Week 1: Chelsea Reyes A02

Chelsea Reyes

A02

Week 1

            After reading the article by Valverde, it definitely opened up my eyes to her own personal struggles outside of the university, and also the torment, criticism, and discrimination that she received in university and in her fight for tenure. Since this was the first week of school, I thought that it was clever for her to provide something written by her as our first reading, since it is sort of a way for us to get to know our professor and the type of background she comes from. It was quite surprising to see the kind of things she had went through in her journey towards tenure at her university. She was more than qualified to receive tenure but faced so much criticism for not just being a woman, but also for being of Asian American descent. I found it interesting (and also quite true) at the mention of a sort of hierarchy in terms of types of Asians, where Chinese have the most resources available to them without being judged, to Vietnamese be pretty low on the list. The experience she had gone through was not a coincidence, and probably would not have happened to someone else who was of different ethnicity. It was heartbreaking to hear how she had to work and meet deadlines when she was so far along in her pregnancy. I personally work with someone who is still working 20-30 hours a week at our job and she is due in the end of October. The fact that women are not able to take the time they need to prepare for giving birth and take care of their child is horrible and unjust for the mother. I chose an image that depicts a woman being held down by various terms such as being harassed and shamed before getting to success. Getting to success is definitely not easy, women are constantly being weighed down in their fight to be in a place that they are well qualified for and we all should continue to provide support for each other.  

Question: Being a student is stressful as it is, but I feel like we students also forget the kind of stress that professors/teachers go through. Students are reminded of places to get help, such as the health and wellness center in Davis, but for professors and/or teachers, are they also reminded of the help and services they need when their mental/physical health isn’t at its best? Are they able to obtain/are offered the same kind of assistance?

References:

Bhattacharya, A. (2017, August 17). [Digital image]. Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://code.likeagirl.io/why-women-cant-just-get-over-it-931ddf27f1a7

Valverde, K., (2013). “Fight the Tower”: A Call to Action for Women in Academia, 12(2), 367-419. Retrieved September 29, 2017.