We do not disagree that there are problems regarding the hiring and existence of visiting professors at Wesleyan and in academia generally. We do, however, take issue with The Argus’s conflation of visiting professors in general with the specific case of Visiting Associate Professor in the African American Studies Program Professor Annemarie Bean (“Visiting professor turnover questioned after Bean’s dismissal,” April 11, 2008, Volume CXLIII, Number 39).

This article only speaks to partial realities of the situation rather than an in-depth look at the complexities that surround this case. Bean is positioned as an ultimate victim, which does not allow for any nuance in the article or, through its description, in the real life situation. Much of the article reads like a Bean human-interest story, drawing only on her testimony without any deeper investigation into her particular case. Instead of asking students who had her how they felt about her classes, The Argus chose to discuss Bean’s single-mother status and her unemployment. While both these factors of Bean’s situation should not be dismissed in giving her more information about her rehiring process, they do not speak to why she is or is not a good professor.

The Argus mentions, “Colleges are reluctant to hire near-senior faculty like Bean, who has more than ten years of teaching experience” without going deeper into why this is true. It would have been helpful to understand what other factors underlie these types of situations instead of just victimizing this one professor as falling through the cracks of the system.

We assume these to be necessary standards in any journalistic attempt to accurately and fairly report on a situation.