Hypocrisy and Power

A lesson in Hypocrisy and the exercise of power 
by Sharpshorts, 04/15/2018


My freshman year at the University of Florida, Gainesville (1974) I signed up for a creative writing English course as part of the requirements leading to a major in Architecture. Even though I 'earned' only a “C” grade for the course, I did learn quite a bit about creative writing. But I also learned so much more than just how to appreciate prose.

The professor dedicated one portion of the semester to presenting the mechanics of writing a thesis. At it's conclusion, he assigned everyone in the class to 1) chose a topic (any topic) 2) do research and 3) present findings to support the chosen topic. The professor adamantly stipulated that the content within these practice thesis' would be immaterial to the final grade of the assignment. Rather, grades would be based on whether or not the student understood the “how to” part of writing thesis papers, ie; following the proper form and the commonly accepted practices of how a thesis is presented.

After wholeheartedly accepting the assignment, I undertook it as a mission. To complete my assigned work, I did extensive library research including other tasks such as interviews with professor's assistants and unpaid pre-doctoral students (who are largely made up of perpetual students). After my mission was completed and turned in, I waited excitedly in anticipation of a “well done” congratulatory mark.

I received an “F” grade for the assignment.

All of the professor's comments were angrily hand written all over my thesis papers and were all about contradicting the arguments I had made within it. There was no criticism about the form or the procedures I had used to produce my conclusions.

I did not confront or question the professor about my grade at the time. Much later, I realized that my thesis must have been been very well documented. My chosen topic was on the ruination of higher education due to the system of tenure. 

Silly me, provoking a probationary professor who was well along in his journey towards gaining tenure, the Holy Grail of education professionals...At least I learned a little bit more about the dangers that exist in the shadows of hypocrisy and power .