Sit down, folks. This may be a long story. It actually might not, though. In that case, you may remain standing.
I began an unpaid internship for what I thought would help victims of sexual assault. In many ways, the non-profit does help in providing resources for people seeking help. The NPO is meant to serve those who are typically underserved in cases of sexual assault like men, LGBTQ+, the elderly, etc. However, my boss running the organization overemphasizes the amount of false sexual assault accusations that occur. She said something along the lines of “more and more, we’re seeing people being falsely accused of rape” and posts things onto the organization’s Facebook page that promote this false notion that you can’t do anything nowadays without getting accused of sexual assault. She uses a lot of anecdotal evidence to support her claims. Really though, only 2%-10% of accusations are false which is about the same as any other crime. Of course I think it’s important to protect the rights of those falsely accused, but I also think it is important to remember that victims of sexual assault are already hesitant to speak up for fear of being accused of wanting attention or of being accused of falsely accusing. Promoting the prevalence of false accusations can only silence them further. Soon, she will be lobbying for a bill that is supposed to make it harder for the falsely accused to be prosecuted, but I personally believe it’ll make it harder for victims to seek justice. (Whether I am wrong on this assumption is irrelevant because the issue still stands that there is a huge difference of beliefs between her and me.)
Anyways, I know I have to quit. Out of moral principle, I want to quit now and tell her that I do not agree with her and where she is taking the organization. The thing is, though, that I have not really spoken up about my problems with her. The time I had mentioned any qualms, it was in a non-confrontational, super-friendly way. Because of that, I feel like to tell her that I cannot work for her because of a difference of beliefs would be out-of-the-blue. The other choice I have is to wait until January when I have the excuse of the internship interfering with my schoolwork. While this is a valid option, it goes against my beliefs. I would much rather tell her I do not agree with her than to use my school as an excuse.
Follow up question: Can I quit an unpaid internship over email?
I’ll assume that you work at small non-profit, where your boss runs the show. To look at a more general issue, I think it’s usually a bad idea to let loose in exit interviews. If you couldn’t get them to listen to you when you worked there, why do you think they’ll listen to you after you announced you’re quitting? Do you really think you’ll change their mind as you’re walking out the door? While job references aren’t as common as they used to be, you may still want a good recommendation from this person for a job or grad school.
As you said, people are being helped by the program you’re working with. So ask yourself if quitting immediately would make things difficult for any of the people you serve.
Let your boss know now that you won’t be able to work past the end of the year because of your schedule next term. Speaking your mind may help you feel better but it won’t change your boss’s mind and all that she will record about your leaving is that you left with a bad attitude.
Unless the director of this organization is also the person funding it (or it’s a family trust), she will soon have to answer to other people for the direction she’s taking. Non-profit directors don’t last for long when their views differ significantly from the people funding the organization. The next person in the director’s position would only see that an intern from your school left after “causing trouble”.
I know it feels wrong, but I see no upside to soul-baring honesty in this case. After you are gone in January, you can reach out to organizations that you feel are doing work more in line with your values and in other ways work to defeat the bill you dislike.
Also let the internship coordinators at your school know about the apparent change in direction of the organization.
There may be an opportunity here. If you have not discussed this matter, it may be worthwhile to ask to sit down with your boss. Explain that you have concerns, and ask for the rationale behind her actions - not in an accusatory way but in an inquisitive way. Since you aren’t getting paid and don’t expect to continue with the internship, you have basically nothing to lose, but you have a LOT to gain by trying to understand a point of view counter to your own. The biggest risk is that your boss will act unprofessionally, in which case you have plenty of reason to quit. The biggest opportunity is that you will gain a new appreciation for another point of view; it may even strengthen your own. The most realistic outcome is that your boss will talk to you, you will continue to feel uncomfortable, and you can then leave due to a difference of opinion with no hard feelings on either side.
@roethlisburger I don’t know that I’d want a recommendation from her. I haven’t been working at the org for very long (one day a week for 4-5 weeks) anyway, so I’m not going to put it on any application or resume.
Thank you all for the insight! I think the biggest thing for me is that sometimes I get too scared of uncomfortable situations/making other people feel uncomfortable. I’ll have to learn to change that if I wanna move forward with anything. I may just wait till January when school begins. Again, thanks for the help guys!