Week 1 / Melanie Manuel / A03

Week 1 / Melanie Manuel / A03

Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde's Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women in Color in Academia is a hard hitting story that I think more people need to read. Not just because it's something written by Asian woman who's gone through some stuff, but because it's an important lens that often doesn't get viewed through. The moment I began to read the words of this woman and her journey to fight for her career I could not stop. The narrative, the emotions, the sheer need to share this story made me see how much I would not regret taking this class. What I read about the more-likely-than-not denial of tenure in women of color shows me what I may face if I were to decide to pursue the educational route like I have been debating on. (I have a few more years to decide, but this little insight gives me a glimpse of something I will most likely face as a fellow woman of color.) 

The disheartening aspect to this entire thing is the very fact that education is struck with monopolization and politics. Unlike many places that deal with these things, public service, business corporations, and even high school social life, you don't think about how your education may endure issues of abuse or pretentiousness. At least until you read Valverde's paper on this issue. You read firsthand what she goes through, and it really puts into perspective how archaic the system is in many institutions. There's a need to base things on socializing over actual merit.

This idea of which popularity is more important than merit is exemplified clearly in Morgan (2013) image shown above is pretty the gist of how tenure process is. Of course, these 'likes' also need to come from the administrators, but again, the idea that you need to be 'liked' is more qualifying than someone who can do the work reflects on society. 

What we need is more awareness on this issue, and that first step is with Valverde's Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women in Color in Academia.


Sources: 
1. Valverde, K. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 12(2), 369.
2. Morgan, R. (2013, February 11). "Class dismissed. And, remember if you want to help me with my tenure, 'like' me on Facebook." [Digital image]. Retrieved April 9, 2017, from https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonview.asp?catref=rmon2121

Questions: 
Is the "Tower" only limited to the constraints of academia or is this structure what dictates our daily lives as well?