Week 1 - Emily Luc

Emily Luc
Section A03
Week 1

In theory, the American university system is one of biggest proponents of equity in academia and amongst its educators. In practice, the people in charge of these universities are often more focused on making money for themselves than they are on bettering the system for their employees and students. According to Professor Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde in "Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia," minority groups—specifically women, people of color, and even more so women of color—are especially subjected to high levels of discrimination in the academe. Professor Valverde's own near-death experience is a key example of the consequences minority groups must face under the discriminatory wrath of the American university system. Personally, I found her experience shocking and terrifying. The fact that Professor Valverde had to experience such an extreme and heartbreaking consequence after simply trying to receive tenure from her employer shows exactly how corrupt the university system really is. This level of corruption and discrimination is evident in not only private matters such as educators' fight for tenure, but in more recent years, can also be seen in very public matters. In November 2011, our very own University of California, Davis was involved in a very controversial pepper spray scandal, in which former Chancellor Linda Katehi and UC Davis police militarized against an Occupy movement protest group of students. As discussed in class, Katehi resigned as Chancellor but will be returning to UC Davis as an engineering professor—and still being paid her former Chancellor wage. UC Davis police officer Lt. John Pike received a $38,000 settlement in compensation for his claims of "psychological distress," while the student victims only received $20,000 for their damages. The pepper spray scandal itself as well as the inequality in the fates of those involved clearly show the lack of empathy that the American university system has for its students and teachers. The system is in desperate need of change, and it has to start with those in a place of power.

Question: After these incidents of blatant discrimination, did the university system put into place any measures to prevent other events from occurring in the future?


References:

Valverde, K., (2013). “Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women in Academia", 12(2), 367-419. Retrieved September 30, 2017.

Lt. John Pike and the Pepper Spray Meme [Cartoon]. (2011). Retrieved September 30, 2017, from http://punditspew.blogspot.com/2011/11/lt-john-pike-and-pepper-spray-meme.html.