Month: May 2025

Completing a doctorate after the onset of a chronic illness: Finding a new way of being by Stacey Anwin

ADMIN

TW: Domestic Abuse

A long time ago (nine years, in fact), I was strong, energetic and capable. I was always active. 

Five days a week I taught at a nearby university. Three times a week, I scaled walls at an indoor climbing gym. Twice a day, I walked my three large dogs. On the weekends, I repaired the house and maintained the yard, going to performances at the Cultural Centre at night. 

Like many casual academics, my work was tenuous, based on semester-long contracts. Like many others, I found immense joy in guiding and supporting my students. I poured enormous amounts of intellectual and creative energy into designing and producing teaching and learning materials. I saw many casuals move away into often unrelated full-time positions over the years. Yet I stayed, justifying this decision as much to myself as to others, based on the amount of holidays (that is, weeks without pay) I got. 

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Silent Battles: Enduring Sexual Harassment in Medical School in Africa by Anonymous

ADMIN

TW: Sexual Harassment, Indecent Assault

“Boy, you will regret denying me access to you, mark my words!”

Usually, a light laugh would follow Mr. Smith’s every sentence but, for the first time, his smile vanished and was replaced by something far darker. I searched his eyes in dire hope that he was joking, and in that moment, I realized how deeply I was entangled in a situation I couldn’t easily escape.

Faculty-student harassment in academia is pervasive, with approximately 25% of students having experienced harassment in academic settings. It is often built on the authority gap between professors and students, leaving those affected in a painful silence, unable to speak out due to the power dynamics at play. This is a system where respect for lecturers is absolute, professors are in a significant position of power, and students have few avenues for recourse. But what happens when this power is weaponised?

In this blog I share my journey through medical school in a large African country in which I endured a nightmarish lesson in navigating unwanted advances, the misuse of academic power, and the emotional trauma that followed. As I will share, the harassment affected not only my experience in the classroom, but my mental health, personal relationships, and my drive to succeed. 

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Losing a Parent: Guilt and Learning to Forgive Myself by Amanda Nicholson

ADMIN

Six years of studying were almost at an end. It was December, and I was looking forward to Christmas. Beyond that, I was looking ahead to April of the following year when I would complete my BA degree. For anyone, this would be an achievement, but for someone like me, who had left school at 15 without taking exams, I had doubts that I could do it. My string of dead end jobs and long stretches of unemployment made me want to change things. Even my family, especially my dad, thought I was a lost cause, So, I was elated to be so close to the finish line. Then, one phone call changed everything.

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