Week 1 - Jiaqi Huang

Jiaqi Huang
A02
Week 1: Fight the Tower

This week's reading, "Fight the Tower" by Professor Valverde, exposes the private, political, racial, and gender discriminations within a supposedly public institution that prevails for societal development. The article is split into 3 parts and each part is a development which leads the Professor's ultimate goal, they are generalized in this order: realization and sacrifice, becoming a strategic warrior, and action. The most dejecting reality about the article is it's age. It was written only 4 years ago, it is one Asian-American experience among the thousands of academe, and the experience bearer may be too exhausted to fight back in an institution controlled by politics. In other words, Valverde's situation is still faced by academes everyday yet the discrimination is not mentioned. Academe may not be prepared to sacrifice like Valderde in order to progress the Asian-American community.

I believe that all Asian-Americans have faced treatment similar to the Professor's some degree in their lives, either consciously or unconsciously, although it may not have been in an professional setting. Like the Professor, they may have not been in the "appropriate" setting to be burdened by these issues. As a STEM major and a female student, I have already faced judgement from my own class. Although peer comments are in joking manners, they are still suggestive and have effected my own assurance. This is why I relate to the Professor's Imposter Syndrome. The first comment was given by a female friend but never did she question the same comment to the males in the friend group. The second comment was said by a male student. 
"I bet you'll switch majors by next quarter."
"WOW, you the only girl in (hard STEM class)?"

Question: How long did it take Professor Valverde to get tenure? 

References:

School Supplies: Girls Vs Boys [Digital image]. (2013, January 14). Retrieved April 5, 2017, from http://weknowmemes.com/2013/01/school-supplies-girls-vs-boys/


Valverde, K. C. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action For Women of Color in Academia. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 12(2).