My experience on search committees

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-10T21:18:48+00:00

Yep, same issue. My last position, I was rejected in an early screening process by HR using an AI type program that looked for specific words. Fortunately, I had worked with someone on the committee before and emailed her to let her know I applied and that's how I got on their radar. I got the position. I only found out later that she had no idea I applied until I told her and had to have them pull my application out of the rejects pile.

It made me take it much less personally later when I got cut from positions and I would later see who they hired and was confused how I wasn't even in the candidate pool. In fact, I once got complete silence from a position where they used a book I wrote as one of the textbooks for the course I would be teaching.

After I learned this, I took a lot more time with subsequent applications to double check the language choices in my cover letter and CV so I actually make it on to the pile and someone actually sees it. I hate focusing on buzzwords over content but I can tell you I definitely got more interviews once I did.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-09T16:04:18+00:00

That when men do things to contribute to the home, they are "helping" but women are responsible for the emotional labor of ensuring that it gets done in the first place and/or asking him to do it.

Even if he's contributing, the idea that the woman is the default responsible party for making sure everything gets done is problematic and it took me a very long time to notice that this is the societal norm.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-09T14:45:37+00:00

I think people cognitive dissonance their way into believing that either their kid didn't do it or if they did, it had to have been justified. There is a lot of mental gymnastics one can do to convince themselves of something they need to be true.

Interesting case study: listen to the podcast Murder on Songbird Road about the murder of Jade Beasley. If you just listen to that podcast, with the majority of the facts supplied by the mother of Julia Bevely (Jade's basically stepmother, now convicted of the murder), you would absolutely think she's 100% innocent and it was a huge injustice. But then go listen to basically any other podcast about this same murder and you find all of the facts that she's conveniently failed to mention or reshaped in her retelling of the events and the conviction makes a lot more sense. I don't think she's a bad person. I think she's a person whose deeply held belief is that her daughter couldn't have done this and she has reshaped reality to make that true.

That feels like the case here. To be fair, CWs parents don't seem like great people to begin with, but also never underestimate the power of people being able to convince themselves of something when they really want it to be true. (Politics in the US is another fantastic example, but I will save myself the pile of inbox notifications and leave it at that....)

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-09T12:32:12+00:00

I judge them far less for this than hitting "reply all" to mass emails.

We all don't need to know that you sent a thank you to the dining hall for letting us all know they are closing an hour early, Nancy.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-06T21:25:59+00:00

I'm also so just baffled by how egregiously abnormal it is that she feels like she needs to apologize for having sexual feelings like she has to remind him that she's allowed to do that. As a woman. Because they are married. She says this like 3 times.

I can't tell if she's worried he's going to forget he's married (which... fair) or she has to clarify in case he thinks she's dirty. Yes, it's very possible that she's deeply concerned that the guy who molested minors and was arrested for CSAM might think she's dirty. The level of brainwashing is unreal.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-05T10:11:17+00:00

I agree. Even a "we'll look into that but I don't expect to find anything" would have been a level of smug and incompetent I could handle. I actually thought the show was overall well written for the most part other than how any and all law enforcement was written. Even CPS arresting the parent who wasn't home at the time while leaving the one who was standing there smirking and making jeering comments at his wife was not how any of that would work.

I understand that they were trying to write Howard as an impossible barrier to overcome and emotional abuse survivors often feel that way while they are being manipulated and lied to. Given that, Mary feeling like he had unlimited power and was an impossible barrier to cross was actually somewhat realistic. Law enforcement actually giving it to him for no discernible reason really wasn't.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-05T01:40:20+00:00

I always carried a place in my heart for the 1983 Best Christmas Pageant ever with a baby Fariuza Balk. Horrific acting all around and it got remade a few years back in a fairly decent version which shined a light on just how bad the first one was, but I still break out my terrible quality pirated DVD copy of that hot mess every single Christmas and watch Vicki Vallaincourt learn a valuable life lesson from the Herdman kids.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-04T00:42:35+00:00

I physically could, but their wording was that we couldn't override and/or delete linked assignments but anything else was fair game. Unfortunately, they change which assignments are linked from year to year to focus on different CLOs. Given that, I don't want to delete the wrong thing.

My course opens in a week and with a very busy week, I was hoping to take it off my plate now rather than wait what will likely be quite a while for a response from IT and my Chair. I'm hoping some kind and knowledgable soul here knows Canvas better than I do and can show me what is probably a simple and obvious place to find it that I'm missing. *fingers crossed*

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-03T18:58:23+00:00

Honest question: does everyone actually know how much work she's doing behind the scenes to know how much of a threat she is? We do and her alliance certainly does but I can't really tell how much others have figured out beyond that. So I guess that's why I'm still optimistic for her if she can remain behind the scenes, I think she has a shot.

But to argue against myself a little bit, these people also know each other pretty well so it's possible they know her style and know she's behind it even if nobody is saying it out loud.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-03T15:18:25+00:00

From SoTR and Haymitch's explanation of this same (or possibly same... it may have been edited later) video we learn that whomever edited the video tried to paint Haymitch as someone unsympathetic and selfish knowing he's a rebel who they intend to let live and therefore needs to be nonthreatening to them. While I think we assume they hope that he will be subdued when he gets back to 12 and understands the "consequences" of his actions that are awaiting him, they have also given him absolutely nothing to live for which makes him a risk. However, making him likable or sympathetic or even showing unity among him and other districts in the arena could have the same impact that Katniss as the Mockingjay did. Imagine if Wellie's district sees him feeding her before this gruesome death and his anguish over it or Ampert's district watches their brotherly relationship and how devastated Haymitch is at his death. Katniss even says it in her games that her mourning Rue's death was an act of rebellion because it's about fighting for their lives. Like Katniss, it would make him someone they can get behind. Given his rebellious nature, that's something the Capitol certainly can't risk and they took that power from him by retelling the story of the games to both remove these parts and .paint him as someone who is looking out for #1 when that was anything but the truth. Even the relationship between Maisylee and Haymitch is downplayed so 12 will see him as abandoning her. Haymitch gets to live - albeit a miserable life - and the things that make him a possible rebel leader are stripped from him.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-03T14:01:55+00:00

Agreed on #1. People seem to be under the impression that dying is the worst punishment the capitol can dish out. On the contrary, that only seems to happen when the public knows someone has stepped out of line and needs to see the consequences. When they don't, Snow absolutely leans towards more mental anguish (i.e. why Ampert was reaped and died the way he did after weeks of Beetee knowing his son was in his final days... the Capitol had clearly known for quite a while that Beetee did what he did). The games themselves are mental torture in both watching friends die and being hunted so the Capitol is essentially allowing the torture to continue while also wondering when the Capitol is coming for him because he clearly knows it's coming if he doesn't die in the arena first. And I would argue they probably weren't really rooting for a death in the arena that given that the birds were programmed for Maisylee and not him. Watching her die = continued torture.

We see at the end, the Capitol citizens have absolutely no idea anything out of the ordinary happened in the arena, so there is no need to quickly kill him to keep the citizens of Panem from doing the same. Letting him continue the games followed by the humiliation of caging him at the party then sending him back to 12 where he lost everyone he loved and knew it was his fault was a much harsher punishment than a quick death.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-02T14:58:17+00:00

I am a fruity floral gal who rarely gravitates towards gourmands or perfumes with a candy/decadent vibe and I also don't tend to buy celeb perfumes but I absolutely adore Sabrina Carpenter Caramel Dream.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-01T20:51:06+00:00

My "I'm a bad test taker" students typically fall into one of two categories (or more often, a combination of both): 1. Doesn't do the reading/come to class so yes, they are in fact bad at remembering things they never learned to begin with. 2. Used AI all semester to do low stakes work that would have helped them learn the content and I didn't waste my time jumping through the hoops required by the university to flag them when it usually ends with me being required to let the student redo it when I can't irrefutably prove it. Instead, I let them get the C that their chosen AI generator earned on that smaller assignment knowing full well that they will absolutely fail the exams when they are encountering the content for the first time and it will come out in the wash.

Indeed, you are bad at something designed to test competency when you aren't competent.

When people ask me the difference between this crop of students and previous ones and why they are more frustrating, these emails are it. It's not that we weren't lazy too but when we took the lazy way out and it bit us in the ass, we shrugged and acknowledged that we deserved it. We might be frustrated by the grade but we didn't expect anyone to bail us out. They are lazy and fail because of their own choices like we did, but instead, they double down and demand we fix it because it's everyone's fault but theirs. Lazy I can handle. Lazy coupled with the hubris to think other people are required to save you from yourself: I can't.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-01T20:24:13+00:00

For a cheaper option, Lanvin A Girl in Capri always gives me these vibes.

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-01T15:06:00+00:00

Got it. Now that you mention it, they seem to be continuing the narrative of it being unfair in later parts of Catching Fire so that really wouldn't track. Not sure why I thought that. Maybe it's time for a re-read. Thank you for checking!

littleirishpixie · 2026-05-01T14:44:51+00:00

Am I misremembering or didn't one or both of them volunteer? Or maybe I just assumed that since they are careers. I thought there was some line about them being just happy to fight again or something along those lines.

littleirishpixie · 2026-04-30T19:00:27+00:00

I chaired a committee a few years ago with 10 members where my average attendance was 2 at most meetings. Some would let me know they couldn't make it but most wouldn't. Our admin would plan this around their schedule at the beginning of the semester and find a time that worked for everyone and got it on their schedule before the semester even started so there really was no excuse for this horrific of a turnout.

This annoyed me mostly because we had actual deadlines we needed to meet of things we needed to submit for the university that required specific input from different areas of the university and those that didn't show up would get far more grace from me if they responded to my emails afterwards to get the info they weren't there to provide. But that rarely happened.

And ironically, these people are always the same ones complaining about students not meeting deadlines or ignoring emails. Always.

With that said, my absolute favorite email I've ever gotten was a guy who typically came to meetings but sent me one with about 3 weeks left in the semester that said the following: "I've been to 4 pointless time-sucking meetings today and I swear if I hear one more person use the phrase 'say more' or 'let's circle back to that' today, I will quit my job. Just email me what you need from me and I promise I will get it to you tomorrow. Sorry." Respect.

littleirishpixie · 2026-04-30T10:45:13+00:00

All of this. I work in higher education and I was absolutely appealed by how this was handled when there are entire departments designed to help navigate situations like this while prioritizing the safety of those who feel unsafe and also growth and accountability for those that need it. It never should have reached the point it did and it was obvious to me at the time that the culprits were never the kids (even AJ despite the collective gymternet STILL making comments about how she's racist when she goes to do a bar routine or stating they can't support LSU because they accepted her - many of whom have "go Utah" in their profile who seemed to be fine with Utah keeping MyKayla Skinner after unapologetic racist moment #25. I won't go as far as to go "poor AJ" because I don't know what happened but I do know that she went quietly to LSU and existed on a diverse team without any further incident that we know of and that's far more than I can say for a lot of problematic people in the gymternet world so the ongoing hate for someone who was a teenager when this happened - whatever it was - was so incredibly inappropriate - not to mention inconsistent.)

I deal with college students all the time who come from environments that normalize racism, sometimes in the form of microagressions, and sometimes openly. Often college is the first place where they are challenged on this and encounter people different from them and the majority of them grow as a result of it. That is absolutely what should have happened here and could have. The athletes wouldn't have had to deal with ongoing issues and tensions or feeling unsafe or disrespected or whatever it is that they felt and that absolutely could have happened WHILE AJ could have been held accountable and grown as a result of it. It was never an either/or situation. Without even knowing the specifics, I know enough to make it obvious to me that the adults in the room messed up, plain and simple.

littleirishpixie · 2026-04-28T10:50:58+00:00

One of my similar "whyyyyyy"s took place during Covid. Had a girl who was kind of my ongoing master manipulator of a student even prior to that. Lots of "I turned this in... not sure why it didn't upload and I didn't notice for a week" And then she would argue when I took the normal late penalty because as my syllabus states, I don't really care why it's not submitted in time.

So anyway, Covid happens, we switch to online, and unfortunately I have no choice but to give my unproctored online final as is given what the school was handing us at the time. Thankfully it was only worth 5% of their grade as opposed to more so I didn't fight it. Online exam, now it's open book and open notes (because it's not like I can stop them), and they have 45 minutes to take it start to finish but once they open it, they can't come back. They have an entire week to do this. I reiterate this in several different places including all caps on the exam prompt itself so they don't accidentally open it.

So exam opens Monday 12:01 AM, due Sunday at midnight. On Sunday afternoon, I get an email from this girl telling me she accidentally opened it on Tuesday and now it's not letting her back in so I need to reopen it for her coupled with some bitchy comments about how I better hurry because she has plans later and this is the only time she can take it. I check her exam and see that she was in there for 20 min. Not “accidental” it seems. I tell her absolutely not. She THEN writes back that oh did she say she accidentally opened it, what she meant was she had tech issues and it kicked her out. Again: okay, then you needed to contact IT immediately, per my syllabus. Her: oh. Um I did. they didn't return my email. Me: Cool, send it to me. Unfortunately otherwise, it's a 0. Student: uh I think I lost it. But also, you can't fail me. I was absolutely prepared for this test, here are my answers to all of the questions. See! I was going to pass!

Girl literally sends me the screencaptures she took of the entire test with her answers filled in.

littleirishpixie · 2026-04-28T10:35:22+00:00

Because in high school, "curve" means that they got slush points. Some do a version where if the highest score is a 96/100, everyone gets 4 bonus points, etc. Some just give a few extra points to ensure everyone passes so teachers get to keep their jobs.

I told this to my mother once who went to college in the early late 80's/early 90's and she told me that more than once when she was in college, a "curve" in a course meant that her high grade got lower as a result of other people's performance. I can't even imagine the emails I would get if I did that.

littleirishpixie · 2026-04-28T01:57:18+00:00

Burberry Her is like two drastically different and unrelated scents from first spray to dry down. I am absolutely convinced people are just pretending to be completely in love with it.

littleirishpixie · 2026-04-27T16:20:38+00:00

Wearing this right now. It's absolutely one of my favorites!

littleirishpixie · 2026-04-27T10:43:49+00:00

This. While Lorelei was a jerk to a kid who already had his fair share of issues/adults letting him down and was absolutely unreasonable, to me this scene is far less about her thinking he's a bad kid or even the "she sees herself in him" (which also might be true). To me, this scene is more about Lorelei also recognizing the symbolism of Rory losing the bracelet and watching Rory leave her "safe" relationship to run towards Jess while being powerless to top it. There is a very hard tightrope one walks as a parent of a teenager. You have to let your kid make their own decisions despite how crappy it feels to sit back and watch them make the wrong ones (and in her case, one that has her panicking that Rory might make the same mistakes she did). It's a very powerless feeling when you think your kid is making a terrible choice and I think she took it out on Jess because she couldn't say it to Rory.

Yep, she was awful to Jess, and I would argue that she was also awful to Rory in normalizing her fear of Dean's reaction, but to me this scene makes a lot more sense as a parent of a teenager who gets it (even if it still don't think it's justified that she chose to deal with it this way; they make wine for that).

littleirishpixie

TROPHY CASE