Community Empowerment

Can you believe that even in academia — a realm we assume to be governed by intellect, ethics, and the pursuit of truth — corruption and abuse run deep? It is a gaping wound, festering beneath a carefully maintained surface of respectability and prestige. Beneath the surface lies a culture of nepotism, tribalism, favoritism, and collusion, where unethical behaviors are not only tolerated but often normalized among professors and administrators alike.

Once, I believed such behaviors were confined to failing institutions — places consumed by ignorance or weak governance. But I was wrong. Corruption in academia isn’t limited to the margins; it thrives even in the world’s most prestigious universities. The very people who wear the title of “Doctor,” who boast PhDs and decades of experience, are often complicit in these systems — or worse, they are the architects of them.

We often hear whispers — stories of harassment, exploitation, favoritism — but we dismiss them as isolated incidents, choosing to place our faith in a system that promises fairness, merit, and ethical conduct. That is, until it happens to us. Until we become the victims. That’s when our trust crumbles, and we start to see patterns where we once saw isolated cases. We begin to connect the dots, to form hypotheses about how power is wielded and abused behind closed doors.

Sure, corruption exists in every field. But education? Academia? This is supposed to be different. Teachers and professors are expected to be among the most ethical, morally sound individuals in society. They don’t enter the field for money — or so we’re told. They enter to change the world, to ignite young minds, to pursue knowledge. But the reality, for many, is a far cry from that ideal.

Academia has morphed into a competitive, high-stakes corporate environment — fighting for grants, prestige, publications, and rankings. In this pressure cooker, some professors misuse their power, demanding loyalty, favors, or even something worse — material or sexual “compensation” — in exchange for academic opportunities or career advancement. It’s a deep betrayal of what this profession is supposed to stand for.

How did we get here? How did the moral compass in academia become so skewed?

The PhD — short for Doctor of Philosophy — is considered the highest degree one can achieve. Society looks up to PhD holders as beacons of wisdom, rationality, and ethical behavior. But behind the curtain, some of these so-called experts lack basic emotional maturity, let alone intellectual integrity. Rather than mentoring the next generation with humility and grace, they act like insecure teenagers — jealous, competitive, and threatened by the very students they’re supposed to uplift.

Some of them don’t even have true expertise in their field. They mask their incompetence with arrogance, elitism, or worse — through the silencing of critical voices, manipulation of systems, and abuse of students or junior scholars. Their corruption is not always loud. Sometimes it’s subtle — exclusion from opportunities, retaliation for dissent, or quiet deals made in back rooms.

But no matter how it’s expressed, the damage is profound.

Academia was meant to be a sanctuary for truth, dialogue, and growth. Instead, for many, it becomes a place of trauma, betrayal, and lost trust. And the worst part? The system often protects the abusers — because they’re the ones in power.

Until we acknowledge this reality, nothing will change. The wound will stay open. The rot will spread. And the dream of an ethical, enlightened academy will remain just that — a dream.

Please protect your soul!

Nawal