Week 1

Alan Sani
Section A03
Week 1

In this weeks reading "Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia" professor Valverde shares her experiences with adversity in the world of academia as a woman of color. Her story was an eye opener to me. I have always been aware of the struggle for equal opportunity and resources for communities of color and for women. But I would have never thought that such unfairness and and social cultural biases would exist in the professional environment of an institution of higher education. Professor Valverde's miraculous recovery,  her resilience, and her honesty were truly inspiring to me. Her story conveys the important idea that it's worth fighting for whats right despite the obstacles and challenges that may get in the way. Her experiences and messages really resonated with me as an Asian American coming from a community with a similar prejudice dynamic. I come a small diverse town called Marina a few miles from the Monterey Bay. In my county there is a large contrast in the ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds that is only separated by few miles. Within our school district the inequality in educational opportunity and career support is visible between the schools with a larger population of low income students of color and the schools with a more affluent student make up. When I was given the opportunity to serve as a student board member at our district board meetings I witnessed a few occasions where members of the school board underestimate and doubted the abilities of the students coming from the less fortunate high schools in our district. These assumptions upset me because there are many capable and qualified students that are often overlooked or ignored because of their backgrounds. This is the reason I am so inspired by the societal messages Professor Valverde shares through her story. Despite her qualifications and obvious positive contributions to the university she was denied the tenure position that she deserved and was even bullied to the point where her health was effected. These problems were all a result of the ethnic and gender discrimination that still exists today at universities and many professional fields. These social problems that Professor Valverde addresses are very important issues to fight for. We as students of color at UC Davis should fight for opportunites here and beyond in our future careers.

Question: Why are appropriate qualifications and experience becoming less and less important in the American Education System.




Visual: How is Betsy DeVos in anyway qualified to fill the position of secretary of education? the Former Secretary of education was very qualified and a man of Color.