BLOG POST #8: What does this TUCK article raise for you? How does it help you think about yourself and others?

 Reading Eve Tuck’s Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities really made me rethink how often, even with good intentions, we define people, especially those in marginalized groups, through their pain. Tuck argues that damage-centered research traps communities in an image of brokenness, and that idea really hit me. In higher education, I often see how institutions unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) exploit trauma for institutional gain.

What stood out to me most was Tuck’s call to move from a damage-centered approach to a desire-based framework. I love this shift because it doesn’t ignore harm or act as if everything is okay, it instead creates space for possibility. It reminds us that trauma and pain are complex, and that people are so much more than their struggles. This framework encourages us to look at communities as whole.

In my work in college admissions, this really resonates. There’s often a narrative around students from first-generation or low-income backgrounds that centers their trauma, colleges love the story of “overcoming the odds.” But that can turn students into tokens. I see it especially in college essays, where students sometimes feel like their only option is to write about their pain because that’s what will stand out. 

I wish all admission could use Tuck’s article to think differently. Using a desire-based framework means making space for students to tell their full stories,to talk about their challenges, yes, but also their joy, growth, creativity, and hope. It’s about shifting the narrative from.