1) Hwang is junior faculty who is being bullied by an acute administrative asshole (AAA from now on if they appear in my posts ever again). The AAA keeps putting Hwang in nuisance committees that take up needless hours. This particular AAA also has a reputation for bullying and bothering senior faculty, which didn't take Hwang long to find out. Hwang needs to be acutely aware of the service expectations of their position and refer to it in their correspondence with the AAA if they want any respite. A simple, human "I am a little overcommitted this month" will not work. AAA will need to be told, verbatim from the rulebook if possible, that Hawng "is serving on x number of committees and to fulfill their expected research and teaching responsibilities, they are unable to take on this service request." AAA might still bully Hwang, but this language will be the most resistant to AAA's next move. Of course, every school (this is an educated guess. Let me know if you work in paradise without one of these) has an AAA, so Hwang is not alone.
2) Now on the opposite side in the spectrum of power from AAA, an increasingly disruptive older student is making teaching difficult for Matilda, a junior faculty. She reached out to a few senior faculty, and then got in touch with administration. They all said the same thing: "we will help you out" without taking any action, i.e. "suck it up." To them the student ranges from "a paying customer" to "my bro who is a good guy." Matilda should be aware of what the school officially calls the harassment she is facing while teaching (is it "harassment"? is it "disruptive behavior"? is it "hostile work environment"?) Whatever it is, Matilda should use that language to have any hope for respite. A simple, human "I am distressed by this" will do jackshit. Matilda should also know about the formal channels (is there a student conduct office? is there HR? is there a faculty union rep? is there a helpful faculty senate?). There are too many Matildas going through this in academia, and it is high time they learn to use the school's formal language to get the safe, collegial (see what I did there? I used a fun buzzword you will find in so many faculty rulebooks) work environment they deserve as faculty.
Now if you are an AAA or that student, you could simply be a nicer person, but that won't happen, will it?
So the trick is for you as junior faculty to familiarize yourself with the formal language of the institution way before you begin working. Read up the rulebook and keep a copy of it on your computer in a week of accepting the offer. If you leave it for later, you will forget. And when bad things knock on the door, your vocabulary will flail more than it needs to.
That's all for today. Happy end-of-the-semester!
Write again soon. Stay well, readers!
