diversity | Southern Fried Science

Academia should be more Skyrim and less Mario Kart to address lack of long-term diversity

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Michelle Jewell

Many friendships in the 90s were built or lost over who got to select their Mario Kart character first because character selection largely determined whether or not you would win. SNES Mario Kart designers tried to correct this by crafting tracks that favored one character over others, guaranteeing a win on at least one race. Bowser’s fast top speed and drifting skills made them the best suited character for Bowser Castle’s sharp turns and straightaways. The icy pools of Vanilla Lake smiled upon Koopa Troopa and Toad’s tight handling and minimal drift, but that was arguably the only track they could dominate.

Now imagine another version of Mario Kart, but instead of a variety of different tracks that celebrate different strengths, every track was built by Mario. With Mario as an architect, it’s highly likely that every track would favor his particular set of (minimal) strengths. This would give the non-Mario players an unintended disadvantage since they would never get a chance to excel with their diverse skills, and the majority of races would consequently be won by Marios. In many places, this is the current state of academia.

Bone-eating zombie worms, octopus overlords, old wooden ships and new woes for deep-sea mining. It’s the Monday Morning Salvage! January 1, 2018.

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Stop. Breathe. Take a step back. This can all be incredibly overwhelming. Pick the fight that matters most to you and take a few days deciding what success looks like, what strategies will work, and what tactics are available to you. And then hoist your flag and get to work.

And when you meet someone fighting a different fight, remember to support them. There are already enough fronts to advance without taking friendly fire from our flanks.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Maybe it’s time to seriously consider just giving control of the world to the cephalopods. A New Species of Giant Octopus Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight.

The frilled giant Pacific octopus. Photo Courtesy D. Scheel

The most depressing annual run-down on the environmental science web: The Animals That Went Extinct in 2017.

Beware the walrus, explosion detected near missing submarine, diamond mining, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 27, 2017

Posted on November 27, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

In Port Moresby this Wednesday? The University of Papua New Guinea is hosting a public lecture and panel on experimental seabed mining in the Bismark Sea.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Text abbreviations for marine biologists. Courtesy of New Scientist. via Francis Villatoro.

Applications now open for the 2018 YPRF diversity in elasmobranch science scholarship

Posted on October 24, 2017 by David Shiffman

The American Elasmobranch Society is the world’s oldest and largest professional association of shark and ray scientists

The American Elasmobranch Society, the world’s oldest and largest professional society focusing on the scientific study and management of sharks and their relatives, is now welcoming applications for the 2nd year of our Young Professional Recruitment Fund diversity initiative. Awardees will be given one year of Society membership, in addition to specialized professional development training, mentorship, and networking opportunities specific to their needs as scientists and professionals from developing nations or historically underrepresented minority groups. Read More

One-eyed sea eagles, deep reefs, crispy jellyfish, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: August 7, 2017.

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

One week left! The deadline for comments on Marine National Monuments and National Marine Sanctuaries has been extended due to overwhelming responses. You now have until August 14, 2017 to leave a comment. Scientists, researchers, explorers, and conservationists with particular ties to the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument can sign on the this letter co-authored by me, James Cameron, and numerous researchers who’s worked has benefited from the Mariana Trench.
Chasing Genius: Andrew has applied for a National Geographic Chasing Genius Award to fund more development for the OpenCTD and Oceangraphy for Everyone. Please share and like the video over at NatGeo!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

A Maine Lobsterman catching a one-eyed bald eagle struggling to swim has got to be a metaphor for something, right?

Applications now open for the Elasmobranch Society’s new diversity in marine science initiative

Posted on September 16, 2015 by David Shiffman

The American Elasmobranch Society is the world’s oldest and largest professional association of shark and ray scientists

The American Elasmobranch Society, the world’s oldest and largest professional society focusing on the scientific study and management of sharks and their relatives, is now welcoming applications for the Young Professional Recruitment Fund, our new diversity initiative. Awardees will be given one year of Society membership, in addition to specialized professional development training, mentorship, and networking opportunities specific to their needs as international or historically underrepresented minority scientists and professionals.

To be eligible for the Young Professional Recruitment Fund, applicants must fill out the application below and demonstrate that they:

The Pizza of Privilege: My Experiences with Anti-Semitism in Academia

Posted on August 22, 2013 by David Shiffman

davesquare

Anti-Semitic graffiti similar to this has been found on U.S. universities. This comes from a private residence in New York. Photo credit: Alex Silverman/WCBS 880.

Since I joined Southern Fried Science in 2009, I’ve written almost 1,000 blog posts. This post has unquestionably been the most difficult one for me to write. Although I’ve always enjoyed sharing and debating my opinions (even when they’re unpopular in certain circles,) I’ve never been comfortable discussing negative personal experiences. And yet, I feel that the topic of anti-Semitism in academia , something that is in fact much more pervasive than most non-Jews believe, is too important for me to remain silent any longer. More than 40% of Jewish students reported being the victim of some degree of anti-Semitism at their college or university. This can range from mockery to exclusion to the Michigan State student who was beaten while his attackers made the Nazi salute last summer.

I want to state upfront that it is not my intention in writing this post to start a “which minority group is the most oppressed” competition, nor am I naive enough to believe that my post will be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back and fixes these issues once and for all. I also want to state that while I could write a whole book about my experiences with anti-Semitism in the context of my personal pro-Israel advocacy, this post is not about that, other than to say that while not all criticism of Israel and Israel’s policies and actions can be considered anti-Semitic in nature, some of it certainly can. Finally, it’s important to note that while not all of these examples are necessarily anti-Jewish specifically, all are anti-someone-different-from-me and contrary to a culture of diversity and inclusiveness. My goal is simply to continue an important and ongoing conversation about academic culture by sharing my personal experiences, and perhaps to bring another group into that conversation. Please feel free to share your own experiences in the comments section.