Academics behaving badly

There is a “race” for director in our school. The current director is being challenged; it seems they got a committee to get him off the block (please somebody get the Beastie Boys ref), and came up with a contender. Now I’ve got nothing against the contender, nor anything particularly for the incumbent (except for his snazzy sense of style, refreshing in a place known for its neglect of – nay contempt for – fashion). But what is putting me off, what is, in fact, offensive, is the way in which this whole thing is going down. For all protestations of “collegiality” and “forthrightness” and “honesty”, there seems to be quite a lot of the opposite.

Not only is this mildly annoying, as in could you people please get a life but it’s embarrassing. If we (as in grad students – supposed future profs) are to be taking an example from their behaviour, there’s much left to be desired. While folks are hopping up and down about procedure, transparency and democracy they are forgetting even basic good manners. I have begun to take it personally, though technically, it has nothing to do with me – grads don’t have a vote.

I have little patience for office politics; I’ve never had a real job before, in part because of bullshit like this. But here I am, getting dragged inadvertently into the muck, by virtue of my status as PhD rep. The faculty have encamped – that is patently clear. They remind me of my kid, when doing a magic trick, thinking he has me fooled by his manouevres, though they are painfully obvious. I can tell who’s voting for whom by their disingenous remarks, meant to seem innocently bumbling when they are clearly poison-tipped arrows. Or by their sheer rudeness, or the acidity in their tone when they speak or by the way they avoid each others’ eyes. Talk about transparency!

While I previously never felt a pull toward either candidate, I am shying away from what certainly appears to be a ruthless and self-absorbed cabal that has taken on the task of “fixing” the school. It will all be over soon but regardless of who “wins”, one thing is for sure: true colours, once revealed, do not soon fade.

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