Welcome, Class of 2026! Part 2
Welcome, Class of 2026! Part 2
Oh the places you'll go!
“Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.” (Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You’ll Go!)
This week you start your academic journey. You are about to enter a wonderful world of social-emotional learning, expansive notions of excellence and social justice above all. You will learn a lot of amazing things:
You will learn that your race is the single most important thing about you. It is at the same time a social construct with a superficial to non-existent biological basis and is not always related to phenotype, but also pre-determined by the color of your skin and your facial features. Unlike biological sex, which is a spectrum and “assigned (randomly) at birth”, race is very binary - you’re either white or a person of color. Any attempt to make sense of that mess is a token of your white fragility.
Any denial of your white fragility is in itself a token of your white fragility.
Calling the above a “Kafka trap” is a token of your white fragility.
Your gender is completely up to you. It is innate and immutable yet ever-changing. It has nothing to do with your looks but you should often rush to change your looks, including drastic surgeries, to fit your inner immutable ever-changing gender.
Logic, reason and standardized tests are tokens of whiteness and patriarchy and need to be abolished and replaced by restorative justice and inclusive excellence fueled non-Eurocentric standards. (We are still trying to figure out how “inclusive” and “excellence” fit in one sentence).
Supporting the sacrifice of STEM research and education at the altar of forced equal outcomes is “social justice”, while supporting free inquiry and freedom of speech makes you an ultra conservative white supremacist (regardless of your skin color or actual political stance).
Hurt feelings are more important than anything, including data, facts and logic.
Intelligence comes in multiple ways, including the one in your heart (or other parts of your body). Yes, we literally mean the body part. You can learn about it here at UMass Boston!
Confused? Good! That’s the goal. We are preparing a glossary to help you navigate your way through the confusion. But in the mean time…
“Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!” (Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You’ll Go!)1 2
For a bit of practical advice, see “Welcome, Class 2026. Part 1”.
For a bit of even MORE practical advice, see the alternative universe.