latinos do not use ‘hence’ in written language.” There is a difference between the language we use when we speak and when we write. Most of us are more verbose and creative when we write than we are when we speak. I would not assume the worst about your professor. I do think you should have spoken to him/her, possibly recorded the conversation to be sure you were understanding what was being said. Racism is insidious and no one is immune from it and saying you are from the Bronx implying that you are only on the receiving end of racism is not believable.
    I hope you work on your paper and correct the stated mistakes. If you didn’t plagiarize than prove it to her. I agree with many of the people who commented on the word “hence,” that it is used regularly in speech. I have used it many times and have used it in papers and found it crazy to say it is out of vogue. Is “thus” out of vogue also. There are many of us who love literature, vocabulary and the spoken word and love to pepper are speech with descriptive words many people would not use or would say, “did you get that word off of dictionary toilet paper, or some other place folks find a word of the day.” That doesn’t make one pretentious. As we lose thousands of English words per day from the English language I am gland you tried to save hence. Please don’t assume your professors have it out for you because you are Latina. Wearing a chip on your shoulder does not help you. Many groups came before you, speaking fluent English and were slighted in bigger ways and succeeded. I am not condoning slighting a student in anyway as a previous comment was made about what that does to the spirit of a student. Perhaps, show the professor some of your other writings and blog work and share with him/her your love of the subject. You might find you have a lot in common and change how he/she interacts with students. It is in your hands to turn this situation around and I know you can do it! Keep challenging yourself and learning, as we have more in common than we realize.
    There was a time I thought I was an excellent writer in college at the University of Texas and when I received my freshman paper it looked like a pig was gutted and bled all over my paper. Different professors had different writing styles that they preferred which made my challenge even more difficult and I wasn’t great at defending why my grammar was correct. As I sit here writing this I can’t think of what a dangling participle is and that haunts me.
    Best wishes to you Tiffany!
    Dawn

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    1. “If you didn’t plagiarize than prove it to her.”

      The professor is the one making the accusation, it’s their job to prove it. Why should she have to go out of her way to make the professor feel better about their laziness and unprofessionalism?

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  30. You’re such a self entitled little… I work with a stupid SJW just like you, so I know your type well. You yell racism at the tiniest hint of criticism. When things don’t go your way, it must be white people holding you down. What a bunch of bs. Did you plagiarize? I’m guessing you did since you don’t deny it. The SJW in my office tries to cheat as well. Grow up.

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    4. Wow. For those of us experienced in Spot-The-Plagiarized-Paper, it doesn’t take much effort at all to tell that Tiffany definitely uses this level of language. Had she not a blog to which she could point and demonstrate this, perhaps your trigger-happy response might be understandable, but in trying to insult someone who has graced the universe with myriad evidence of her linguistic and scholarly prowess, you have merely proved your own dearth of same. There’s a great line in the movie _ Rob Roy_ where Liam Neeson says to his underling, “Bad enough that it might be so, but [here, I apologise for paraphrasing] must you also find pleasure in it?” You really and truly do not know this woman. To ignorantly insult her and to do so in as PREjudiced a way as you did, especially in a world that is already brimming over with hate and cruelty, is truly shameful. Good luck with the karma on that one – I suggest you apologize ASAP.

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  31. After reading several versions of the story, and viewing a couple different photos of the paper, I think that this student is a self-entitled little twit who cannot take some well-deserved criticism.

    I am a former English teacher. I have taught at the middle school, high school, and even was a student assistant the English Department in college.

    She is not writing at the level of a McNair Fellow or a Dean’s List student. Her transitions between sentences are awkward, and she makes several errors in her writing.

    In the tiny snippet where the professor writes, “this is not your word,” she is ending her sentence with an exclamation point. One does not do this in the dispassionate, distanced writing of the scholarly world.
    “Hence” is a conjunctive adverb. In scholarly writing, one does not begin a sentence with a conjunction. Hence is also a rather archaic word. It, along with thence and whence, was on its way out decades ago. “Hence” is not ANYBODY’S word and it hasn’t been for over thirty years.

    She is using an abbreviation for “United States.” One does not abbreviate in scholarly writing. In another, larger, snippet of the paper, I saw that her paper is peppered with personal pronouns. This is another error.
    She needs to remember that she is paying tuition to learn. The professor gave her a wonderful break. Instead of grading the paper, she instructed the student to work on it some more. Instead of being grateful, this student turned on the professor and is casting her comments in the worst possible light.

    Admonishing a student to indicate where she has copied and pasted is NOT an accusation that she plagiarized (in my day, we used the word “quote” but today, due to print resources being replaced with digital content, the term copy and paste is used).

    It is nothing more than a request that she format her quotes properly in accordance to whatever style the professor requires (MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian).

    For example, in MLA, one should place quotations longer than four typed lines in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented one inch from the left margin, and maintain double-spacing. Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

    Given the poor writing in what little I have seen of her paper, I do not doubt that she quoted improperly.

    An accusation of plagiarism would mean an appointment in the Dean’s office, with real-world consequences that might range from a notation on her academic record or even expulsion. not a chance for a do-over. You were never accused of plagiarism except within your own mind.

    Move on people. There is nothing to this story but a butt-hurt drama queen who wants to believe that she is smarter than she actually is and who loves playing the victim card should anyone smudge her superior sense of self with a dose of reality

    Young woman, get thee to a writing coach.

    Oh, and I am of mixed heritage as well. My people are being beaten and arrested at Standing Rock right now. Go there, and learn what racism really looks like.

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    2. For a former English teacher to refer to a hardworking student as a “self-entitled little twit” is an embarrassment to your noble profession as a whole. As I’m sure you know, no student is perfect. Your criticisms of her writing are completely valid, but somebody who should be as good as writing as you claim to be should know this: keep your argument focused. Don’t try and disguise your ignorance and don’t try and make this about something else.
      Side note: someone with your mixed heritage should know better than anyone not to discount or invalidate anybody else’s experience with racism. Try practicing respect and compassion before you continue on and educate children.

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    5. Wow, I have a flashback, I admire you Tiffany. Please be strong, don’t be discouraged. Tiffany, I think, has a courage and self-esteem that you Miss Sardez probably will never have.
      Because for you criticizing her behind shadows is your strength, oh also English knowledge too.
      I really feel sorry for you and your kind, you are an English teacher that is great. Take out your blood thirsty pen or keyboard and kill her!
      “Hence” cannot be her word that is it. You solved the problem. I cannot go on every criticism you have, but I will let you know something. I don’t know her and you, however, I bet she is fluent in English and another language as well, I bet. She is trying and she might be trying hard to overcome some handicaps that your type of idiots would never understand.
      I experienced that kind of bigotry in 1988 in NYC, after completing ESL courses, I started my first master’s degree. The professor, who used to be a closeted bigot, racist and ignorant like yourself, used to cross my almost every word on the first paragraph on the first page. He never ever read my full paper in whole semester. Even, my American born writer friend Mary would not believe me and probably she thought I was “a self-entitled little twit” as well. Anyway, she tried to show me that he was not biased and not “racist” like yourself, and she wrote a paper for me for one of the assignment (believe me, it is true). Guess what, this lovely prof. did not even bother to read the first paragraph, he crossed out everything she wrote and offer me to get ESL course again. You know what, Mary was upset, not he did not like her paper, but he was a real jerk, racist and bigot. There were other professors that fought for me, however, these kind of people (like yourself) exist. We somehow should overcome (I think this is not my sentence, but what the heck) and learn to live people with you guys.
      Tiffany, don’t feel down, be strong, I am sure you will be very successful in the long run. Also, try to understand these little people, they have nothing else but “perfect” language skills, because they are white Americans. By the way I am as white as my mom’s milk and now American as well with a thick accent and making tons of grammatical mistakes…probably you already paid attention. KUDOS!

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    7. Many Parents will come after you and get you fired as a teacher for calling a child “a Little twit”, and speaking the way you are about children.

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    8. It really doesn’t matter how many dishonest people want to pretend that “hence” is an archaic and obscure word. It doesn’t actually matter how many “mistakes” you’ve found (or think you’ve found). It doesn’t matter if Tiffany’s paper wasn’t actually flawless (although it DOES matter that she never pretended it was).

      You have poured more effort into your mostly irrelevant and invalid defense than the professor has into doing their own job. Does that not strike you as wrong? According to you the professor was just trying to show Tiffany how to properly format her essay and improve her writing, but there’s no evidence of this. We’ve all seen the same sections of the paper, and if they were doing what you claim there would be multiple corrections and comments scribbled all over. There aren’t.

      Instead, there’s “This is NOT your word” and “go back and indicate where you cut + paste”. You claim the latter is about proper citations and not an accusation of plagiarism, but we both know that’s an incredible a reach as “hence is not ANYBODY’S word.”

      “Copy paste” is often shorthand for “copying and pasting and passing it off as your own work”, also known as “plagiarism.” Further, improperly citing someone is also considered plagiarism, so you’ve made a completely meaningless distinction.

      Before you seize on that and try to suggest that the accusation of plagiarism then becomes valid, remember that according to you, there never was one! According to you, if there really was an accusation of plagiarism then the professor would have instantly taken it to someone higher up. I don’t know what the University’s policy is on cheating, but assuming you’re correct, why are you so sure that someone who couldn’t even be bothered writing in all the valid criticism you say exists would actually do that much? Taking it to the Dean would mean the professor being obligated to present a solid case for plagiarism. “A graduate student wouldn’t use the word “hence”” would absolutely not suffice, a fact I suspect the professor knew full well. Far easier, then, to just loudly announce that this student cheated so that the whole class can hear it, and hopefully the student would be too humiliated to ever consider challenging the claim.

      I must say, I do find it amusing that you’ve tried to bolster your “argument” here by saying her writing is not on par with a Dean’s List student, implying that she is lying about that. She has attached her name, face, and public reputation to her post. It would be incredibly unwise to lie about her qualifications when they can be easily verified. I’ve seen response after response from people trying to “prove” she’s lying, and the vast majority aren’t even trying as hard as you are. If she’s lying about her academic qualifications, you’d think SOMEONE would have pulled that up by now.

      Racism takes many forms, and microaggressions like these help prop up the physical violence and abuse you think are the only things that qualify as “real racism.” But since you seem to feel that that’s the only kind worth talking about, perhaps YOU should spend less time wielding your “mixed race heritage” as a weapon to silence anyone talking about any other form of racism and more time focusing on what you think matters most.

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  32. Chances are that this was not racist in the least. The professor/teacher was probably using “turnitin” or similar software, and there was enough likeness to existing work on record to lead the teacher to think that it was plagiarized.

    As for the word “Hence”, if used in a paper and even most literature, it is considered a pretentious attempt at fancy instead of practical and realistically useful language.

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    1. Sorry but I think the mob’s right this time. The lecturer was “probably” just an ignoramus (that’s Latin for clueless).

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  33. Tiffany, stay the course and keep questioning internal equity in the classroom. There will be students who will take the trail you have hazed and will want to know that you fought well and went on to success.

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  34. Hola Bonita; I Don’t Get it? “Hence” is not an obscure word that would require extra or higher educational levels to use in any sentence. I can only assume your instructor was a first year graduate student. Maybe that is why we are ranked 33rd in education as I noticed the note was penned by someone with limited writing skills, somewhere around an 8th grade writing skill. So don’t let it worry you one bit…Good Luck, and Never Give Up, Keep Working Hard and Set Your Goals High You Will Achieve Your Dreams.. .

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  35. James, I feel sorry for your students if you did in fact “teach” at some point in your life. I’ve used the word hence, thus, consequently, subsequently, etc. in almost every paper I’ve written in college. Mind you, I’m an engineering major (known to be horrible writers) and it’s not pretentious or a plagiarism flag. You claim to not be a hater and I respect that, but you’re in no position to determine what is and isn’t pretentious with your clearly failed logic. There are many of us who use these words becuase we are capable of it. In my opinion, to call it pretensions just shows that you’re at a different level when it comes to writing; hence, your difference of opinion.

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    1. And at least when you used Alan, it wasn’t to start a sentence and was used in the context of a point-counter-point. It didn’t stick out at the befinning of the sentence amongst mediocrity. I’ll send you my bill.

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      1. Doesn’t matter. James is claiming that the use of the word is pretentious. Given the semicolon I could have easily made it separate sentences. I chose not to for aesthetic purposes.

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      2. Yes, it is considered by many to be a pretentious word. Maybe young people now use to try and sound smart, but to their parents generation it probably sounds a little pretentious, which is why the professor may have thought that line wiith the word was plaigarized or didn’t sound good. It could be that the professor would have writtent that comment regardless if the student was latina, black, white, yellow, green, transgender or whatever.

        Remember, the professor is not supposed to be your friend or even on your side. The professor’s job is to lecture, educate and instill a sense of academic toughness. If nit pick at every little thing, we will get to the point (not far from it now) in society in which professors are no longer allowed to teach.

        Again, nobody is denying that racism is not a problem in our society. I am white. I am can tell you firsthand that systematic racism is alive because I know the way white people think, including many white ‘liberals’ who claim not to be racist.

        However, this is not a matter of racism and you are not going to change the hearts and minds of people by sitting around and ‘waiting to be offended’.

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      3. Hola Michael / Miguelito
        Pobrecito Miguelito,
        Tienes problemas con tu nombre, no sabes quien tu eres.
        Pobrecito Miguelito, preguntale a tu Mamacita.

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  36. James,

    There is no such thing as someone being a little prejudice,
    That Professor “IS PREJUDICE!”
    And I am also from the Bronx, pure Puerto Rican and proud of it!!!
    And you my brother, have absolutely no concept of other people and other races, and their experiences.

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    1. Ave Maria, but what country are you in who is your host? The United States of America. If PR is so great (and still solvent) a lot of patriots here would be happy to see you
      Off at the gate for your flight. See, we are a land of immigrants, the ones who truly matter assimilate.

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  37. Sorry, but did you actually read books during your education? I am from Europe, and here you have to read and learn pages and pages of books to pass any exam, so don’t minde my question.
    How about writing a paper about all the books and materials you used in your education, with number of pages, words… Maybe a nice photo of all of those books, to?
    You know that numbers are very expressive tool and a picture is worth a thousand words, right?
    Keep the faith!

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  38. First off, I am not a troll, A trump supporter, nor a hater. I am person that grew up in a very diverse environment. So please hear my point and think about it for a second.

    Did you ever think that maybe the professor just thought you plaigerized simply because you used the word “hence”. You say in your intro that you are from Bronx. Well, I was born in Jersey City and my family is from north Jersey. I grew up in Las Vegas and come from a very working class background. I am 35 now, but I was a first generation college student. I am also White.

    If you claim you are from the Bronx, then of course professors are goinig to think that you may have plaigerised. If I used the word “hence” when I was 20, I wouldn’t gotten the same reaction from my professors. It wasn’t because they didn’t think I was smart because I was also a little rough around the edges when I was younger. In fact, when I was 20, I was still a petty thief, but I gave that up when I fell in love with books and life.

    I had plenty of encounters like the one you had when I was your age. Im sure I felt a little upset at first, but its not the end of the world. Its just part of life and going around and acting like a victim and baby is not going to help you nor better our society. Ok, even if your professor is a little bit of a bigot, he or she is still human. The truth is, we are all bigots from time to time.

    Do you know what the real tragedy is? The fact that half of the world lives in poverty. The fact that roughly half of the United States, people cannot find a good job with benefits.

    How about sitting down and talking to the professor over a coffee like people used to instead of going on this witch hunt. You are not a victim, so appreciate the fact that you even have the opportunity to go to college. You claim to be from the Bronx? I know the Bronx and saying you are from the Bronx means you are from a working class background. Well, think about all the blood, sweat and hard work that your prior family members gave everyday. Think about how much they would have killed to have the chance to go to college.

    Ok, so the professor called you out for using the word, “Hence”. You know, I got to ask……Are you really from the Bronx. Because where I come from, we would just laugh at something like this. Where I come from, there is much more to worry about that a professor calling you out for using the word “Hence”.

    By the way, do you realize how pretentious you sound when you use the word, “Hence”? Maybe that is what your professor was getting at.

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      1. Just because you think it is pretentious does not mean that was how she meant to use the word ‘hence’, that is your point of view, and clearly affects you, however it shouldn’t because it is just a word that is used after the cause of something.

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      2. Mariana, yes it is just a word, which is exactly my point. It is a word and it oftens sounds awkward and as a former teacher, I would find it a bit cheesy and pretentious if a student used it. It also sounds like plaigerism when a 19-year-old or 21-year-old uses it.

        You may be correct that the professor should not have put forth that comment. However, just becuase the professor dogged the usage of the word “hence” here doesn’t mean that she is against the Latino community or minorities. She was simply calling out a student for using a word that sounded awkward and gave the impression that she might have copied and pasted something. Is that the end of the world?

        We have bigger issues to fry in this world. If you want to end systematic oppression, you don’t do it by becoming a victim or ‘waiting to be offended’.

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    2. Using the word “hence” in an academic paper is far from pretentious! Here’s hoping that Tiffany will do her grad studies at a better school where it is perfectly acceptable for students of a wide demographic to use language suitable for their work. How ridiculous to assume a student’s work has been plagiarized because it’s been well written. The professor obviously doesn’t know his students beyond what they look like, and it’s obvious he has little experience teaching international students. Tiffany, I’m certain your academic career will improve as you continue your post-graduate studies in a less provincial institution.

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      1. Actually, using the word ‘hence’ is a little bit pretentious and it doesn’t make one sound more intelligent. I used to teach and if a young student used the word ‘hence’, I would and did call them out for being pretentious and was definitely suspected plaigerism.

        Of course, racism is an issue in our society and it should be a top priority, but this is not a matter of racism. This is merely a professor being a professor.

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    3. I’m from Brooklyn and I’ve used the word “hence” a few good times in my high school papers. Where I come from doesn’t mean I have to act or feel or even speak the same way other people. She was simply expressing her feelings. Instead of going off on her professor, she just wrote about it. I think she has done the right thing by writing about it because not to many people from NY gonna just take what she was giving w/o cursing someone out.

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    4. James,
      Wow! You are so off base. This kind of thing can kill the spirit of a student. It cuts deep into the soul. You can’t rationalize statements or situations like this and expect a student to bounce back and fight right away. Also, we understand oppression very well, so don’t try to make it seem as though Sister Tiffany is putting on a show. Please take the time to read Pedagogy of The Oppressed, Book by Paulo Freire. You need so education as well. You will then see how this system works……

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      1. Jimmy, I am in no way denying that oppression does not exist. It is obvious that racism and institutional racism is problem in our society and it addressing it needs to be a top priority.

        However, you cannot just assume that everything is racist. Ok, so the professor wrote, “This is not your word”. Big deal. There is a good chance the professor wrote that because when you use the word ‘Hence’, it looks pretentious and like plaigarism.

        If you want to talk about oppression, lets focus on energy on real oppression like the Black man that was murdered a police officer in his car in front of his girlfriend a couple of months ago in Minnesota. That was a form of oppression.

        This is simply an immature college student.

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    6. I’m sorry but you should read her story again.

      She is stating that this is a problem. Not that its the ONLY problem or even the most significant.

      The problem is that not only her, but everyone is being judged by where they come from. Her example is about the way a native from the Bronx of Hispanic descent is treated, but she is obviously widening the view of the problem as the story progresses.

      It is not like she is “sobbing” and blaming only the professor for this. She is introducing a snag in our society that we should work on a bit more.

      James you have been conditioned to believe that this small problem doesn’t matter. Sure this happened alot to you when you were younger. However that doesn’t mean it should continue to happen.

      Unknowingly you just did the same thing. You placed her in a category. By saying

      “I know the Bronx and saying you are from the Bronx means you are from a working class background. Well, think about all the blood, sweat and hard work that your prior family members gave everyday. Think about how much they would have killed to have the chance to go to college.”

      You have stereotyped nit only her, but the whole entire bronx. One can even take it a step further and say you have stereotyped all first generation students therfore limiting their capabilites. We must move away from that.

      Plain and simple it is not okay to ASSUME thay because someone is from the bronx or any other geographic location they are restricted to a specific set of standards.

      She is not avoiding the fact that their are bigger problems in the world. I agree with you and I know for a fact she would agree with you that this is a minor problem compared to other problems in the world. However that does not mean that we shouldn’t talk about this problem either.

      These big problems you speak of do not have an easy solution. These problems, like the tragedy you speak of stem from small problems like this one.

      The tragedy you gave is like a tree and this problem is a root that leads to such tragedy.

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    7. So if i was to then assume that you weren’t at the top of your class or on the honor role at age 20, would you feel like that was an unfair assumption?

      ‘cos the young lady made it clear she was those things, and has presented at literary conferences and shit. Did you do those things when you were 20?

      If not, the comparison might not be meaningful.

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