Saturday, April 26, 2008

Professor to Sue Students for Discrimination

Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:56:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Priya.Venkatesan@Dartmouth.EDU
To: "WRIT.005.17.18-WI08":;, Priya.Venkatesan@Dartmouth.EDU
Subject: WRIT.005.17.18-WI08: Possible lawsuit

Dear former class members of Science, Technology and Society:

I tried to send an email through my server but got undelivered messages. I regret to inform you that I am pursuing a lawsuit in which I am accusing some of you (whom shall go unmentioned in this email) of violating Title VII of anti-federal [SIC] discrimination laws.
The feeling that I am getting from the outside world is that Dartmouth is considered a bigoted place, so this may not be news and I may be successful in this lawsuit.
I am also writing a book detailing my experiences as your instructor, which will "name names" so to speak. I have all of your evaluations and these will be reproduced in the book.

Have a nice day.

Priya

--- Forwarded message from "Priya Venkatesan" ---

From: "Priya Venkatesan"
To: <[REDACTED]Dartmouth.EDU>,
Subject: Re: Class Action Suit
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 [time redacted]

Dear Student:

Please disregard the previous email sent by Priya Venkatesan. This is to officially inform you that you are being accused of violating Title VII pertaining to federal anti-discrimination laws, by the plaintiff, Priya Venkatesan. You are being specifically accused of, but not limited to, harassment. Please do not respond to this email as it will be used against you in a court of law.

Priya Venkatesan, PhD
----- Original Message -----
From: Priya Venkatesan
To: [REDACTED]@Dartmouth.edu ; editor@dartmouth.com
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 [time redacted]
Subject: Class Action Suit


Dear Student:

As a courtesy, you are being notified that you are being named in a potential class action suit that is being brought against Dartmouth College, which is being accused of violating federal anti-discrimination laws. Please do not respond to this email because it will be potentially used against you in a court of law.

Priya Venkatesan, PhD

Aside from the fact that I learnt nothing of value in this class besides the repeated use of the word "postmodernism" in all contexts (whether appropriate or not) and the fact that Professor Venkatesan is the most confusing/nonsensical lecturer ever, the main problem with this class is the personal attacks launched in class. Almost every member of the class was personally attacked in some form in the class by either intimidation or ignoring your questions/comments/concerns. If you decide to take this class, prepare to NOT be allowed to express your own opinions in class because you have "yet to obtain your Ph.D/masters/bachelors degree". We were forced to write an in-class essay on "respect" (and how we lacked it) because we expressed our views on controversial topics and some did not agree with the views of "established scholars" who have their degrees.

Additionally, your essays will (at most) receive 2 lines worth of feedback, along with a miserable letter grade.

All in all, there are much better ways to understand science, technology, and society than to suffer through ten weeks of emotional battering.

Posted by M. Heddaya at 9:49 PM

Comments

Professor Bloom is rolling over in his grave.

Posted by  Katherine J. Murray — April 26, 2008 9:58 PM  

This is why I came to this school.

Posted by  Matthew — April 26, 2008 10:06 PM  

"Please do not respond to this email as it will be used against you in a court of law."

Always putting the students first.

Posted by  Stray Beaver — April 26, 2008 10:36 PM  

This is the weirdest/creepiest thing I have ever heard of...

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 12:25 AM  

Who hired, and then re-hired, this nut job?

She is one of the 40+% adjunct profs teaching the College's students.

Posted by  Truth Be Told — April 27, 2008 12:36 AM  

I signed up for her course in the fall, went to one class, and bailed. She was a terrible lecturer and it was obvious she had no idea how to run a class.

Her lawsuit seems entirely absurd. I'm no expert so maybe I'm missing something, but Title VII seems address giving employment/compensation, not personal attacks. Last time I checked, students don't employ teachers - schools do. And since she's already got the job, there seems little for her to base a lawsuit on.

If the college doesn't give her something to complain about (by firing her, promptly) I will lose all respect for the administration.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 1:27 AM  

The College, as this lady’s employer, has an obligation under Title VII to provide her with a harassment-free workplace.

If, for example, a student repeatedly pinched her ample bottom AND if she complained about it to the College AND if the College did nothing to protect her, then she would have a strong suit against Dartmouth (not the student) for sexual harassment.

However, in this instance it seems that her students did not show her the "respect" that she felt was her due. IMHO she won't get past a motion to dismiss.

Posted by  Astounded — April 27, 2008 5:06 AM  

If this is Stephen Colbert style satire in the Dartmouth Review:

Hooray and congratulations!



If this is serious, then this is Exhibit A in the Alumni Election:

The preposterous Leftist Regime who hired this nutty twit must be overthrown, along with all their retinue, board supporters, and hacks who have wormed their way onto various committees and boards.

ALUMNI REVOLT!

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 8:39 AM  

The preposterous Leftist Regime who hired this nutty twit must be overthrown, along with all their retinue, board supporters, and hacks who have wormed their way onto various committees and boards.

At least one pro-lawsuit partisan has the temerity to admit that the lawsuit is merely means to political ends. Exhibit A, indeed.

Posted by  Leo Strauss — April 27, 2008 8:45 AM  

Professor Bloom and Ernest Martin Hopkins are both spinning in their graves...

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 9:47 AM  

One wonders how Alumna Vankatesan will cast her vote? She cannot be on the side of the administration, and she cannot support the petitioners. Is there room for a Bizzaro third party, at the extreme end of an entirely separate axis?

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 11:40 AM  

Dartlog Observer says:

"This is to officially inform you that you are being accused of violating Title VII pertaining to federal anti-discrimination laws..."

Ignoring the split infinitive coming from a professor of writing, what does "officially" mean? Is she also an attorney or officer of the court making a formal accusation?

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 11:44 AM  

What gobble-de-gook from an instructor in writing! I think she may have a point in here somewhere, but is it that “postmodernism” and “social constructivism” are the same, or different things? Are they a necessary complement to science, or an impediment? Can anyone restate the premise of this article in a simple paragraph, please? Is there an important point, or is this merely an example of publishing for the sake of publishing to appear intelligent?

Can some blog historian please provide the links to the prior threads on the various writing programs at Dartmouth?

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 12:01 PM  

She may have a PhD, but why is a self-described "post-doctoral researcher" teaching undergraduates, instead of a "professor" of literature, language, writing, or whatever?

After reading the student course review, it does not seem a "professional" educator is involved in the process of education here. Maybe there is a reason that tuition is now "free"... you get what you pay for.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 12:11 PM  

I would call her a twit, not to mention an ironically poor writer, but I fear she may track my IP address and include me in the lawsuit.

Posted by  Roger — April 27, 2008 12:13 PM  

Try these three links:

http://dartlog.net/2007/11/first-year-seminars-professorial.php

http://dartlog.net/2004/07/opposite-effect.php

http://dartlog.net/2008/02/from-inside-higher-ed-exemption-was.php

Posted by  A.S. Erickson — April 27, 2008 12:25 PM  

This is incredible. For a woman who seems to consider herself rather intelligent, she clearly has absolutely no idea what she is doing here and lacks any basic understanding of the American legal system, from a civil standpoint anyway.

A few observations:

1) In my experience, "pursuing litigation" usually comes AFTER one has determined one has established that a legal claim exists. Unless the system changed over the past week or so, she obviously knows some I don't.

2) Class action suits typically apply to a class of plaintiffs, not a class of defendants.

3) As others have pointed out, students (fortunately) do not employ professors. But all the best to her in trying to prove that they do.

4) "You disagreed with me and/or hurt my feelings" seems like a mighty flimsy standard for proving discrimination under any statute.

Although the English rule (loser pays) for lawsuits has plenty of shortcomings, this professor is making a great case for why we may want to consider adopting it on this side of the pond.

Posted by  Daniel F. Linsalata — April 27, 2008 12:45 PM  

Mr. Linsalata, you're mostly right, but 2 quibbles:

(1) people file frivolous claims all of the time. It's unfortunate, and lawyers can be sanctioned for it, but it often happens and people often get away with it. I note that she refers to a potential suit, and not an actual one.

(2) You're right that class actions typically involve plaintiff classes, but there is precedent for defendant classes (which wouldn't seem to work here). Also, it could be that she's planning to band together with every non-WASP professor who's ever had their feelings hurt. God help us if every mediocre professor who's ever taught Dartmouth gets to extract a pound of flesh from the College.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 1:12 PM  

"Can anyone restate the premise of this article in a simple paragraph, please?"

I think she is saying that some mentally ill people can't understand science.

Posted by  Stray Beaver — April 27, 2008 1:54 PM  

STOP PRESS

Her photo and bio have been removed from the Dartmouth Writing Program web page.

Maybe it was initiated by her because she considered the use of her photo to be unauthorized.

Less likely but possible: The college has temporarily removed her for threatening students who gave her bad reviews. Her first email does appear to do that.

Posted by  Anonymous78 — April 27, 2008 3:51 PM  

I especially like on the writing program website we find:

Sara Biggs Chaney, M.A., ABD

Hmmm, last I checked ABD is not a degree.

Posted by  Dave — April 27, 2008 5:54 PM  

Well, I guess someone had to say it eventually...

This professor makes the rest of us Indian people look bad.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 5:58 PM  

You people just don't get it. This is all a plot by The Hanover Institute, TJ, Todd, Frank and the Suing Six to take your eyes off the ball. They are very tricky. Watch for their next move as voting for the Alumni Association leadership starts tomorrow.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 6:44 PM  

This professor does not make other Indians look bad. She looks bad because she is trying to take advantage of a system designed to prevent discrimination and harassment. Anyone could try to take a short cut when the going gets rough. I wish her the best of luck obtaining a teaching position elsewhere.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 6:52 PM  

...the 100+ fraternity brothers i've e-mailed this to (resulting in 100's of additional forwarded e-mails) can't wait to vote in the AoA elections...

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 7:13 PM  

"Sara Biggs Chaney, M.A., ABD

Hmmm, last I checked ABD is not a degree."

ABD stands for "all but dissertation." She has finished her doctoral work but has not completed and had accepted her doctoral dissertation.

Technically, all this person holds today is a Masters degree.

The college hires ABD's all the time, for two reasons:

- to grab a stellar young researcher before that person is snatched up by a competing school;

- as cheap labor.

Posted by  Definer — April 27, 2008 7:53 PM  

Just Curious asks:

MH/ASE: Was any reason provided in the request to remove the photo?

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 9:13 PM  

Follow this link and read how she "loves to teach the Dartmouth students".

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/program/newsletter/fall07.pdf

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 9:17 PM  

I hope they nail her (and whatever lawyer she dug up to bring this frivolous lawsuit) with hefty Rule 11 sanctions, so that she'll bear the cost of her decision to sue her students---who, by the way, have no control over her employment situation. What a shame that this occurred at such a wonderful school.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 27, 2008 11:23 PM  

@ Just Curious: He said that we had not attributed the photo to the Writing Program. I pointed out that, when clicked on, the photo took one to the Writing Program's website. I'm not clear on the rules for photo attribution on blogs, so I took it down.

Posted by  A.S. Erickson — April 28, 2008 12:08 AM  

ABD is certainly not a degree. Being taught by a postdoc -- and being a postdoc after graduating with a PhD -- is not unusual. In some fields (like English), you are lucky to even get a postdoc somewhere less-than-horrible.

However, colleges do not generally grab ABDs to beat other schools to the punch on an up-and-coming young star. The young stars finish their dissertations before they start work. Being ABD in your postdoc for more than a few months means you are a loser. Period.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 28, 2008 12:17 AM  

Dartblog also took down her photo per the Writing Program's request. Why was that request honored? Why did they make it and on what authority?

Posted by  Anonymous — April 28, 2008 12:38 AM  

Although this entire case may seem frivolous, she would not openly subjected herself to such comments without an important overarching idea that she wants to present. This idea has to do with the overall perception of academics in the classroom, something that definitely is a concern at Dartmouth. Unfortunately, she chose a poor medium for expressing her dislike of the current state of academics at Dartmouth College (and I have no doubts that any other college she works at in the future will be similar). Clearly, continuing to post critiques about her or any other faculty member is only adding this alarming point. I hope that Dartmouth can live up to its true reputation and act in a mature fashion in light of this incident.

Posted by  BoredAtBerry — April 28, 2008 12:39 AM  

Why was that request honored?

As far as I know, they own the photo and we don't. It's that simple.

Posted by  A.S. Erickson — April 28, 2008 1:15 AM  

BoredatBerry wrote:

Although this entire case may seem frivolous, she would not openly subjected herself to such comments without an important overarching idea that she wants to present.

End of Quote...

The fact that the professor of writing is a poor writer does not help the professor with the "important idea that she wants to present". But hey, the professor's hiring was not ALL bad: the College did get to check off the "Woman" and "Asian" boxes on their reporting to the Feds.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 28, 2008 7:05 AM  

@anonymous

re: Chaney and this lady, it is important to point out that Chaney is not here on a post-doc and Venkatesan has her Ph.D.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 28, 2008 7:05 PM  

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/program/photos/PVenkatesan.web.jpg

Posted by  Anonymous — April 28, 2008 7:27 PM  

Hopefully her lawsuit settlement will include a lifetime supply of Lithobid.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 28, 2008 8:58 PM  

This lawsuit is obviously some kind of post-modern performance art, she's probably seeking funding from the NEA for it.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 29, 2008 2:44 PM  

What a nut.

I'm going to do a Google, "Priya Venkatesan" daily news alert on this train-wreck... should be fun.

Sadly, there are a surprising number of crazy people functioning in the real world.

You'll probably have to work with someone like this someday in your lifetime.

This one's screws came so loose she's now flying over the radar... that's pretty rare with these people.

Although they have massive egos, they also get the victim card by default because of their miserable self-esteem... you're always going to the bad guy.

In the real world, these people are usually a just given a slap on the wrist when caught making others miserable... it's just assumed that they are sane (and are often they are good workers).

If you can, AVOID AVOID AVOID these people like the plague... they are absolutely toxic and will simply leave a bad chapter in your life.

And like the man says, wear sunscreen.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 29, 2008 2:57 PM  

too bad her extensive research credentials did not help her uncover the fact that email is not an "official" means of for notifying a defendant of a lawsuit

Posted by  Anonymous — April 29, 2008 4:25 PM  

"You are being specifically accused of, but not limited to, harassment."

That's what passes for the work of a professor of writing at an Ivy League school? My land grant state university degrees are looking like better bargains all the time. She couldn't put together a coherent sentence if I spotted her the "See", "Spot" and "Run".

Sheesh.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 29, 2008 11:06 PM  

In case any one was wondering, the point where she lost her job was "...the feeling that I am getting from the outside world is that Dartmouth is considered a bigoted place".

Name and picture removed. It's not often you get to see a career train wreck unfold before your eyes. But here you have it.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 29, 2008 11:14 PM  

Let’s see….an incompetent, narcissistic, belligerent ‘professor’ suing students for criticism.

I don’t think she has a legal leg to stand on.

Posted by  sfcmac — April 30, 2008 7:47 AM  

Part of the problem is that if she can find someone to take the case, and she likely can, the students involved are going to have to undergo the irritation, waste of time, and expense of defending themselves. They are less likely to be forthright on their next set of evaluations.

Clever of her to frame this as a discrimination case because if she were alleging libel, truth is an absolute defense and I'd actually pay to see the testimony against her.

By the way, she misuses "whom," and writes "officially" when she means "formally." (She does split an infinitive but there are some respectable authorities who consider that acceptable.) But at the branch campus of a land grant school where I got my B.A. her e-mail and the other paragraph quoted would have been politely returned to me by my freshman composition professor with copious notes as to why it was poor.

Posted by  Alex Bensky — April 30, 2008 8:20 AM  

There are like 50 different reasons why she has no chance of winning a Title VII claim against her students for criticism.

She will definitely be liable for Rule 11 sanctions if she is stupid enough to sue any of them personally, although I imagine the school may indemnify them b/c they hired this nutjob. The best part is it would seem like she open herself to a suit for harassment if she sued the students, trying to stifle criticism with wildly frivolous lawsuits, her use of a criminal warning like "will be used against you in a court of law" suggests mental illness or borderline retardation.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 30, 2008 8:21 AM  

This "lecturer" is a perfect example of the findings of the American Educational Research Association's study in the April 4 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. The findings show first-year college students are more likely to drop out and perhaps leave college altogether if their instructors are part-timers.

Let's hope Dartmouth sends an apology and a refund of tuition to each student who suffered through her classes.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 30, 2008 11:31 AM  

Well, the sad fact is, most people, even in universities, are stupid. Most people in any environment or situation are stupid. Obviously the vast majority are, at best, merely average. And I have found, even in my old university, that nearly all people are prone to mob mentality. You get a class full of self-important 19-year-olds, and they develop an "us versus them" mind-set, with the "them" being their teacher. This is extremely common. Sorry folks, but people are mere animals, and even university students are dumb mobs. They're just dumb mobs with pens and keyboards rather than torches and pitchforks. Many times I witnessed idiots proposing things in classes which they thought were clever or relevant, and which gained mob approval from their similarly dimwitted peers. The approval generally stemmed not from any vague attempts thought and understanding the subject, but merely from that "us versus them" mentality. Sadly, that's just the way people are. You can see further examples of it in the many replies to blog posts about this incident. Kids getting all riled up about things. It's pathetic. I have absolutely no doubt that most would be unable to carry on a substantial conversation about anything more complex than J-Lo or Justin Timberlake. So, in my opinion, don't be too impressed by the myriad posts calling for a lynching of a teacher you've never met, never heard speak, and probably won't ever equal in your own academic achievments. Don't be mere mod flunkies. On the other hand, the teacher in question should have calmed down some, realised that groups of kids are stupid mobs who don't really understand much, and spoken about her discomfort with the course coordinator, rather than making a big fuss about legal actions and such.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 30, 2008 12:32 PM  

this sorry excuse for an educator is obviously in the wrong profession. If she can't handle negative reviews or harsh criticism she needs to do something else.

I should sue her for raising my blood pressure!!

Posted by  Burke — April 30, 2008 1:22 PM  

Lesson of the day: If you're not a lawyer, don't try to write like one.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 30, 2008 1:25 PM  

She must be mentally ill. That's the only reasonable explanation for this embarrassment of a kerfuffle.

May she recieve the proper diagnosis and medication.

Posted by  SarahW — April 30, 2008 2:18 PM  

I've heard more coherent rants from teenage fans on a Hannah Montana message board. This woman was employed to tell other people how to write? No wonder she was given bad reviews.

Posted by  Anonymous — April 30, 2008 4:23 PM  

If you were one of her students you need to find out what Dartmouth is going to do about getting you a lawyer before she files suit. You have a potential conflict of interest with Dartmouth so you shouldn't rely on them to represent you, and you shouldn't necessarily rely on what the school's lawyer tells you about whether the suit has any merit. What you should be doing though is trying to get them to pay for your lawyer.

Legal Eagle

Posted by  Anonymous — April 30, 2008 9:59 PM  

http://www.dartblog.com/data/2008/04/007756.php

Posted by  Anonymous — April 30, 2008 10:19 PM  

The professor is an idiot.

Title VII doesn't permit individuals -- as opposed to institutions -- to be sued. (See, e.g., Miller v. Maxwell and Tomka v. Seiler (2d Cir. 1995)).

So she can't sue the students under Title VII. Rule 11 sanctions should be imposed on her if she does.

Posted by  Anonymous — May 02, 2008 1:45 PM  

I cannot believe that this school both educated this woman and hired her. May Dartmouth have more sense in the future.

Posted by  Anonymous — May 04, 2008 8:20 PM  

> She must be mentally ill. That's the
> only reasonable explanation for this
> embarrassment of a kerfuffle.

Anyone who is an acolyte of the postmodernist theory is mentally ill, by definition: either terminally stupid, or sociopathic. Or both.

Posted by  averros — May 07, 2008 4:08 PM  

Diversity is strength.

Posted by  weston — May 07, 2008 10:55 PM  

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