A SUNY Binghamton professor has been called out for allegedly saying she would be calling on non-white students first, letting others lead academic discussions in class. School officials have removed sections of Ana Maria Candela's class syllabus after students reported the professor, filing a discrimination complaint.
Known as "progressive stacking," Candela's "Social Change, Introduction to Sociology" class syllabus sought to "give priority to non-white folks, to women, and to shy and quiet people who rarely raise their hands," the syllabus read.
"If you are white, male, or someone privileged by the racial and gender structures of our society to have your voice easily voiced and heard, we will often ask you to hold off on your questions or comments to give others priority and will come back to you a bit later or at another time," the syllabus continued. "Within little time, those who feel most privileged to speak begin to take the initiative to hold space for others who feel less comfortable speaking first, while those who tend to be more silenced in our society grow more comfortable speaking."
I had a very similar experience in one of my classes at the beginning of this semester.
On the first day of the course, the professor mentioned that white males probably shouldn't raise their hands until at least 3-4 other people spoke.https://t.co/HNo74cSddV
— Jack Elbaum (@Jack_Elbaum) February 21, 2022
"As you can imagine, it has tremendous benefits for our society as a whole when we learn to hold space and listen to others whose voices are typically disregarded and silenced," Candela added.
After feeling racially outed, students like Sean Harrigan, an economics major, filed a Title IX discrimination complaint against Candela.
"How am I supposed to get a full participation grade if I'm not called on because of the way I was born?" Harrigan said.
Binghamton officials revised the syllabus while sharing that they did not support Candela's stance. A school spokesperson said they removed offensive language entirely from Candela's syllabus.
"The faculty member has updated their syllabus, removing the section in question, and is now in compliance with the Faculty-Staff Handbook," SUNY Binghamton said.
Harrigan said that Candela regularly shares her views of capitalism being identical to slavery during lectures.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," he said. "The sociology department scares me."
On the other hand, students like Julianna Darden, a junior in the Sociology department, say these conversations are necessary when discussing race.
"More times than not, the people who are still dominating these conversations are white when really it should be the people of color talking about our own experiences," Darden said. "I feel like that should be the focus of the conversation, not to say that anybody else can also speak on it as well, but I think we should leave room for people of color to speak because, unfortunately, there usually isn't any."
Binghamton has taken further action following the removal of certain sections in Candela's syllabus.
"The Faculty Staff Handbook outlines principles of effective teaching, which include valuing and encouraging student feedback, encouraging appropriate faculty-student interaction, and respecting the diverse talents and learning styles of students," the school shared.
As a result of Candela's syllabus rules violating the school's principles, her bio has also been removed from the universities website.
