• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Professor Is In

Guidance for all things PhD: Graduate School, Job Market and Careers

  • Home
  • Courses & Events
    • How To …
    • The Art of the Academic Cover Letter
    • The Art of the Article
    • Unstuck: The Art of Productivity
    • On Demand Courses
    • Upcoming Live Webinars
    • Free Productivity Webinars
    • Gift Certificates
  • Personalized Job Help
    • Document Editing
    • Quick Reviews
    • Specials
    • Interview Prep
    • Personal Negotiating Assistance
    • One on One Career Consults
    • Testimonials
    • Interview Testimonials
    • Graduate School Application Assistance
  • Productivity
  • Coaching
    • Productivity Coaching
    • Private Coaching
    • Leaving Academia Coaching Group
  • The Professor Is Out
    • It’s OK to Quit
    • Our Art of Leaving Program
    • Prof Is OUT Services
    • Our Prof Is OUT Team
    • Prof is OUT Client Testimonials
    • Ex-Academics: A TPIO Support Community
  • Workshops
  • Blog

What Not To Say to Grad Students During a Pandemic – WOC Guest Post

By Guest Author | April 9, 2020

I saw this thread on Twitter and invited Fay Lin to submit it as a guest post for the blog. Thank you, Fay.

Fay is a 4th year PhD candidate in Biochemistry at UCLA, where she uses math modeling to study biological networks in immune response. Outside of research, she is a passionate mental health advocate in higher education. Follow @xiaofei_lin.

WE ARE STILL SOLICITING POSTS FROM WOMEN OF COLOR, ESPECIALLY BLACK WOMEN, MOST PARTICULARLY ON ANYTHING RESPONSIVE TO THE CURRENT PANDEMIC AND FINANCIAL FALLOUT. PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH PROPOSALS, IDEAS, DRAFTS AT GETTENURE@GMAIL.COM. WE PAY $100 FOR ACCEPTED POSTS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear academics – Please avoid the following phrases during COVID19:

1. “It’s a great time to work on coding/writing/etc.”

For some, working from home has challenges such as child care, mental health struggle due to social isolation, etc., which make it MORE difficult to work. Stating “it’s a great time to work” is NOT inclusive. 

Alternative phrasing: 

“There are opportunities for remote work available to help you continue your research while social distancing.” 

2. “I feel sorry for students doing virtual PhD defenses.”

It’s important to mourn lost experiences due to COVID19, but putting down the virtual space is not helpful. While virtual events are not the same as in-person, they still entail many benefits of social gathering.

Alternative phrasing: 

“Transitioning to virtual PhD defenses is understandably difficult for individuals who were looking forward to celebrating the occasion in person. Let’s make the most of the virtual space and support each other in all ways that we can!”

3. “I feel bad that I haven’t been more productive “

As researchers, we are conditioned to consistently think about productivity. Remind yourself that we are in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. This is NOT normal. It is OK to not be productive.

Alternative phrasing: 

“Productivity has been difficult during COVID19. I’m striving to adapt my work habits while also showing kindness to myself for struggling.” 

HOW we say things matter and makes a HUGE difference to our mental health. I encourage everyone to remember your resilience and maintain a positive mindset to the best of your ability. These are tough times, but we WILL get through it. 

 

 

Similar Posts:

  • Katrina and Rona – WOC Guest Post
  • #Dispatches: COVID Impact Statements
  • Academia Is a Cult: Story of a TEDx Talk
  • #Dispatches: Your Teaching Hacks
  • Adapting To Disaster, Episode 1: Security (A Guest Post)

Filed Under: Advising Advice, COVID19, Graduate Student Concerns, Women of Color in Academia

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JLW says

    April 11, 2020 at 7:59 am

    This is a good piece. Useful stuff in general. But… “3. “I feel bad that I haven’t been more productive” also has a reverse and parallel negative: “I feel bad for being productive” or “I should not celebrate my productivity in light of everyone’s suffering at this time.”

    I’d like to add that things that should be celebrated — productivity, accomplishments — have also lost their luster. I am writing. And I should feel good about my accomplishments I’ve earned this semester. And I don’t. I feel like I’m not supposed to talk about them and I’m not supposed to brag about them. (I’d like to add that I am one of those dissertating and teaching grad students with a toddler at home.)

    Reply
  2. Haitham Jafar says

    April 17, 2020 at 8:22 am

    A good read, thanks.

    Te alternative phrasings make a big difference indeed.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Buy My Book!

4.8 stars on Amazon!

The_Professor_Is_In.indd

Get Immediate Help

In addition to our blog and book, we have upcoming live webinars, pre-recorded webinars and other programs that you can get started on right away:

The Art of the Academic Cover Letter
The Art of the Article
Unstuck: The Art of Productivity
Quick Reviews
Free Productivity Webinars

Categories

  • #MeTooPhD
  • Academic Job Search
    • How To Choose and Manage Recommenders
    • How to Interview
    • How To Write Academic Job Cover Letters
    • How To Write CVs
    • Landing Your Tenure Track Job
    • Major Job Market Mistakes
    • Negotiating Offers
  • Adjunct Issues
  • Advising Advice
  • Alt-University Critique
  • Black Lives Matter
  • COVID19
  • Dispatches
  • Goodbye Ivory Towers
  • Graduate Student Concerns
    • Bad Advisors and Good Mentors
  • How To Do Conferences
  • How to Get Grants and Fellowships
  • International Perspectives
  • Intersectional Analyses
  • Makeup
  • Marginalized Voices
  • Mental Health and Academia
  • Ph.D. Poverty
  • Podcast
  • Post-Ac Free-Lancing and Small Business
  • Post-Ac Job Search
    • Careers Outside
  • Postdoc Issues
  • Productivity
    • Book Proposals and Contracts
    • Publishing Issues
    • Writing
  • Promote Yourself!
  • Quitting–An Excellent Option
  • Racism in the Academy
  • Rearview Mirror
  • Resumes & Postac Docs
  • Sexual Harassment in the Academy
  • Shame
  • Stop.Acting.Like.A.Grad.Student
  • Strategizing Your Success in Academia
  • Teaching and Research Statements
  • Teaching Demos
  • Teaching Portfolios
  • Tenure–How To Get It
    • How To Build Your Tenure File
    • Surviving Assistant Professorhood
  • The Campus Visit
  • Unstuck
  • Webinars
  • What Not To Wear
  • Women of Color in Academia
  • Work/Life Balance in Academia
  • Yes, You Can: Women in Academia
  • Your Second and Third Jobs

Footer

About Us

  • Who Is Dr. Karen?
  • Who Is On the TPII Team?
  • In The News
  • Contact Me
  • FAQs
    • Why Trust Me?
  • Testimonials

Community

  • #MeTooPhD
  • Peer Editing
  • PhD Debt Survey
  • Support Fund
  • I Help With Custody Cases for Academics

Copyright © 2023 The Professor Is In·

We Are Redefining Academic Community

That’s why we upgraded our private
Mighty Network.

We are committed to building a community with a focus on productivity support. Every day, in a dedicated space, we offer free coaching advice and encouragement. And the couple thousand people who have already joined are steadily building a supportive and interactive community devoted to that elusive idea of work-life balance.

Learn More

Get on Dr. Karen's Schedule

Get on my schedule to work on your tenure track job cover letter, CV, grant applications, book proposals, interview preparation, and more.  [si-contact-form form=’2′]