Preface
In the summer of 2019, shocking news spread across the higher education communities in China and the United States, when Chen Huixiang, a doctoral student from China, ended his life at the age of 30 with a thick hemp rope in a closed laboratory at Florida State University in the United States.
This proud son of heaven, who was once pinned on high hopes, was supposed to shine in this golden period of life, but suddenly said goodbye to this world in the most extreme way. What is the reason that this promising student has embarked on the road of no return?
Travel to the United States with hope
Chen Huixiang was born in an ordinary rural family, and her parents were hardworking and simple people. They know the importance of culture, so they told Chen Huixiang since they were young that only by studying hard can they change their destiny by studying Xi hard.
The sensible Chen Huixiang also understands this truth, so he has been studying very hard to Xi, and has achieved excellent results in every exam and has become a top student in school.
During the college entrance examination, Chen Huixiang was successfully admitted to the Computer Department of Jilin University and became a top student of 985 universities. He has a clear plan for the future, he knows what he wants and how to make it happen.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree, he was successfully admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology as a graduate student. During his time at Harbin Institute of Technology, Chen Huixiang's performance was very good, and he received many invitations from well-known domestic enterprises and universities, but they were all politely rejected by him.
Because he has already made up his mind, he wants to study abroad, learn Xi the most advanced scientific and technological knowledge, and then return to China for development. After years of hard work, he finally succeeded in getting an admission letter from the University of Florida in the United States.
However, Chen Huixiang's parents were not very supportive of his decision, they believed that Chen Huixiang's development in China was already very good, and there was no need to venture abroad.
But Chen Huixiang did not give up, he patiently explained to his parents, he said that he had found a very good mentor, this mentor's research direction is exactly what he is interested in, and he wants to follow this mentor to learn Xi and improve his ability.
In the end, at Chen Huixiang's insistence, his parents still chose to support him. With mixed feelings, they sent him to the United States. However, they never imagined that this decision would make them regret it for the rest of their lives.
All dreams come to naught
With a dream and a thirst for knowledge, Chen embarked on a journey to the United States, where he was thrilled to have access to world-class educational resources and the opportunity to study with a Chinese mentor who shared his cultural background.
This tutor named Li Tao not only had a good conversation with him on the Internet, but also agreed to his request without hesitation after learning about his willingness to study, which undoubtedly made Chen Huixiang full of expectations for the upcoming Xi life.
When they met for the first time, Chen Huixiang left a deep impression on Li Tao. Li Tao is not only knowledgeable and kind, but also a helpful mentor.
In Li Tao's office, the two talked about academic ideals, and Chen Huixiang was full of respect and gratitude to the mentor who was about to lead him to the palace of scientific research.
Li Tao promised him a salary of $1,500 a month, while also emphasizing the high demands on the students, but Chen Huixiang was unimpressed, believing that he was capable of tackling any challenge.
As time passed, Chen Huixiang gradually discovered that Li Tao's so-called high requirements were not what he imagined. At first, Li Tao took Chen Huixiang around on the pretext of being familiar with the campus environment and social activities, and even generously lent him his car to use, which made Chen Huixiang think that Li Tao was a good mentor who cared about his students.
But slowly, he gradually found that he became Li Tao's personal assistant, not only driving for him, but also dealing with all kinds of trivial household chores, and even helping to take care of clothes. These trivial matters occupy most of Chen Huixiang's time and energy, leaving him with little time to focus on his studies.
In the face of Chen Huixiang's confusion and helplessness, Li Tao's attitude changed 180 degrees. He was no longer the gracious mentor, but became cold and threatening.
He warned Chan that if he did not continue to meet his requirements, it would affect his academic progress and he might not even be able to graduate. This made Chen Huixiang fall into great trouble, he knew that his future was in the hands of Li Tao, but he was powerless to resist.
During these difficult years, Chen Huixiang often missed his family in China, but he could only tell them by phone that he was too busy to return to China for the time being.
These words are both a consolation to the family and a consolation to the self-hopelessness. However, deep down, he couldn't shake off that feeling of helplessness and despair, and he knew that he was being pushed into the abyss step by step.
Tragedy finally broke out
An academic paper by Chen Huixiang, which will be published at the prestigious forum "ISCA", was originally an important milestone in his academic career.
On the eve of the paper's publication, he was surprised to find that the conclusions of the paper were completely untenable and had no academic value. This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to a scholar who regards academic research as his life.
In the chat records, Li Tao even threatened and said, "If you ruin my reputation, I will kill you", which undoubtedly intensified Chen Huixiang's psychological pressure.
In the face of the threat of his mentor, Chen Huixiang did not back down. At the risk of being expelled, he argued with his supervisor and tried to retract the paper.
In the process, the relationship between the two deteriorated to the extreme, and even once it was to the point of needing police intervention. Despite Chen's efforts, the hope of retraction is becoming increasingly slim.
With the publication of the paper as scheduled, Li Tao gained a lot of reputation with this "empty talk". But for Chen Huixiang, all this has become an indelible shadow in his heart. He endured the torment of conscience and self-condemnation every day, and this pain was almost unbearable for him.
In the end, after sending a suicide note to his loved ones, Chen Huixiang chose to hang himself in the laboratory. In this way, he fulfilled his own pure heart for the truth, and at the same time revealed a serious problem in this academic world.
Chen Huixiang's death has attracted widespread attention from the society. After investigation, Li Tao was expelled from the University of Florida for academic misconduct and banned from publishing journals and literature for 15 years. It was the harshest punishment in the history of the ACM, and the paper that was completely untenable was retracted.
Is there a lot of power for American mentors?
In the United States, graduate students often refer to their supervisors as "bosses," similar to Chinese Xi, a designation that reflects the fact that graduate students and their supervisors not only have a traditional teacher-student relationship, but also contain a certain element of employment relationship.
Mentors have a profound impact on graduate students, not only having the power to admit or expel students, but also playing a key role in the student's Xi and work process. The serious, responsible and patient guidance attitude of the supervisor is crucial to the growth of graduate students.
Graduate education in the United States is divided into two stages: master's and doctoral students. Master's degree is usually considered a bridging degree, which is generally 2-3 years long, and some schools allow students to graduate even without writing a master's thesis after completing the required number of credits.
For students who skip a master's degree and go straight to a PhD, they are even more challenging, as Americans jokingly call it: Doing a PhD in the U.S. is like going to jail.
In the U.S., supervisors have a lot of power, they can decide whether to stay or go for graduate students, and graduate students also have the right to choose to change supervisors. This two-way selection mechanism allows both the tutor and the student to maintain a certain degree of autonomy and flexibility.
epilogue
In any case, we should remember the story of Chen Huixiang, whose tenacity and courage left a deep impression on us. Although he is no longer in this world, his spirit will live on forever and inspire us to never give up in the face of difficulties.
Source: China News Weekly