Doctor Grandma

I always looked forward, as a graduate student, to attending department meetings as a member of the faculty. I really did. It was something graduate students were not allowed to see, unless you served as special “student representative” as I did one semester. It was such a status differential, I looked forward to the time when I could meet other colleagues face to face, and make decisions about our department, how it is run, what courses we offer, how our students are doing.

At Purdue there would be 20 or so faculty at every meeting, and they were all sociologists or anthropologists. Here, I am one of 2 sociologists, there is no anthropology dept., and we are a group of 8 who represent 4 different disciplines, sociology, psychology, history and political science.

I just came from our last meeting. Everyone is very cordial, at least in the meetings. I am new faculty, and I do not have tenure. I am the only member of our dept. without tenure. (I am the “baby” faculty member.) I am always aware of being the rookie, and also the outsider, coming down from northern climes. Some of the faculty are actually from outside the south, but most are from the south, if not South Carolina. What I find is that I am always aware of being the newbie and an outsider because they always speak of HISTORY that I know nothing about. It sometimes gets irritating.

Everyone speaks without stating plainly what exactly they are refering to.

Today I was asking them about their plagiarism practices. They all gave me various things they do, but it was evident that they each do their own thing. The reason I asked is that I had a blatant and horrible case last semester, with a major required paper of a student. At the time, I decided to give him a -0- for the paper, which still left him with a D in the class, but my colleague suggested giving him an incomplete, with a better grade being possible if he redid the paper. I did not want to give him an “incomplete” as if he had been sick or had surgery, so I said no! Because of that suggestion, however, as well as her added comments about how she doesn’t usually send a report to the Dean, I did not SEND a report to the Dean, AND I told him I would change his grade of D if he redid the paper. Now I wish I hadn’t SAID I would change the grade because he does not deserve it. He is having a terrible time rewriting this paper, and it’s still not done. (He has to re-do it to graduate.)

In any case, I could sense a tension in the room due to my asking. There is this thing called academic freedom. Everyone can basically do their own thing, make their own decisions about grading, tests, and plagiarism. One person looked at me and said, “Just do what you need to do, make your own professional decision.”

Well I understand that but I don’t have tenure. These people have all been around here for 8-10, or in that person’s case, 20-some years! They know the culture. One has to know the culture and the roles expected of you in a place, before you can then make your own informed decision. I just wanted my decision to be informed by their general standard practice.

It comes back to me time and time again how I have landed on the moon. It is culture shock. I am still trying to figure out the language, including body language, and what is never said, as well as what is spoken out loud. One has to first see how it is done “here”, in this place. What I am really doing is trying to decipher symbolic meaning in a place where those meanings are not intuitive for me. To make an informed decision, you have to first know the meaning, the intent, the ramifications of any action you may take. In Georg Simmel’s words, I am “the stranger who comes and stays,” not the stranger who comes and goes. I am here, yet always a stranger. I view this world as an outsider, yet in another sense, I am a part of this world, always here, yet there.

Took a class to a county courtroom today, as observers. We first had to pass the metal detector. My purse beeped due to my car keys, but they let me keep them. No cell phones were allowed in the court room. (Left mine in my office desk.)

We sat down by 10am. The judge arrived at 11. The defendants we saw today were all in trouble for violating their parole:

1. young black male, broke his parole when he was found w/ a bit of crack cocaine. As I recall, he was sent to finish his 90-day sentence in jail. His mother and sister were in the court room. He seemed to want to serve his time and waved his arms twice to people in the courtroom as he walked out.

2. tall white male, in on violent charges, probably domestic, had not gone through either of 2 programs (not sure why), of which one was anger management. He was sentenced to serve 11 mos. in jail. Also seemed to want to do this & get it done & over with.

Both these first 2 defendants waived the right to counsel. It didn’t really seem to make a difference.

3. 2 women. The first one was in her 30s, had been convicted of sharing MJ with a 15-yr-old in her own home, also other friends present. She broke parole “to save her life” to get away from old druggie friends & had been reportedly clean for a year, and working, in AL. You’re not supposed to move w/o permission. Her entire family was with her, mother, father, sister, & all testified that her drug addiction had driven them crazy but she seemed to be clean now & didn’t want to have her return to N. Her 2 kids are living w/ the grandmother. All family members were tearful & you could tell her addiction had broken their hearts. Judge agreed to extend her probation & let her live in AL, but ordered monthly drug tests & 20 hrs community svc. to take away restitution charges not paid.

4. 25-yr-old mother of a 9-yr-old, same charge as above. In fact, they had been caught together but this was coincidence that they appeared in court together. (!)  This woman, however, admittedly can’t quit the stuff, so the public defender said she was NOT a good candidate for probation. She was to return to jail w/the stipulation that she be admitted to treatment program instead, if a bed were available. IOW, she won’t be let out, it’s either jail or treatment. She had already been thru 1 treatment program. (Didn’t seem remorseful, hasn’t learned.) Wants to be there for her son. (Hmm.) She as in shackles, as were the 1st 2 men.

5. Short & stocky white dude, has not paid much on a $30,000. debt. Must owe for larceny or something. The victim wants him incarcerated if he cannot pay the bill, but the judge sympathized w/ current economic situation & just continued the parole. Guy showed papers that he had been looking for work.

6. 50-yr-old black male on probation had been found at a house w/ bunch of other people all doing cocaine. 1 lb. found on table in living room, by police.I don’t remember his length of sentence but he went to jail, not on probation anymore.

No one contested their guilt, all waived right to trial. All the last ones were represented by public defender.

The judge kept talking to my students, asking them questions, or if they had any questions! We were sitting in jury box at front of courtroom! (This is small town America.) I felt embarassed for the families of defendants sitting there waiting for their loved one to appear before the judge.