This article contends that students whose discourses differ from the dominant academic discourses of school may develop negative writer identities as a result of their language struggles in the academy. Using Critical Discourse analysis, the study explores the writer identities of two college writers in order to understand how embedded ideologies and power relations shape understanding of writer identity. The article goes on to suggest how the use of hybrid genres, acceptance of more multicultural discourses, and introduction of political discourse in the classroom can empower educators and students to overcome language policies that work against them in the academy.