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| I've never played this game...but quite an apt description of this subject, given Professor Valverde's experience |
Reading Professor Valverde’s article, “Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia,” was pretty disturbing, but it was also great to read about the movement that she helped to set off.
What I found so disturbing was learning about how toxic the environment in academia can be. As Valverde mentions, academia is generally perceived to be civil, but her experience in academia starkly contrasts with that notion. While those in the Asian American Studies presumably know a significant amount about the various forms of oppression in our society, they did not try to end oppression but rather helped to perpetuate it by targeting Valverde for her ethnicity and disabilities (among other things).
It is both unbelievable and believable that women of color in academia can experience such targeted attacks—attacks that can ultimately bring great damage to their health, both mentally and physically. But despite all that there is hope for change, which Valverde’s article underscores. By refusing to back down and by gathering support from fellow colleagues and students who protested her denial of tenure, she eventually succeeded in getting tenure, although the odds were grim.
Questions: After reading this article, how do you now feel about our school or about college in general? With this new (or maybe not new) knowledge of academia, do you feel more cynical about the education we are receiving?
Felicia Peng
Section A01
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