Move over, Lea Michelle: there’s a new an-alphabetic in town! Barnard’s resident partygirl and part-time DJ, President Laura Rosenbury, recently announced in a school-wide email that she cannot read. The college president shared her personal struggles with neurodivergence as she welcomed Invisible Disability Awareness Month in a campus-wide email.
“As we take this time to listen and learn from our differently-abled peers, I want to remind students to be kind to those who may be struggling or adapting to issues that may not be visible. My illiteracy may not be immediately obvious to others, but it structures how I interact with the world every day. For example, I cannot read any of the petitions you have signed urging me to take action to protect academic freedom, free speech on campus, or the right to privacy. I also cannot read any of the emails you send me complaining about my inability to fix Barnard’s deficit, keep beloved professors on staff, or unsuspend students for waving a sign once or twice on the lawns. These are all things I wish I could do, and this gap between ability and actuality is one that I know many of our students will relate to.
“At the end of the day, I am proud to be part of the illiterate community, and I am proud of the commitment that Barnard makes every day to meet students with the kindness, compassion, and understanding that characterizes this institution. This is not a commitment I take lightly. This is why I am instating a policy of transparency from the Office of the President: from now on, all emails sent out by me will include an addendum crediting the host of assistants who assist me in writing college communications. These assistants painstakingly transcribe my speech before inputting it into an AI generator, which spits out these emails like a track and field player hocking a loogie. For their dedication, I am forever grateful.
In solidarity,
Laura Ann Rosenbury
President
This email was written by Sarah O’Hara, a former lecturer at Barnard College who was denied a tenure-track position last year. Sarah has degrees from Hamilton College and Harvard Divinity School, and transcribed this email while sitting at President Rosenbury’s desk, while the President lay in her newly-purchased chaise lounge.”
