After a CARE meeting today, CARE researchers brought our guests, domestic workers from the shelter, for lunch at the staff lounge. Upon entering, we were greeted by a very rude and condescending Associate Professor from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (NUS).
He felt the need to remind us that this space was "for faculty only", clearly not a place for mere researchers like us and the domestic workers, despite us having access to the lounge with our staff cards (as fulltime research assistants).
It is so disturbing how such arrogant and classist academics reside in the institutions of power, draw power from their positions, and set the standards for what Professorship looks like in our prestigious university.
This brings up issues of the kinds of indicators we use to measure the quality of scholars, and who is deemed fit to mentor and teach our students. What values do we impart in our students when our Professors think they are too good to have their space be violated by research assistants and domestic workers?
If this is the face of the NUS faculty, then we have very poor role models for graduate students and for the future of our education.
He felt the need to remind us that this space was "for faculty only", clearly not a place for mere researchers like us and the domestic workers, despite us having access to the lounge with our staff cards (as fulltime research assistants).
It is so disturbing how such arrogant and classist academics reside in the institutions of power, draw power from their positions, and set the standards for what Professorship looks like in our prestigious university.
This brings up issues of the kinds of indicators we use to measure the quality of scholars, and who is deemed fit to mentor and teach our students. What values do we impart in our students when our Professors think they are too good to have their space be violated by research assistants and domestic workers?
If this is the face of the NUS faculty, then we have very poor role models for graduate students and for the future of our education.