Newsgroups: bit.listserv.politics
Date:         Fri, 25 Sep 1992 23:02:32 CDT
From:         Titivillus <T9AA@SDSUMUS.SDSTATE.EDU>
Subject:      i think i've been reverse-discriminated
Comments: To: politics@ohstvma.bitnet

The interviews for the editorship of the campus literary magazine,
_Oakwood_, were last week. The verdict came out this week.

There were three others going for this position. The first is a
sophomore journalism/English major. If I came in with her resume,
I'd know I didn't get it before I interviewed. The second surfs
majors, settling on psychology after going into both journalism
and English. She competed with me for the copy editorship of the
Collegian, the campus newspaper. I'm the copy editor now. The third
was somewhat involved with last year's Oakwood. She cheerleadered
her friends' bad poetry and was out of the project before the
keyboarding started. She's an English Ed. major and a member of
Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society (in case you don't know).
She's beautiful and she has some talent in poetry but I have seen
few editing skills and no layout skills.

This leaves myself. I am a fifth-year journalism/English major.
I am currently the copy editor of the Collegian. I've been the
propagandist for different "progressive" groups on campus for the
last two years. anneliese can vouch for my layout skills from my
Amnesty International t-shirt design (we sold the first one to Jack
Healey himself). I was involved in the editing process for the last
Oakwood, mainly in the prose "slushpile-diving" and the keyboarding
parts of the layout process. When last years' editor started student
teaching, I took over finishing layout and distribution, as well as
starting the funding process for the next issue. Many of the decisions
English Club made by way of leadership were made assuming I'd be the
editor this year. No one put the time and the effort into the project
that I did second semester last year.

Number 3 got the editorship. It was put into the faculty newsletter
and blurbed to the English classes before I had a chance to see that
nice form letter saying I'm a reject.

I've looked at this every way I could. There is no way she could have
had as much layout experience as I have. The person advising Oakwood
was not here last year so it couldn't have been cronyism, although
as an STD member, I put her in prime position to be involved in the
"insiders' club." She might have interviewed better than I did, but
I don't think I came off bad. Actually, there were few interviews
that I have been involved in that came off better. I knew the answers
and I knew the questions. I had this thing TOGETHER and I knew where
I was going with it. I even wore my Brooks Brothers suit to the
interview. The only thing that I can think of to explain this decision
is affirmative action. Unless she wanted a female English major and
ONLY a female English major, there is no explaination for the choice.

I consider myself a feminist to at least some degree. When I went up
against the two people who are currently co-editors of the Collegian,
I knew I was up against the wall because the co-editors had experience.
Even if they were green monkeys, they had more experience than I did
and deserved the job on ability alone. I think I got screwed out of
the editorship and I know the way I found out about the screwing was
a "humiliating kick in the crotch," as Sting said.

"Why is he telling us this?"

I am telling you this partially because I want to work out the hate.
I feel hate and I don't like it. Hate kills your mind as easily as
Fear and Caffiene, and I want no part of it, and if I don't work it
out I have to carry that baggage. Also, I cannot discuss this with
the adviser with the amount of hate I'm feeling. At least, not without
being arrested, which is not something I wish to do.

I am also telling you this so I won't have to salve my ego by sniping
at the new issue when it comes out. This way, I won't get into that
kind of stupidity.

And, as long as they do this to me, I'll take my layout skills to
people who will pay for them, like Dakota Rural Action, who is working
on offering me money to teach them Macintosh.

Dave
t9aa@sdsumus.bitnet
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