I'll admit that I was wondering whether there was some bureaucratic rationale behind Andrew's behavior — maybe he'd been asked by the department or University HR to remain strictly neutral or something
Yeah, I don't think so, because (a detail I didn't include in the post; it was long enough, and all) he told me, during an in-person conversation in July, something like (not an exact quote, but this is the gist) "nobody cares what I think about this situation except you." If someone had asked him to remain neutral, I don't think he would have said that nobody cared.
(And, yes, it's hard for me to believe, too, that he wouldn't care whether his students harassed other people in the group unless someone else told him to care -- but I can't really come up with any other interpretation.)
maybe he was doing a lot behind closed doors while trying not to disrupt the group any more than necessary (not that that's necessarily possible, or even wise, but I can understand wanting to try).
Yeah, I don't think that could have been true either, because he told me (in the same conversation) that he hadn't exchanged a word with Thomas about what happened. If he had been trying to help, I'd think he would have wanted to get the story from all individuals involved, firsthand.
But no, it sounds like he's really trying to take a principled stand for this not really being "academic" and therefore something he should be involved in. That's clearly bullshit, and I'd be angry and disappointed, too.
Yeah, that's how it seems to me too. At first I wanted to think this was a misunderstanding, I wanted to find some explanation that would preserve my respect for Andrew. But... I just can't.
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Date: 2011-09-06 08:58 am (UTC)Yeah, I don't think so, because (a detail I didn't include in the post; it was long enough, and all) he told me, during an in-person conversation in July, something like (not an exact quote, but this is the gist) "nobody cares what I think about this situation except you." If someone had asked him to remain neutral, I don't think he would have said that nobody cared.
(And, yes, it's hard for me to believe, too, that he wouldn't care whether his students harassed other people in the group unless someone else told him to care -- but I can't really come up with any other interpretation.)
maybe he was doing a lot behind closed doors while trying not to disrupt the group any more than necessary (not that that's necessarily possible, or even wise, but I can understand wanting to try).
Yeah, I don't think that could have been true either, because he told me (in the same conversation) that he hadn't exchanged a word with Thomas about what happened. If he had been trying to help, I'd think he would have wanted to get the story from all individuals involved, firsthand.
But no, it sounds like he's really trying to take a principled stand for this not really being "academic" and therefore something he should be involved in. That's clearly bullshit, and I'd be angry and disappointed, too.
Yeah, that's how it seems to me too. At first I wanted to think this was a misunderstanding, I wanted to find some explanation that would preserve my respect for Andrew. But... I just can't.