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Academic Betrayal: The Bullying of a Graduate Student Kindle Edition

by Loren Mayshark (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
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“Well written, Academic Betrayal is a cautionary tale shedding light on the darker side of higher education, the hubris of some educators, and the ‘big business’ focus of universities that have little regard for their most important constituent: the student.” - Patricia Pihl, founder and personal historian at Real Life Legacies
Experience the Dark Corners of Higher Education in the U.S. from a Student's Perspective
Fueled by a desire to become a teacher, Loren Mayshark entered Hunter College in 2008, with the intention of gaining a master’s degree in two years. Six years and tens of thousands of dollars later, he abandoned his studies without attaining the degree. This is the tale of one young man’s journey through the labyrinth of American higher education, stymied by haughty professors, an inept administration, and ridiculous policies. In the process, he nearly lost his desire for academic learning and his reverence for the educational system, and came close to losing his will to live. As Loren Mayshark discovered, his experience was not unique. Across the United States, graduate students are increasingly finding themselves caught in a vortex of burgeoning loans, byzantine policies, and administrative lassitude. The casualties, as this book makes clear, are the next generation of American minds.
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  1. Print length
    165 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    April 27, 2017
  5. File size
    2601 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mayshark is a good storyteller; his ability to reveal one perplexing situation after another makes for engaging reading, and his observations about specific professors, their mannerisms, and their personal agendas are particularly memorable. There is a whistleblower quality to the story that should raise the hackles of anyone who has been subject to the injustices meted out by a bureaucratic organization. The story could also be seen as a cautionary tale for any prospective graduate student." - Foreword Clarion Reviews (4 stars)
 "Far from seeming like Mayshark has some sort of vendetta, he lays out his case carefully and meticulously. Academic Betrayal is an interesting and important account because it's a story told from the student's point of view. As such, it is useful for students wondering how to navigate a difficult system, and education reformers looking for ideas from a new perspective." Self-Publishing Review

About the Author

Loren Mayshark's first book Death: An Exploration won the 2016 Beverly Hills Book Award in the category of Death and Dying and is a finalist for book of the year in the 2016 Foreword INDIES Awards in the category of Grief/Grieving.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071XY8PCT
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Red Scorpion Press (April 27, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 27, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2601 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 165 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 31 ratings

About the author

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Loren Mayshark

Loren Mayshark

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Loren Mayshark’s first book Death: An Exploration won the 2016 Beverly Hills Book Award in the category of Death & Dying and was selected as the honorable mention recipient for book of the year in the 2016 Foreword INDIES Awards in the category of Grief/Grieving (Adult Nonfiction).

He was fortunate to have parents who offered him opportunities to see the world and introduce him to many exciting places which instilled in him a passion for travel. As his wanderlust grew, he journeyed to more than thirty US states and at least as many foreign countries while visiting four continents.

After college, he supported his itinerant lifestyle by working dozens of jobs including: golf caddy, travel writer, construction worker, fireworks salesman, substitute teacher, and vineyard laborer. Predominantly his jobs have been in the restaurant industry. He cut his teeth as a server, Maître D, and bartender at San Francisco's historic Fisherman's Grotto #9, the original restaurant on the Fisherman's Wharf. While working with a colorful crew of primarily Mexican and Chinese co-workers, he gained a passion for Spanish and spent several months wandering through South America.

While living in New York City, he attended both the famed Gotham Writers' Workshop and the prestigious New York Writers Workshop where he was inspired to assiduously learn the craft of writing. He is a regular contributor to Can the Man(cantheman.com), an alternative media resource focused on social justice, and the Jovial Journey, a website dedicated to food, drink, and travel. He has written for The Permaculture Research Institute and Uisio among other prominent outlets.

He received a B.A. in World History from Manhattanville College in 2004 while minoring in World Religions. He attended the M.A. history program at Hunter College in Manhattan.

You can keep up with him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LorenMayshark.

You can read more at www.lorenmayshark.com.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
3.6 out of 5
31 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary topic that MUST be confronted by all interested in academia.
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2017
Verified Purchase
"Academic Betrayal" is a first-hand account of the injustices experienced by Loren Mayshark as a graduate student at Hunter College. As an undergraduate who is majoring in History, I felt enormous sympathy for the struggles that Mayshark had to deal with, especially for his countless hours of research being wasted and disregarded due to this educational institution’s business like structure having such poor “customer service” towards the student. That fact, coupled with the lack of organization in Hunter’s history program, the thousands of dollars invested, a loss of faith in education, depression, discouragement, etc. are just some of the hardships Mayshark outlined engagingly in his book.
I recommend this book to anybody who struggled with gaining higher education and to those planning to pursue higher education. A quick easy read that elucidates into life of a graduate student and the failures of a higher education institution. Mayshark really makes the reader question what a student is truly paying for and what they should receive in return from their college. Loren Mayshark is an intelligent individual who was passionately motivated to obtain his MA at Hunter College to become a professor, but was continuously beaten down, discouraged through demeaning and offensive ways, and dealt countless hardships because of Hunter College’s “institutional limitations.” Mayshark’s argument is a necessary topic that MUST be confronted by all interested in academia and the future of education itself!
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missmickee-bookreview
4.0 out of 5 stars Grad School: A Shocking Case of Educational Fraud...
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
Much has been written about the staggering cost of student loan debt and the negative impact and drag on the US economy. “Academic Betrayal: The Bullying of a Graduate Student” authored by Loren Mayshark, is an expose of atrocious (lesser known) educational fraud. In 2008, Mayshark enrolled at Hunter College aspiring to earn a M.A. degree in their advertised two year 30 credit graduate degree program. By 2015, Mayshark realized he had no option but to resign from the program. The degree he had spent six years and tens of thousands in educational expenses to attain, was only a mirage.

After successfully completing his BA in history from Manhattanville College in Westchester, N.Y. Mayshark moved to San Francisco, C.A. and became interested in Latin American people and culture. With a girlfriend, he traveled to South America where he spent 6 months learning and practicing the Spanish language and observing local lifestyles and customs. Mayshark enthusatically decided to improve his employment prospects with a goal of completing a graduate degree, teaching as an adjunct professor in Latin American History-- a PhD in History might have followed.

Following Mayshark’s acceptance at Hunter College, there were many deliberate set-backs and obstacles in the way that blocked what should have been a simple enrollment process to begin classes. As he began his graduate school experience, he would eventually find himself ensnared in an academic “intellectual prison.” Mayshark maintained a 3.6 GPA, his first two theses were outright rejected without concrete reasons or explanations. The reasons for the failure were placed solely on him without further options or recourse by the professor supposedly working with and mentoring him. In addition, Mayshark provided exact documentation with times and dates and other important details that supported his version of the story.

Since Mayshark had already spent tremendous amounts of time and great expense on the degree, he accepted an offer from another professor who declared: “We have failed you.” Mayshark had studied Colonial Latin America with this professor, and was encouraged to try again. Taking no chances for failure, he hired a professional editor before presenting the drafts of his theses, and another professor from a different school checked his work and found it suitable for submission. The closer he got to graduation however, the expectations and rules would change, fees to maintain matriculation continued, and expenses mounted with no degree in sight.

One of the most notable intellectuals in the world Noam Chomsky, observed “How America’s Great University System is Getting Destroyed” (essay) that highlight the corporatization of American higher education, where the focus is not on our students, but rather is a system engineered favoring corporate interests. Later, Mayshark met with Professor Lebowitz, the only adjunct professor at Hunter where he had established a genuine connection, he discovered that Lebowitz along with others, had been forced out of their positions, contracts were not renewed due to political reasons having nothing to do with academics. All calls and email inquiries were ignored by Hunter president Terry Daub.
Mayshark is advocating for more oversight and accountability in higher education for student rights, as he continues to share his shocking story. ~ With thanks to the author via NetGalley for the direct e-copy for the purpose of review.
3 people found this helpful
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Aunt C
1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2017
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This is a poorly written whine of a book.
One person found this helpful
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Barbara Mojica
2.0 out of 5 stars WHY ME?
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
Mayshark bemoans the corporatization of higher education and administrative control of higher education. He complains about the six years he
wasted at Hunter College, leaving there without receiving a master's degree. My experience at Hunter College as an undergraduate was vastly different. I completed my 125 credit undergraduate degree with a major in history in three years. At that time Hunter required 62 credits of certain courses as well as a minimum of 24 credits in a major and a minimum of 12 credits in a minor. I also entered lacking 6 additional credits of coursework necessary to correct high school entrance deficiencies. I found my professors to be willing listeners and had very few adjunct teachers.

I am sorry that Mayshark had such a negative experience, but perhaps he might have been more selective in choosing a school that would better serve his needs. Much of this book reads more like a rant than a call to have an honest dialogue on the pros and cons of higher education in the
United States today.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars and my honest feedback is Loren Mayshark is getting better and better
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
"Academic Betrayal" is not only a captivating story, but it's also a well written, eye opening, and nessasary document of how the Education system is truly flawed. Entertaining and Educational! I have followed this Authors work for years, and my honest feedback is Loren Mayshark is getting better and better. Well done!
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