Vanderbilt Undergraduate Urges School to Support BethAnn McLaughlin

This is an excerpt from letter from a Vanderbilt University undergraduate urging his school to support BethAnn McLaughlin in her fight for safety and justice.

I joined the McLaughlin lab during my second year of college, looking for a new horizon to push myself and immerse myself in academic research in neuroscience. I had freshly declared my major in the subject and I worried whether I was up for a new challenge. Dr. McLaughlin was exactly the mentor I needed – she challenged me personally and intellectually, to respect not only the work of others, but also other researchers and lab members, and I knew I had found a family and a support network in her lab. Dr. McLaughlin not only made me a better researcher, but a better person. I learned what it was like to delve into a research project for the first time in my life, and I could dive deeper and deeper without worrying as I knew Dr. McLaughlin had my back, guiding me not to the easiest, but to the most scientifically challenging and interesting path.

With the recent controversies surrounding Dr. McLaughlin, I was disheartened to come to know about the processes that she had to go through because of her stance of bravery. I know Dr. McLaughlin is the champion of students and she places utmost importance on the safety of undergraduate and graduate students, which I know firsthand from working in her lab for more than half of my undergraduate career. I know Dr. McLaughlin is not afraid to speak out against institutional shortcomings and outdated handbooks that do not function as it was meant to: protect students and their endeavors in science.

I realized how naïve and idealized my version of Vanderbilt was. I had for so long unconditionally lauded the institutions of Vanderbilt to each year’s incoming first year students – as a VUceptor, as a campus leader, as a upperclassmen, as a lab partner, as a friend… Meanwhile, my mentor and fellow students were fighting an uphill battle for justice. However, I have yet to despair as the Vanderbilt I know and love stands for the ability to make tough decisions and overhaul institutions that perpetuate injustices. Vanderbilt students are different – we continue to grow during our journey at Vanderbilt to become leaders who make difficult decisions to intricate problems in the world.

The above is why I am writing this letter of support for my mentor, Dr. McLaughlin. As a role model for not only myself, but for Vanderbilt students, she embodied courage and leadership to fight institutional injustices inherent in the current system of reporting sexual misconduct. If she and her works do not reflect the Vanderbilt way of tackling the toughest challenges in this world, I really cannot say what does. We need to support, not hinder, leaders like Dr. McLaughlin working towards a better future for the marginalized and voiceless. The movement for change has already been initiated – so help us and Vanderbilt stand on the right side of history.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Sincerely,

John Kim