tass sits on their ass: a cruel summer at cornell, the 2026 sequel
tass is probably the most prestigious humanities program out there, with a sub 3% acceptance rate and applicants and attendees from around the world. i was among those who was shaking with utter disbelief when I received my letter. five weeks surrounded by other passionate intellectuals debating global issues and fighting against social inequality and oppression. ironically, telluride association, which preaches against oppression, orchestrates that oppression themselves.
the way our tass cohort was formatted was three hour seminars discussing college level readings about social justice and politics and other supporting activities after classes. we had a wonderful system with the residential staff, consisting of an assistant camp director and resident advisors. to be honest, they were college students or just a bit older, not very different than us.
the main camp director was a different story. he made the staff beneath him miserable (all women of color) and then went mia for a week. gone for days on end. no note, no email. then returned like nothing happened and but then dropped the bomb that they were sending us home.
but how did we get there? to our understanding, the residential staff underneath the higher ups were being treated like shit (we witnessed the main camp director yell at a resident advisor) and were not being compensated for the labor they were doing especially once the camp director just left. no one had any idea where he was.
instead of paying their staff and providing a safe working environment, they shut down the program itself and sent thirty six bright, hopeful students home. two weeks into the five. they were not forthcoming about what that led to this. instead, they fed us lies about some staff to student ratio and sent us home after staff resignations. mind you, they resigned under the overwhelming pressure and abusive conduct OF THE ADMINISTRATION. (we also recognize the bs because we had more than enough CAPABLE AND LOVING staff members to comply with the legal staff to student ratio… tass simply chose to make their lives hell.)
while i am deeply distraught that one of the most elite opportunities of my life was ripped away from me, i’m happy that I learned something more important — not to trust administration and those in power, especially in academia, implicitly. that standing up for the rights of the people that truly cared for us rather than protecting those who abused them was more important than anything to slap on a college application. i found that i would rather go home knowing that than continue to profit off unpaid, overworked labor. no matter how “woke” tass presents itself to be, in the end, it‘s run by wealthy white people who thrive on the oppressive and corrupt system.
here’s the irony: going to tass made me realize that what tass is built upon is wrong in the first place. an elite program that moves through elite circles funded by the elite that is inherently exclusionary. built off the exploitation we learned was wrong in our seminars. the sad part? prestigious universities are no different.
feel free to ask questions, but i can’t say i know much about the internal workings of the organization. i’ll try to answer to the best of my abilities.
screw telluride and any organization that profits off unpaid labor and abuse of staff, especially young (COLLEGE STUDENTS!! HARDLY OLDER THAN US!!!) women of color.