Week 1 - Katrina Estrella

Katrina Estrella

Section A03

Week 1

    Although the American university system prizes itself for its purporting of academia, most universities are actually run more like corporations; they want to make money, and that undermines the spirit of education for students and teachers alike. People of color are specifically vulnerable to this corruption, as described by Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde in “Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia.” The system as it is does not support women of color, instead it actively hinders them to further their own profits. Valverde’s near-death experience as a result of these discriminatory practices is absolutely appalling. The fact that the university that hired her would rather treat one of their own as a number in a system rather than a person is shocking and saddening, and speaks to the current social climate. Universities keep up the facade of supporting the interests of their students and professors, but once these same people become a threat to the status quo, the universities panic and act to preserve it themselves. A prime example of this is the UC Davis Pepper Spray Incident: a campus policeman unleashed military-grade pepper spray on students exercising their right to free speech. This was a blatant violation of those students’ First Amendment rights, as well as being a complete overreaction on the part of the officer. Similarly, UC Davis denied Valverde the respect she deserved as both a professor and a person, preferring to endanger her life and deny her tenure because they did not feel she was worthy of it due to the color of her skin. However, there has been increasing movement to change these attitudes. The folded-up note imprinted with “Let’s work on a network to stop the abuse in academia. Yes to revolution!” signals that the revolution is at work, and ignites a spark of hope for the future in me (Valverde, 2013, p. 372). No matter how slowly change comes, it will happen eventually, and I know I’ll be there to support it.

Question: I believe true change starts with the administration, so how can this revolution reach to a height where we can see improvements in the system?

 

References:

Valverde, K., (2013). “Fight the Tower”: A Call to Action for Women in Academia, 12(2), 367-419. Retrieved September 28, 2017.

UC Davis Pepper Spray and its Significance [Cartoon]. (2011, November 21). Retrieved September 30, 2017, from http://macleodcartoons.blogspot.com/2011/11/uc-davis-police-pepper-spray-and-its.html