Inside doctoral education in America: Voices of Latinas/os in pursuit of the PhD

Journal of College Student Development, Jul/Aug 2002 by Gonzalez, Kenneth P, Marin, Patricia

Paula: I think I've gotten a little bit of that from my advisor as well. I had to fight for a few things this summer. I applied for two things, and she just doesn't think that they're worth my time. She said "Why do you want to go there?" There's that minority fellowship I was interested in. She said, "Well, what do you want from that?" I replied, "Well, some mentorship, some socialization." Because at the last minute I decided I just may consider some faculty positions. She said, "Well you can get that here. You don't have to go there." And then I applied for this research methodology seminar that focuses on the Latino experience. She didn't support that either. I pursued it anyway. She agreed to forward a letter of recommendation, but I had to write my own letter. I had to type my own letter while her secretary was sitting there watching me. Her secretary was sitting there gabbing, just talking away with this guy. And I was sitting there sweating it, typing my own letter. She made it so obvious that she's not using her resources to support something that she's completely against. And that was really hard for me.

It was difficult for us to accept the kin of power our faculty advisors had over us.

In both explicit and subtle ways, we received messages that our choices were limited. In many instances, we felt boxed in and surrounded by individuals who were always mindful of prestige, status, and fame. It was this kind of environment that, in many instances, precluded us from connecting our intellectual work with our personal goals.

In addition to restricting our personal interests, preoccupation with prestige and status also discouraged us from pursuing our political goals. For example, one of the students confronted the group with the following reality check:

Michael: If there was a Latino institution that was dedicated to developing young scholars ... and faculty had the opportunity to put their research into practice to effect change for Latino communities, but there was no glory or fame that came with that position-- would you take it? That's exactly how I think. Here's another scenario. What if my daughter was accepted to Stanford, and had the choice of going to Stanford or a Latino-type of university that I worked at? Would I tell her, "Hey, I think my institution is better for you"? That's a reality check. Other people say, "Well, my kid was accepted to such and such, but they wanted to go to Stanford, they wanted to go to Yale." And they didn't stand up for the kind of institution where they knew that their kid would be nurtured. Instead, they wanted them to go with the fame and the status. How do we get past that? That's a reality that I struggle with. I mean, you talk to other people that have an opportunity to go to a place where they can do the kind of work that means something to them, that's going to make a difference. Or, they can go and take a faculty position in an elite institution that's going to give them legitimacy and status in the academy. Where do they go? That's a hard call to make-especially after you have put all your time into getting that piece of paper.