Professor who called on ‘privileged’ white male students last is resigning

A sociology professor who would only call on male students, white students or “privileged” students last has resigned from her position.

Ana Maria Candela, who worked at Binghamton University, referred to her practice as “progressive stacking.” Candela said this was a way to ensure that “minority voices” were given priority.

“[I]f 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,” Candela’s syllabus read.

The university had previously requested that Candela remove this practice from her syllabus, which led to a protest. Candela told those who showed up that the protest that their support made her realize that “progressive stacking” did have a place at the university.

Campus Reform writer Sean Harrigan was one of Candela’s students and he filed a Title IX complaint, saying, “How am I supposed to get a full participation grade if I’m not called on because of the way I was born?”

Pipe Dream reported that Candela “quietly” resigned and also obtained her resignation email.

“In the handling of the progressive stacking targeted political attack and public spectacle that I experienced during the spring 2022 semester, I was treated with such callous disrespect by members of the administration of Harpur College, by [BU’s] media and public relations and by a student in my course that to continue to contribute my labor to the institution would involve a profound lack of self-love and self-respect,” Candela wrote 

Kenyon Cavender, who is a teaching assistant (TA) in the sociology course and also second-year doctoral student in sociology, expressed her disappointment at Candela’s resignation and feared for the future of the course.

“Sociology is not a huge department,” Canvender said. “It’s an absolute loss for our department and it’s felt. We know why she resigned and understand and are sad that she’s gone. We lost a really good scholar due to this situation.”

Emily Blakely, who is representative of BU’s Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU) and also a sixth-year Ph.D. student studying psychology, said the GSEU was “disappointed” by the University’s “centering” of “the feelings of the right wing.”

“Campus Reform represents a real threat, as those whose identities are exposed by them are unwillingly subjected to racist hate speech and threats of harm. This has lasting implications from employees who have to return to the classroom and are forced to continue to work in hostile and unsafe work environments,” Blakely said.