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Wednesday, July 29, 2026

University

Alligator
University

Be like an alligator this semester

Last semester, we sat in the back of the class with our heads down and our mouths sealed shut. When we spoke, we prefaced our remarks or questions with “I just…” or “Sorry, this might be dumb,” conveying to our listeners that what would follow was of little importance. We would not blame them for disregarding our words, ideas and opinions; but we knew the right answer, we had something to add to the discussion and we had questions that warranted responses. We minimized our presence, our impact and our power. We made our voices small and let our classmates fill up the space. Our classmates who sat in the front. Our classmates who always had their hands raised. Our classmates who punctuated their statements with periods, not question marks. We chose to keep our depths hidden rather than make ourselves vulnerable.



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