Gawker
A Dartmouth lecturer is suing her class for discrimination, as she revealed in a series of regrettable and bizarre emails that promptly ended up all over Dartmouth blogs. Priya Venkatesan (Dartmouth '90, MS in Genetics, PhD in literature) emailed members of her Winter '08 Writing 5 class Saturday night to announce her intention to seek damages from them for their being mean to her. The email, and so, so much more, below:
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:56:35
From: Priya Venkatesan
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 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 eperiences as your instructor, which will "name names" so to speak. I have all of your evaluation and these will be reproduced in the book.
Have a nice day.
Anti-federal discrimination laws? That's serious business. Or whatever the exact opposite of serious business is.
The details of the discrimination and harassment? Students didn't pay attention to her, complained about her to her boss, and accused her of not "accepting opinions contrary to her own" and said she would "lower the grades of students her disagreed with her." In other words, the exact smarmy complaints all entitled college students level against inexperienced teachers.
From the Dartmouth News:
As an example of Venkatesan's rejection of views different from her own, the student highlighted Venkatesan's cancelation of class for a week after the class applauded a student who contradicted Venkatesan's opinions about post-modernism.
Venkatesan said the incident occurred when she was lecturing about "The Death of Nature," a book by Carolyne Merchant, and the witch trials of the Renaissance. The student went on a "diatribe" about the inappropriate nature of challenging patriarchal authority, Venkatesan said. Vakatesan respected the student's right to express this opinion, she said, but the manner in which he vocalized his views and the applause afterward were disrespectful and offensive.
"I was horrified," Venkatesan said. "My responsibility is not to stifle them, but when they clapped at his comment, I thought that crossed the line ... I was facing intolerance of ideas and intolerance of freedom of expression."
She was horrified! Horrified that an Ivy League undergrad bitched about hearing some academic nonsense about the entrenched power structures that got them where they are today! (No winners in this story, folks.)
The emails apparently started last Friday, when Venkatesan emailed seven or more students to warn of a "possible lawsuit" against them.
From: Priya Venkatesan
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008
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
From: Priya Venkatesan
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008
Subject: Class Action Suit
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
In a statement to Dartblog, Venkatesan reveals that she's retained an attorney from New Hampshire, and that she has absolutely no clue what a class-action suit is or how it works.
The students I am naming in this suit were mostly from Winter 08 term with a few from Fall. Essentially, I am pursuing litigation to see if I have a legal claim, that is, if the inappropriate and unprofessional behavior I was subjected to as a Research Associate and Lecturer at Dartmouth constitutes discrimination and harrassment [sic] on the basis of ethnicity, race and gender. This includes not just students, but a few faculty members that I worked with.
Possibly on the advice of her lawyer, Venkatesan is now making it more clear that she's suing Dartmouth for harassment by her superior in the writing program, but she won't let go of her brilliant idea to also sue the students who didn't like her very much.
According to her Dartmouth bio, Venkatesan's "current position is as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, which will form the basis of [her] latest manuscript, A Postmodernist in the Laboratory." We can't believe her bio leaves out the fact that this manuscript will "name names" (so to speak).
Comments
I believe the opposite of serious business is monkey business.
We also would have accepted shenanigans.
"... whom shall go unmentioned ..."
Classic. Choosing the pretentious over the grammatical. Nicely done, professor.
I will give her props for going to extreme lengths to promote her book. Is she going to get Hell's Angels to provide security?
She's going to be black listed from Hop Sing's.
Also, there has to be more to this story. It can't be as absurd as it sounds. Or it can. I prefer not to read any further.
Boo f*cking hoo. I'd like to sue God for giving me an abusive childhood which left me unequipped to function normally in school and then university and then adult life, but instead I just SUCK IT UP.
Please do not respond to this e-mail as your response could be used in a court of law and therefore could assist me in winning my case.
If I won legal judgments against everyone who has been mean to me, I would have been richer than Bill Gates by the time I was seven.
We're not supposed to meddle in the affairs of the woodspeople, Pareene.
Checking to see which part of USC covers crazy. It's not Title ZZZ but I will keep looking.
Pssst ...
(Priya Venkatesan smells funny)
If she can prove discrimination by against a protected class under Title VII, she might actually have a case, which would be. . . interesting.
But based on the information provided, I don't see it.
Guys, be quiet! Do you want to get sued?
Always be afraid of people with graduate degrees in two unrelated fields. They usually end up getting a Masters in Library Science so they will never have to leave college.
@Randall Tex Cobb: Also know as "perma-student".
I bet she's a Wiccan.
It was the "have a nice day" sign-off on the first e-mail that told me everything I will ever need to know about this woman. She probably cuts people off on the highway in order to 'teach them a lesson' and then smiles when they honk at her. I hate her.
@contradicto: And since she didn't, thank you for now equating the name Priya to idiocy, because I always thought that was a pretty, pretty name.
"I was facing intolerance of ideas and intolerance of freedom of expression."
So I canceled class. Huh.
Excellent.
On a unrelated note, I will be pursuing a class action suit against Sam Champion and a few other "weather people" for the recent bout of shit weather that began every Friday and rained/snowed through Saturday. Others who have felt put out by this crap weather are also welcome to pursue damages.
this is why i took naps during any class with the word "lecture" in the title.
First the kid who talked his way into Yale and now this chick?
Like brown folks need a worse rep in the ivy league - its bad enough that we bollix up the grade curve.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say i like this lady! She sure isn't afraid to bring the crazy to the table.
@Conbon: You have a point there.
You know, Nick, I'm guessing you have most of your legal department devoted to the litigious thetan-cretins of CO$, but you might want to have at least a law intern handy for when this wingnut decides to sue you over her hurt feelings.
That said, what asswipe defends witchcraft burnings?
I am suing every woman that ever laughed at my clumsy seduction attempts. As I am 46 and unmarried that is a long list. Let's see...yes, the schoolground bully...wait...I can't quite remember the name...oh, yeah, and the guy on the street who laughed when I tripped on the crack where the sidewalk was uneven...
Please do not respond to this email because it will be potentially used against you in a court of law.
That's easily the best thing I've ever read.
If you replace the letters L-A-W in "Lawsuit" with the letters M-A-N it spells the word "Mansuit." Therefore the professor is hypocritcally utilizing the patriarchal power structure to enact violence on those in a lower social caste, i.e. students being a lower class compared to teachers. I suggest the students file a countersuit.
@contradicto: It would open the door for some interesting suits. For example can you sue a dead 17th century English executioner for pain and suffering or for just giving you the yips?
@Ed: Either a wood salesman or a pompous college student.
@Ed: a very devout asswipe.
This woman is crazy; you can tell by that crazy-ass look on her ugly face.
@belltolls: No. You may not.
I'm currently seeking legal representation in my pursuit of justice against Lilly Jones, who not only stole my lunch money on multiple occasions, but also displayed intolerance to new ideas, such as "how 'bout we play on the tireswing" and "maybe boys aren't so gross?"
Crazy on a cracker. It could only have been improved if she'd added "Y'all are just jealous 'cause I'm prettier than you. Are too."
@Ed: Voldemort?
@belltolls: Well actually, to be kind of serious (sorry!), I don't think she can sue the students under Title VII, but she can sue Dartmouth for discrimination by the students if she properly informed them of the discrimination in accordance with their stated EEO policy and they failed to do anything about it.
Please disregard the previous blog entry sent by Fred_Istare. I may have violated Title VII pertaining to federal anti-discrimination laws. I do not wish to be accused of acts including, but not limited to, harassment.
Case law ain't on her side. cf. I.M. Rubber v. U.R. Glue.
this woman sucks. and I mean that in the most discriminatory way possible.
This gives me an idea to sue my wife when she doesn't laugh at my jokes. I will not stand for her intolerance for my humor!
@Clarence Rosario: Ha! Commie!
@Dave J.: If you don't think I'm ending every e-mail with that phrase from now on, you are sorely mistaken.
Hopefully she will use the proceeds of her legal victory/settlement to get a proper eyebrow tweeze and eliminate her turkey neck.
@Clarence Rosario: HA!
Does her PhD mean, "Pretty Horrible Display"?
In re Badly Hurt Feelings
@Ed: Fire is an important tool/weapon in warcraft.
@contradicto: Yes. The students are not in a position to "discriminate." By the way, who sends emails to people telling them they are going to be sued? In the litigation support work I have done in the past you send them a sweet pleading. The emails had another purpose.
@contradicto: I fail to see how students can discriminate, however. What power do students hold over a professor, exactly? I mean, don't lawsuits involving discrimination involve some sort of statement about how the discrimination in question affected your livelihood? It's not like she was fired because she was a non-white woman, or something--if anything, she's writing a book BECAUSE of these students, thus one could credibly claim that her professional prospects were actual