Dear Colleague:
By Shannon Frost Greenstein
Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon “systemic and structural racism” and advanced discriminatory policies and practices. – U.S. Department of Education, Dear Colleague Letter: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in Light of Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard (Feb. 14, 2025).
What we mean when we start with “Dear Colleague,”
has nothing whatsoever to do with respect;
what we mean when we start with “Dear Colleague”
is that some shit is about to go down.
“Dear Colleague” is how we impugn women and blame survivors;
(U.S. Dept. of Education, ‘Dear Colleague Letter on Sexual Violence,’) (April 4, 2011)
“Dear Colleague” is how we sacrifice our young at the altar of capitalism.
(U.S. Dept. of Education, ‘Dear Colleague Letter: National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) in Title IV Aid Programs’) (March 1, 1995)
“Dear Colleague” is how we orchestrate perpetual recidivism;
(U.S. Dept. of Education, ‘Dear Colleague Letter: Eligibility of Confined or Incarcerated Individuals to Receive Pell Grants’) (March 29. 2023)
“Dear Colleague” is how we exert control over the most vulnerable.
(U.S. Dept. of Education, ‘Dear Colleague Letter: Updated waivers and modifications of statutory and regulatory provisions governing the FSA Programs’) (Sept. 27, 2012)
“Dear Colleague” is what you hear before we start stripping away your rights;
“Dear Colleague” is the façade of civility under the quiet veil of fascism.
“Dear Colleague” is intended to sound like we are all equals;
But “Dear Colleague” is just another way to say you must follow orders.
Now “Dear Colleague” is instructing us all
to forget the fundamental racism
that vivisects our nation like a blade;
to ignore that capitalism started on the plantation,
and that all Americans do not share the same civil rights.
“Dear Colleague” is a map
along this slippery slope to dystopia,
a world removed from its humanity
and unmoored from objective truth.
And whenever the government strays from its ethical duty
to cultivate an informed, compassionate populace,
you can bet your ass a “Dear Colleague” letter
preceded that shift like a soothsayer.
But at least the U.S. Dept. of Education
has not yet attempted to interfere
with the dangerous technology
that steals from our artists and replaces our art;
at least they are leaving counterculture alone.
What’s that?
The U.S. Dept. of Education, ‘Dear Colleague Letter: Request for Information on Researcher and Educator Use Cases for the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (Nov. 15, 2024)?
Well, shit.
Shannon Frost Greenstein (She/They) resides near Philadelphia with her family and cats. She is the author of Through the Lens of Time (2026), a fiction collection with Thirty West Publishing, and These Are a Few of My Least Favorite Things (2022), a book of poetry from Really Serious Lit. Shannon is a former Ph.D. candidate in Continental Philosophy and a multi-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Pithead Chapel, Nimrod Journal, and elsewhere. Shannon’s passions include Friedrich Nietzsche, anti-racism, the Seven Summits, the Hamilton Soundtrack, and acquiring more cats. Find her at shannonfrostgreenstein.com. Follow her on Bluesky @shannonfrostgre and Instagram @zarathustra_speaks.
Photo Credit: Mizuno K via a Creative Commons license.
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