The historian Howard Zinn once said, “You Cannot Be Neutral
on a Moving Train.” Sometimes you have to stand up for justice. Sometimes you
have to say words that are honorable, and sometimes you may lose your job for
it. … I will miss my Mexican friends, my fellow co-workers, and my students. I
am certain that I will see them again in our future. I was relieved of my post
as a Peace Corps volunteer at the Universidad Technologica de Tehuacan on June
15, 2017.
Due to some objective observations
that I posted on the Internet during the week of June 7, 2017, while the
university was experiencing protests, those in power at the institution seemed
to detest me for their own irresponsibility and manipulative practices. As if I
had made their actions more knowledgeable to the public. Yet the Directors and
the Rectora’s office have transparently been abusing their authorities at the
University for a long time running. Everyone can see this who works there, yet
many choose to avoid comment.
The saying, or thought process is,
that “if you are not obediently with me, even if you are neutral, then you are
against me.” That is how the individuals in power think at this institution and
they take no responsibility for their negative actions. When a child breaks
something in their parents’ house, they often confess and express guilt. These
individuals are not children, and yet they cannot confess to their guilt:
negligence to student needs, exploitive work time of female administrative
staff, the firing of staff for reasons not backed with quality evidence; they
just fear their own opacity and accountability, such as firing lawyers and
accountants, individuals with ties to the media, or the administrative staff,
who were doing their jobs well, but knew too much information or were willing
to speak up.
The week of June 14, 2017, the week
after the protests, was tense and uncomfortable to witness. Even though on the
previous Friday, government officials came into the school and gave the voice
of solidarity with the protestors; admitting that the Rectora and her office
were neglecting her duties as a principle at the university, which were the
same observations that I had concluded with, in solidarity with the Mexican
governments’ decisions; it appears that the week after the protests showed
limited change. Staff began to return to the robotic roles of office behavior
of duties and expectations, classes commenced, and even many teachers went back
to uninspiring standard lecturing of students. Were innovation, opportunity,
and change at a loss? Rather than admitting guilt, those individuals in power,
clearly appeared to attempt to revert to their ways before the protests, hoping
this would not be noticed.
One of their first acts was to get
rid of the American on campus. The relieving me of my post was unjust. I was the
scapegoat. I was easily blamed because I speak loudly. It is my New York nature
to speak out. I did not go on the grounds during the protest for a clear
reason, the week of June 7th. I did not want the individuals at the
school to manipulate the media and information, claiming that it was the
American who started the protest, and that he was the one that was the problem.
This Protest was the voice of the Students, the Administrative staff, and the
Teachers. This was their standing up for their rights as participants in
higher-education to make a higher standard at the university and not to have
the entire university regress to a campaign ticket for just one individual
Rectora/President.
Those in
power are ungrateful; those in superior positions are ungrateful of their staff
and teachers, and even of their hardworking students. They are ungrateful of
all the work I did and my fellow coordinators to try to improve the
institution. The administrators and the faculty, who work hard, give their best
energies to commit to a quality of education standards that allow the school to
carry on under the quickly declining lack of accountability at the institution.
From dirty water, no toilet paper, limited technology, limited investment in
improving teachers with training and professional opportunities, lack of
scholarship money, lack of practical hands-on activities in student’s majors, and
more; yet all these levels of quality are achievable and the ability to excel
above these standards is reachable. Where is all this money going? It is hard
to speak truth to power when the directors, they know who they are, and the
Rectora’s staff, do not want to seek transparency and admit to collusion.
I am still
trying to think of the best words to use here. I appreciate and I respect Peace
Corps’ decision to allow me to close my service early without any marks on my
profile. But I am also willing to admit that I am disappointed that they were
not willing to investigate the situation further before releasing me from my
service. I had warned them for months not to trust a specific counterpart,
director in the university, who manipulated and disrespected my candid work,
for his own benefit. The failure, when I sought to assist and further advance
employee’s at the university for a nomination process that would train them and
give them opportunities to bring new skills to their jobs, which would better
advance the school, was due to his meddling and clear corruption; but my organization
still listened to him rather than reaching out to reliable sources. My
organization has had a history of trying to avoid controversy and suppressing
stories. Certainly, my case is not extreme in comparison to cases, as seen in
the country Benin in 2011, when a counterpart actually killed a female
volunteer for reporting his raping of female students.
No. My case
is not extreme. But maybe it could have been. I am frustrated with the
university that I was working in. In deed, I witnessed many activities that
limited and suppressed growth. The university has so much potential and the
possibilities to strengthen students, administrators, and teachers are great to
make a powerful institution. Those chances are still reachable with the right,
quality leadership. I have a commitment to Honesty and Justice. If my letter
and previous letters on FaceBook do not appear Objective to you, it is because
there is a simple fact. When one sees shit on a table, Objectively, it is clear
that what is on the table is shit. One cannot be any more neutral about the
facts on the table. The people in power do not want you to admit that the shit
is theirs, on the table. But it smells and it is rotten. I cannot just bury my
head in the sand when I see obstruction. I have too much passion to ignore and
too much passion to limit myself to artificial diplomacy. That is where Peace
Corps and I diverge in direction.
The truth
is the Directors and the Rectora of the University do not have a deep
commitment or passion for education. They do not care about the individual
well-being of workers and students. For them, these are just numbers and pesos
for their daily routine to improve their selfish power and to maintain
hierarchy. Just analyze their continual actions over time and one can see the
genuine or lack of genuine commitments and ability to make the most of
constructive feedback. They want the slim financial necessities so that they
can continue to put funds in their own pockets for political and commercial
benefit. They do not want to improve the quality of their job, to make a
positive pedagogical institution for the overall community. Education should
not be a political agenda. The students should be educated to the best that the
school offers so that they can develop the skills to make a greater Mexico.
They should not be trained just to be factory workers for American, German or
Japanese companies. They should be guided through the innovative thought
process that helps them achieve new technological goals.
When the school fires lawyers and
accountants, who have such blatant data, this sends the public red flags. But
they say this is how it is, here. I feel like my criticism of the university
authority is parallel to my disgust in the American President Donald Trump’s
actions and lack of passion for moral and ethical standards. Trump firing Comey
because Trump is being investigated, makes me reflect that I was fired by the
corrupted Directors, because they did not want to have their abusive behavior
and coercion revealed. Former President Jimmy Carter once said, when he was
president, that we have a “Crisis of Democracy.” What we have today is a “Crisis
of True Leadership.” Take responsibility for your own actions and do not blame
others for your lack of education or community standards. No excuses, Just
Results.
The result of my being expelled
from the university was because I was not obedient and blind. When one sees protestors risking their jobs
and lives to stand up for injustice in a declining system, why should I ignore
the voice that they promote? Their voice makes the world better and the school
better. In the end, even though I was not physically in the protest, I was
blamed for my moments of blunt honesty on the Internet and in public, when
surprisingly my US President tweets atrocious, malicious comments on a daily
basis. Why is someone in a diplomatic position, not sending Trump home, and relieving
him of his service?
I have no regrets. I have no regret
in directly telling the Director, who manipulated the situation to get me
expelled, the truth about his character and lack of ethics. Besides, the same
conclusions that I had come to, were the same conclusions that the Mexican
government stated on the Friday of the closing of the protest, that the Rectora
was not experienced enough and was neglecting significant aspects of her job.
She could have followed the next week after the protest with positive change
and begin building trust with the students and faculty. She could have been
creating an environment that made thousands of individuals at the school begin
to see the possibility of voting for her in her plans of running in a future
election. She has decided that she is a terrible politician, who does not care
about individual votes or trust between her average citizens and her
self-focused political ambitions. What frustrates me the most about her is that
she claims to be a candidate that says she cares about Women’s Rights, but the
individuals, who have been exploited the most at the university under her
leadership, are the women who work in the administrative offices for
overextended hours and for very little pay, and when they speak up, they get
fired.
I will miss the important people at
the university, and the important people are not the insecure directors or the
negligent Rectora. The important people at the school are the students, the
administrators, and the faculty, who follow a quality of standard that is truthful,
goal driven, and promoting the ethics that the university deserves. I am aware,
just as many, that the protest was not the end of the problems of the school,
but the start of the process to hold people accountable for making the
decisions necessary for success. Several of us refuse to be silent.
