"Don't put words in my mouth"

Purdue OSRR, Amanda Ward

Disclaimer

This page contains satirical commentary, rhetorical hyperbole (i.e. it is snarky*), and personal opinion protected under the First Amendment. The narratives presented are based on the author’s direct involvement in OS⬛R proceedings and publicly available information; while creative license is used for expressive purposes, the core events described are substantially true.

This content is provided for informational purposes and constitutes fair comment on matters of public concern. The author does not solicit or condone the harassment of any individuals or entities mentioned herein. Readers are advised that all interpretations and conclusions are the author’s own.

*Can you believe the "Assistant Dean of Students" doesn't know what this word means? I guess a "Master of Education in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration" doesn't come with an average set of vocabulary

New: Student reactions

Below are some snippets of what students have sent me after reading this page. If you have something you would like to share, please let me know.

"I cannot thank you enough for speaking out against OSSR. A friend of mine had a similar situation, where he had evidence contradicting their claims, but was ignored. Luckily his 'sentence' was not severe, but I worry for other students who have had their college careers ruined because of power-hungry politics. [...] I thank you from the bottom of my heart for speaking out. Thank you for the impact you have had on me and countless other students who have learned from you."

"I would just like to say I really liked your journal/article about OSRR on Chenflix because I had a very similarly poor experience with OSRR earlier in the semester. She said she was there to protect me but attacked and lied to me for 30 mins straight. Thank you for standing up for your students!"

"Hello Dr. Chen! I am a MA [1XX] student at Purdue this semester and I think what you are doing with Chenflix and your statement about the OSxR is very admirable and I respect you a lot for it!"

"Hello! I just wanted to say i love your lectures and everything you stand for :)"

Update (September 2025)

So, my student asked to have their disciplinary record expunged. The OS⬛R “generously” granted the request with record-breaking speed. But, in a classic display of institutional gaslighting, the approval doesn’t actually kick in until the end of the semester.

It’s a masterclass in petty bureaucracy. It’s not "procedure"; it’s a parting gift of unnecessary harm. It’s their way of saying, “Fine, you’re cleared, but we’re going to let you twist in the wind for a few more months just because we can.” It's a giant middle finger from the OS⬛R.

The OS⬛R has never once owned its failures. There’s been no apology, no accountability. Just this sudden, frantic "efficiency" they’re hoping we’ll mistake for compassion. This isn't a gesture of goodwill; it’s a quiet, spineless admission of guilt. They’re just too cowardly to actually say the words.

They think that by fast-tracking the paperwork, we’ll overlook the corruption and the sheer cruelty of the delay. They’re banking on us having short memories.

Spoiler alert: We don't. And we won't.

The OS⬛R masquerades as a champion of "integrity and respect," but its conduct hearings are a bureaucratic sham. Serving as an advisor for a student trapped in a web of false allegations, I witnessed the OS⬛R’s true nature: a kangaroo court designed to crush students, not find the truth.

Inside the room, I was gagged and forced to watch my student fight a rigged system alone. Across the table sat "A.W.," the "conduct officer" playing the roles of prosecutor, judge, and jury with unchecked authority and zero oversight. This wasn't a hearing; it was a scripted execution. The verdict wasn’t reached during the meeting; it was printed, collated, and stapled well before we even walked in.

Amanda Palmer-Ward (acpward) of the OSRR (now Assistant Dean of Students) smiling menacingly to plot something.

Amanda coming up with her "holistic" plan

Despite the stacked deck and "A.W."’s abrasive conduct, my student stood tall. They spoke truth to power with a level of dignity that "A.W." and the OS⬛R clearly haven't encountered in years. "A.W." loves to flaunt her credentials in "holistic student development" and "developmental coaching approach," but her actual performance was petty, performative, and profoundly out of touch. If she’s looking for a masterclass in actual character, she should stop "coaching" and start taking notes from my student.

The punchline arrived when, after subjecting my student to the emotional equivalent of waterboarding, "A.W." demonstrated her "deep concern" by filing a Student of Concern report. It was a masterpiece of irony. This wasn't an act of care; it was a theatrical flourish designed to hide the rot of the process. It was a display of fake empathy designed to hide accountability while the bureaucracy gave itself a standing ovation. "A.W." might be the poster child of the OS⬛R, but she’s failing the very students she’s paid to support.

Predictably, we lost. But not because we were wrong, unprepared, or even naïve. We lost because we were never allowed to win. This was a rigged match masquerading as a fair hearing. "A.W." and the OS⬛R delivered a verdict that read like it was rubber-stamped days in advance (ironically echoing the exact concern we raised, only to be shut down by "A.W." with a smug, scolding “don’t put words in my mouth.”)

The punishment? A spectacle. A grotesque overreaction dressed up as education, yet utterly devoid of genuine pedagogical value. It was performance over substance, optics over ethics. And "A.W."? A self-righteous gatekeeper of morality who couldn’t be bothered with nuance or honesty. Her selective enforcement, condescending theatrics, and blatant disregard for fairness made one thing crystal clear: integrity wasn’t just absent, it was actively opposed. This wasn’t justice. It was theater. And we were forced to play along in a kangaroo court where the outcome was purely for boosting the fragile ego of "A.W."

Amanda Palmer-Ward (acpward) looking very angry after having words "put in [her] mouth"

"A.W." scolding us

So, I appealed to "A.W."'s supervisor "J.S." And what did I get? The same calcified wall of institutional indifference we’ve all come to expect: policies wielded like riot shields, replies so devoid of thought they might as well be auto-generated, and a pathological aversion to anything resembling honest dialogue. When I pointed out that the OS⬛R failed to follow its own procedures, "J.S." sheepishly acknowledged it but still cowardly replied that "there won’t be a revisiting of the final determinations made by ["A.W."]."

Let’s drop the charade. “A.W.” wasn’t some rogue actor. She was the poster child for a system that rewards arrogance and punishes integrity. The OS⬛R didn’t just condone her behavior; they gave her a promotion. That’s not oversight. It’s complicity.

And “J.S.”? A figurehead with the spine of a wet napkin, now proudly presiding over an even more toxic operation with “A.W.” elevated to senior status. He’ll prance around and wave at students during the Homecoming Parade like he’s their friend, but it’s all just for show. It's nothing more than a PR stunt dressed in school spirit.

Jeff Stefancic of OSRR rolling on the ground laughing as a reaction to our appeal. Note: despite the picture showing otherwise, Jeff doesn't actually have a spine.

Reaction of "J.S" to my appeal

The whole charade was meant to break us. It didn’t. Because in the end, “A.W.” is an NPC and footnote. Just an anxious functionary clutching her title like a life vest (in fact, despite all the buzzwords her LinkedIn profile shows she is nothing but a sales rep playing dress-up in executive drag). “J.S.”? A sycophant in a leadership role he never earned, shrinking when it mattered most. And the OS⬛R? Just a bureaucratic joke, inflated with slogans and hollow rituals. It fails spectacularly at everything outlined in its mission statement.

But here’s the turn they didn’t expect: we’re not staying silent. Silence is their shield. It is how they stall, how they smother truth, how they gamble on our forgetfulness. But we remember. We speak because they dread the light. We speak because rot festers in the dark. And we speak because the next student deserves more than this charade.

As the Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel once warned: “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

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