As graduate students in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) at Oregon State University (OSU), this letter is written with the expressed values of our program in mind. As such, it comes from a place of deep love for and commitment to honesty, accountability, and radical change. The goal of this letter is to demand changes in WGSS program policies and practices, as well as the program leadership, in an effort to address widespread bias and abusive behavior toward graduate students and graduate employees and ultimately “contribute to social change and justice” (WGSS website, About Us). Through the guidance and support of several WGSS faculty we have decided to make this letter public to further hold OSU accountable.
The misalignment that exists between our program’s expressed values and what we have experienced as a result of the practices of former director of graduate studies and associate professor, Dr. “Qwo-Li” Driskill has been challenging and painful (for a full list of our grievances please click here).
In our effort to work to change these conditions, several of us have stepped forward to share our experiences and concerns with the director of our School. However, after several months of demands that changes be made, little has changed, and most alarmingly, Dr. Driskill is still teaching in our program, despite our extensive grievances concerning their classroom practices and their treatment of graduate students.
As we have stepped forward to speak out about challenges and grievances, rumors have been spread that accuse us of transmisogyny and prejudice based on race and ethnicity. It seems that the louder we get, the louder these accusations get. As a consequence, many among the graduate student body are reluctant to speak to administrators and university offices because they fear these false accusations and other forms of retaliation from Dr. Driskill. As a result of fears such as these, many of those whose experiences are documented in the examples that have given rise to our grievances, have asked to remain anonymous.
The contributors to this letter include students of color, queer folks, and/or trans and gender-diverse folks. We are all aware of and have experiences with institutional and individual racial and gender based harm. Given our own experiences, we have carefully considered our grievances against the possibility of prejudice. As a result of careful and collective scrutiny of our claims, we stand firm in the truths that we have shared in this letter and in the legitimacy of our grievances. Our demands for change are rooted in deep care for our program, our peers, and our values, and we ask that swift action be taken to address our concerns.
In community,
Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education
Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education 