Cancel the Cult of Credentialism
It’s time to stop letting school get in the way of our education
To my fellow student serfs at the University Plantation of Florida,
The Almighty Administrators have lost their way. Frankly, they’ve lost their minds. Despite many of their ranks having law degrees, they’ve lost their ability to think like lawyers. They’ve lost their ability to think critically, contextually, and conscientiously. Ironically, however, they’ve mastered the ability to think consistently and collectively like mindless robots. And as a result of their brainless behavior, they’ve unconsciously conspired to drown out voices of dissent in a sea of sludge-work.
Notwithstanding the many letters I have written The Almighty Administration, supporting my arguments for educational reform with highly reputable experts in the science of learning, productivity, creativity, biohacking, economics, law, and artificial intelligence, they refuse to acknowledge the merits of my research, much less offer a substantive response. Nor do they seem to care how their policies violate my constitutional rights, especially that of Due Process.
UF Administrators offer nothing more than common knowledge and talking points that prioritize process over substance. They hide behind procedure as if principles don’t matter. And they pretend to be redundant robots with no discretion or capacity to ensure purposeful compliance, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The Almighty Administration is also in denial about the economically coercive nature of their credentialing system. They refuse to acknowledge that their enterprise depends on a captive audience via structural violence.
They don’t consider their behavior to be economically (and emotionally) abusive, despite conditioning a basic income and health insurance on full compliance with (their interpretations of) corrupt and obsolete policies.
They prefer to live in Fantasyland, where there are no enormous exit barriers to leaving their Cult of Credentialism. They prefer to be willfully ignorant of the economic penalties associated with dropping out of a professional degree program. They prefer to believe, without evidence, that I can seamlessly transition into a new line of work at no cost to my upward mobility. Never mind that I’m legally required to have a law degree BEFORE I can even apply for a license to practice law. Never mind that “the labor market mainly pays for credentials acquired, not skills learned” (Caplan 2019, 220).
Besides, I’m only THIRTY, with the gray hair to prove it. The world is my oyster. At least, that’s what my gerontocratic professors seem to think. 👴🏻👵🏻 😒
Give me a break. Even libertarian economists aren’t that delusional.
Nevertheless, The Almighty Administrators, with their conscience capriciously cleared, have no qualms denying me a basic income and health insurance. As far as they’re concerned, I can either attend class “in-person” during a purportedly virulent pandemic, or risk economic ruin. Submit or Starve. The choice is mine! I’m a “free” man.
But if my ass ain’t in that seat…I don’t get to eat. 😒
That’s the university-wide policy of “Liberal” Democrats. Progressive, indeed. 🙄
Surprisingly, The Almighty Administration cannot perceive how utterly deranged and diabolical their behavior seems to people outside their Cult of Credentialism. “Going To Class” is a big ass luxury of the Leisure Class, posing as learned. It’s a ridiculous ritual that perpetuates the illusion of productivity. It’s a superfluous “Socratic” stress test that signals one’s loyalty to lame and lousy lectures. It’s a classic example of appearing to work hard while clearly not working smart. It’s conspicuous consumption of a subsidized luxury brand that offers no public good. And it serves as an unfunded mandate and time tax that contributes to a larger scheme of institutional classism.
What’s worse is that Administrators don’t know WHY they’re enforcing the policies as they’ve been programmed to enforce them. They are simply ASSUMING that there are good reasons for their policies and that their Dear Leaders are not leading them astray. Essentially, they’re operating on blind faith in the benevolence and sophistication of a Higher Power.
So much for the separation of church and state.
Even the leader of UF’s Faculty Union, Dr. Paul Ortiz, concurs with my perspective that Administrators are behaving like redundant robots. Yet, they continue to gaslight me as if I’m the only one who senses a disturbance in the Force.
“What good is the (university) administration to us if they can’t advocate for our health and well-being?” Ortiz asked. “If you have an administration that essentially tells you they have no free will, then why have an administration? Why can’t we just be led by Gov. Ron DeSantis?”
Meanwhile, as I continue to tirelessly advocate on my behalf UNCOMPENSATED, The Administration continues to WASTE MY TIME parroting talking points they could have emailed me. I guess it’s too much work for them to put their thoughts in writing, or perhaps they don’t want their thoughts to be subject to transparency laws. Either way, they’ve mastered the art of wasting my unremunerated time by stringing me along with false hope via pointless meetings and vague emails that suggest their open-minded.
The utter indifference of UF Administrators to the economic challenges of working-class students is appalling and not what I expected of a “public” university. How am I expected to pay my bills, particularly in a slack labor market? What about health insurance during a pandemic? Apparently, they either don’t give a dame, or they’re in denial.
Apparently, it’s MY responsibility to survive while their job is to hinder my survival, at least until I submit to their suppressive system. It’s sick and clearly unethical. But, hell, I guess I was naive to think a law school would act ethically. 😒
Regardless, I refuse to allow The Almighty Administration or Exalted Clerics of Law to bully me into submission. And I’m not interested in serving a Destructive Cult under mass hypnosis. If they can’t figure out how to accommodate creative and conscientious NONconformists, then they’re depriving themselves of the necessary talent to adapt to a rapidly changing (political) economy. The stakes are too high to defer to “authority” and condone the Emerging Totalitarian Dystopia masquerading as a Utopia of Rules.
I’ll show myself out for now, but I’ll be back with reinforcements. “The Science” and Common Sense are on my side. So is the Rule of Law. And We The People are tired of The University Plantation riding on its laurels and hoarding limited resources for no other purpose than to bask in its former glory. More importantly, We The People wish to work with purpose rather than mere prestige. It’s time to restore the Dignity of Work by Cancelling the Cult of Credentialism.
Your humble serf,
Ethan C. Holliman
