“Bloodchild”, a short story written by Octavia Butler, shows the reflective process of the protagonist, Gan, as he adjusts to hardships and inequalities in his environment. The lack of trust and abuse of power from those around him alter Gan’s thought process and cause him to analyze the reasons for the disruption of power. Similarly, Drew Harwell’s article, “Colleges are Turning Students’ Phones into Surveillance Machines, Tracking the Locations of Hundreds of Thousands”, was written to describe the inequalities between a college administration and their students. Both sources discuss a lack of trust and an issue with power, but ultimately teach college students about the risks and rewards of academic partnership by acknowledging that some activities are necessary, although not ideal.
In “Bloodchild”, issues with trust and power help Gan become more aware of larger issues. Gan grows up with the knowledge that he will have to carry a child for family friend T’Gatoi. T’Gatoi is a more powerful species than Gan and his family and Gan was given no option in this matter. In fact, he was born for the purpose of being T’Gatoi’s, as all Terrans must provide someone to carry the Tlic’s children because they offered Terrans land and protection years ago. Although this situation did not bother him initially, this all changed when Gan witnessed a birth gone wrong and heard stories from other experiences. He realized the dangers associated with giving birth and how unfair it was to expect him to deliver T’Gatoi’s children with so many risks involved. Eventually, he agrees to carry the children but offers conditions that make his relationship with T’Gatoi equal, because “there is risk in dealing with a partner”(Butler, 26) . Gan’s reflective process involved acknowledging the reasons for not wanting to bear T’Gatoi’s children, but ultimately allowing it because it was necessary for both parties. Gan’s people had agreed to surrender their bodies to help the Tlic reproduce and he knows that someone will have to complete this job. Although Gan initially did not consent to carrying children, he understands the rule was put in place to benefit both the Tlic and the Terrans.
Drew Harwell’s article, “Colleges are Turning Students’ Phones into Surveillance Machines, Tracking the Locations of Hundreds of Thousands” discusses an incident that occured at Syracuse University, where students were being monitored from their cell phone in an effort to increase attendance in the classrooms. Most students were unhappy with this behavior and thought of it as lack of privacy. Like Gan in “Bloodchild”, the students saw a lack of trust and an abuse of power when it became mandatory to use the monitor app. If the administration trusted the students, they would allow them to attend classes on their own time. In this scenario, the administration is using their power to benefit themselves. Tami Chievous, an athletic director at the university of Missouri, explains, “Students today have so many distractions…We have to make sure they’re doing the right thing”. The administration is clearly showing a lack of trust within the college and is enforcing their power onto the students. In addition, the students also were being forced to use this tracking app without their initial consent. If they decided not to download it they could lose credit by being counted as absent. This most likely was not made aware when they committed to their school. Like “Bloodchild” suggested, there are always risks when dealing with a partner. Administration faced a risk by requiring this app, but not without weighing the rewards.
By using Gan’s learning process, students have the potential to understand how trust and power relate to consent and how some actions that seem negative may actually be considered beneficial. Gan realizes that although he does not want to carry children, he must do so in order for the Tlic to repopulate and continue to protect them. Students can model this behavior. For example, the students in Harwell’s article deemed the tracking app to be a result of lack of trust and disliked it because they did not consent to being tracked. However, the app does bring in positive ideas. It can help people who suffer from mental health issues and also encourage students to attend class more regularly. The college would be more likely to help students who need it and ensure everyone is getting a quality education. There are many other scenarios where the people in power might set guidelines that are not ideal but very necessary. Homework, for example, is not enjoyable for most students but it is required because of the rewards of it. Every situation has varying degrees of risks and rewards, especially in academic partnership, and Gan can teach college students how to understand and analyze them.
The character’s in “Bloodchild” are useful when recognizing the risks and rewards of academic partnership. By analyzing Gan’s reflective process of a hardship he faced, Gan offered advice to college students in multiple ways. His choices are ones that could be modeled by students to promote adequate conversations and decisions.