Recently, a student discovered that their paper had just been published, and the very next day they received an email nominating them for an academic award with a very flashy title.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a pay-to-play academic award, organized by Science Father. 😅
The world is indeed a giant makeshift stage, propped up entirely by acting.
The academic circle is rife with shenanigans, including but not limited to: watered-down awards, paper fraud, ghostwriting papers, etc.
This isn't limited to ordinary people; even big names are not immune. In addition to the previously widely reported incidents of the UMich president being fired for sexual misconduct and the Stanford president resigning due to academic fraud, there are also various unbelievable and outrageous events in academia.
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Berkeley CS Professor’s Misogyny
Recently, misogynistic remarks by a UC Berkeley professor ignited an online firestorm.
It started when a UC Berkeley student posted on the school's Q&A platform, Ed Discussion, offering to pay for a study buddy: $5 for male students, $10 for female students.
This resembled wealthy international students on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) offering big bucks for a study companion/maid.
Then UC Berkeley professor Shewchuk commented below the post:
"If you want a girlfriend, stay away from the Bay Area. Any place on Earth is better than here. You'll find a world of difference between women in places with many women and those in the Bay Area."
It's hard to believe that a prestigious university professor would make such remarks on an official learning platform. While it's true that the Bay Area has more men than women, his misogynistic comments still sparked outrage.
"WTF, does he see women as a resource?"
The professor's colleague also couldn't stand it and told everyone they could report it on the EECS department website. 👇
Jonathan Shewchuk is a CS professor at UC Berkeley, teaching CS 189: Machine Learning this semester, and has a rating as high as 4.9 on Rate My Professor.
He also has a flawless resume: a Ph.D. in computer science from CMU and author of papers in top SCI journals.
And yet, this is his character?
Some students revealed that this professor has always been like this: "He dresses like a riddle, and when you run into him at the supermarket, he gives me a contemptuous look. But to be fair, CS 189 is indeed a good course."
Shewchuk is not only misogynistic, but also xenophobic. According to student reports, the professor has expressed more than once that he does not want Data Science students to take this course, as it is for CS students.
Speechless. Is Machine Learning so noble that other majors aren't worthy of learning it?!
After being criticized and trending on social media, this outspoken professor quickly backpedaled and issued a public apology: "I apologize for my previous inappropriate remarks, but please believe that I have no intention of disrespecting women. My starting point was just to help students; life is not easy, so let's all try to understand each other."
Reddit users:
"A completely insincere apology letter."
"Translation: I did nothing wrong; you misunderstood me."
After these objectifying remarks about women, some netizens even suspect that he bought a wife in the Philippines.
Now there are many calls online for his dismissal; tenure is not a free pass, and there have been cases of tenured professors being fired.
Harvard Professor Loses Tenure
Harvard Business School professor Benjamin Edelman previously became an internet sensation due to his controversial behavior and had his tenure revoked by Harvard University.
As early as 2014, Edelman claimed that a Chinese restaurant owner overcharged him by $4, and he launched various complaints.
The restaurant owner apologized, saying the menu prices hadn't been updated in time, and refunded the overcharged amount, but the professor persisted, posting lengthy diatribes and threatening to contact multiple agencies to expose the restaurant.
When the media reported it, public opinion sided with the Chinese restaurant owner.
And it is said that back in 2010, Benjamin also confronted a Japanese restaurant in a similar manner.
As a Harvard J.D. and Ph.D. in Economics, Benjamin used Harvard's name to pick fights everywhere.
He also once sued Google and reported Blinkx pop-up ads, turning himself into an internet crusader, aiming to take everyone down.
Due to the negative social impact and subsequent internal complaints, Harvard University decided to revoke Benjamin's tenure.
So this guy continued his rampage and sued Harvard, accusing the school of mishandling his tenure review process. The case is still pending.
Harvard be like: This boomerang finally came back and hit them. 😅
Columbia Professor Tells International Student "F U"
Last year, a Columbia professor actually told an international student "F U" in class.
Daniel Capra is a professor at Columbia Law School. An international student in his class asked him to speak more slowly. He arrogantly refused, and after the student left, he even said the F-word. ❓
All this was recorded by the school's lecture capture system, causing an uproar.
Netizens:
"Columbia-style arrogance."
"After 45 years of teaching, did he still forget the class was being recorded? 😅"
Sometimes, decency and education really don't go hand in hand, especially at Ivy League schools full of older white men, where arrogance is ingrained.
Netizens say the matter should be blown up, with resignation as a minimum, to serve as a deterrent.
Penn State Professor Rapes Pet Dog
The actions of Penn State professor Themis Matsoukas are even more shocking; last year he was exposed for raping his pet dog.
The 64-year-old Matsoukas is accused of public sexual assault and animal abuse. Police said someone saw him engaging in sexual acts with a dog in a Pennsylvania state park, and he was recorded in over 50 related videos.
Matsoukas was charged with open lewdness, trespassing, and disorderly conduct.
Matsoukas has worked at Penn State since 1991 as a professor of chemical engineering. It's shocking that a well-dressed professor from a prestigious university could be such a beast who rapes and abuses animals. Matsoukas has now been removed from his teaching position by the university.
In addition to facing legal judgment and university disciplinary action, Matsoukas is essentially socially dead in the U.S.
UWM Chinese Professor Specifically Swindles International Students
UWM's Chinese professor Yue Liu specifically targeted international students. Over the years, he used his position and information asymmetry to defraud Chinese international students and visiting scholars out of a total of $1.1 million.
Yue Liu has been an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) since 2009 and became a full professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department in 2021.
Between 2016 and 2020, under the alias Ian Wyatt, he established the University of Wisconsin International Education Foundation (which actually had nothing to do with UWM), promised guaranteed admission to UWM, and charged each person $30,000 per year.
Yue Liu exploited the information gap between China and the U.S. and his position as a professor to set up fake research projects to recruit assistants, charging unsuspecting international students fees.
Yue Liu returned to China multiple times to give lectures, using the University of Wisconsin's name to recruit students.
When the incident came to light, he had already been fired by the university and faces up to 20 years in prison.
The world is a giant makeshift stage; understanding the world is a process of disenchantment.
Even professors at prestigious schools who are supposed to be role models, or the so-called ivory towers of academia, cannot escape the darker and unjust aspects of human nature.
If you encounter such issues, speak up actively. If you just take it silently or respond passively, it will only allow the makeshift troupe to grow larger.
Finally, I hope everyone can enjoy a healthy and happy study life at their dream school.
