Hello Again and my sincere thanks to everyone who has continued to check in on this blog.
My stint filling in for a maternity leave will be ending this week so I promise I will be posting a lot more frequently again in the near future - (at least once a week.)
I have something of a favor to ask of people, if they find themselves with some extra time and a good dose of persuasion:
Given that Liliane was such a hardworking and dedicated student, my family and I have been trying to do what we can to get UIC to change their degree policy to include posthumous degrees. (As it stands, the University of Illinois doesn't seem to currently have one in place.)
I've been in contact with the Dean of LAS at UIC a couple times and they've sent me very kind emails, but reportedly they are not the ones who can change the policy at UIC. (That is the job of the UIC Academic Senate, which will be having their next meeting in the near future... http://senate.uic.edu/)
Below I've included the (rather drawn-out) correspondence I've had with UIC. (The latest email is still only a draft and waiting to be sent upon further editing....) If anyone else feels willing to contact the university on behalf of Liliane and/or happens to know something about how to change policies at a university, your input, support, and advice would be greatly appreciated!
(P.S. I apologize in advance for the long-windedness of my emails. Blame it on my "academic training"/having the need to write 10-page papers when you can say everything in only 2... =P)
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Dear Dean Tantillo and Herget and honorable Members of the UIC Academic Senate,
Thank you very much for your past emails and for taking the time out of your very busy schedules to hear what I have to say. In full disclosure, I must admit that this is a rather awkward email for me to write as I understand I have very clear biases and cannot possibly present my request in a neutral manner. But if you could please try and read through what I have to present as if I were a neutral bystander/observer making a simple suggestion for what UIC can do to make itself an even better institution of higher learning, that would be greatly appreciated.
In my previous email, I listed some 20 university policies which currently exist detailing how to confer posthumous degrees. This time, I've included some links to articles I found which help show the direct, personal impacts universities can have on its communities by implementing a posthumous degree policy. I think a couple running themes you can find in each of the stories below include the idea of being able to inspire a moment of unity, solidarity, and compassion through the honoring of posthumous degrees, as well as helping provide families with an all-too-precious sense of closure, at least in the sense of their loved ones' academic journey and pursuits in life.
Posthumous Degrees Honor Departed Toros: http://www.csudhnews.com/2014/05/posthumous-degrees/
UMass honors Krystle Campbell:
UMass Posthumous Degree Policy:
Rutgers Student killed by Bear to Receive Posthumous Degree:
December Commencement 2011: Every Number tells a Story:
Again, as I mentioned in my previous email, I can't pretend to understand how difficult it might be introduce and/or change university policy - and I certainly understand how to many this may seem like a rather silly policy to be advocating for given that at the end of the day, it arguably has no direct impact on the people it is intended to honor. But I hope - and now if I may ask you to no longer consider my words from a non-biased perspective but as someone who is directly living through the experience of having lost a loved one - I can impress upon you the gift you can give to the families of your students through the conferment of a posthumous degree. One hard lesson I had to learn and come to terms with right away is that there is no cure for grief and the pain of is never meant to fully go away. But having others readily recognize and honor the accomplishments and contributions of their loved ones - especially when they have been justly earned - can and does provide people with an invaluable sense of comfort and peace. Besides this policy being a measure of solace for the students' families, however, more importantly it should also be viewed as a matter of justice in terms of recognizing students for all the hard work and commitment they have devoted to their alma mater.
At this point, I'm almost positive that my emails have embarrassed my sister Liliane to no end. Liliane was always a very shy and incredibly humble/modest person who hated to inconvenience others and would much rather have the spotlight be on someone else rather than herself. Speaking as her sister, of course it would mean a great deal to me if Liliane was able to get a degree from UIC, but I know ultimately what Liliane would have wanted would be if we could somehow bring about some change that might help others to cope and deal in the midst of some of their darkest moments. I realize how quickly people's schedules and to-do lists can get filled up and how easy it is for things to get put on the backburner, but I hope you might be able to take this issue into consideration at your next Senate meeting.
Thank you again for all your time and for reading through my email. Wishing you and your loved ones a most warm and enjoyable holiday season.
Sincerely,
Elaine Wu
