I was surprised to hear about this struggle for tenure Professor Valverde had in “Fight The Tower.” As mentioned in class on Tuesday, UC Davis is rarely in the spotlight for these types of issues at least compared to schools like UC Berkeley, but that goes to show how even if situations are not widely known or broadcast, racist systems and forces are still in full force. I feel like I would have taken the same steps as Professor Valverde and at first tried to stay out of all politics, ready to just teach and learn and educate my students, although this strategy obviously backfired (Valverde, 2013, p. 379). Reading about the corporatization of universities reminded me of how some of my professors teach here at UCD and at Sacramento State, and makes me wonder if it is because they just love teaching that much or because they really need the money with all of the ways higher education is changing (Valverde, 2013, p. 371). I had a TA in another class here who taught classes at a community college a couple of hours away and was in grad school here, and had to make that long commute and somehow balance everything to make ends meet.
Hearing of the tenure struggle from an Asian American perspective also helped illuminate how we may feel that we have completely assimilated and the time of racism is over, but that is so far from the truth. There were so many inconsistencies as Professor Valverde mentioned in her tenure review, denial, and appeals process but it took so long and was so much of a burden (mentally, physically, emotionally) until students and the public supported her (Valverde, 2013, p. 396). While it is of course great that the website was created and students were willing to protest for her, it is sad that many of her colleagues turned their backs against her even as they were supposed to be Ethnic Studies professors and fighting the higher powers together. This reading has further cemented the fact that there is more than meets the eye and we must stay alert and honestly keep our eyes open for ourselves and one another.
Question: Is there anything you (Professor Valverde) regret or would have done differently if you could redo the situation? What steps would you have a person take if they were in the same situation?
References
Ted-Ed. (2015, October 21). How Stress Affects Your Body-Sharon Horesh Bergquist [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-t1Z5-oPtU
Valverde, K. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 12(2), 367-419.
Yes, stress kills, but those that control institutions will not make this well known because they would have to treat their labor forces better and the masters perceive that to lower profits.
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