Week 1 - A03 - Jarrod Baniqued

Written 13 January 2019 by Jarrod Baniqued (914629580)
This past week, I read the two papers regarding Professor Valverde’s petition for tenure. While I certainly was skeptical of the content, having been a mild adherent to the invective against the victimhood mentality so common to the "intellectual dark web", I did appreciate the profundity and honesty of the article. With this in mind, let me just give my honest views regarding the state of education:

1. I am a Filipino American, the son of first-generation immigrants. I was, for all intents and purposes, the only Filipino American in my class throughout grade school. Generally, though, I was much more focused on academics and dealing with autism spectrum disorder. Not paying attention to my Filipino roots while cultivating an outward image of "intellectualism" in the Oxbridge/Ivy sense, whether through clothes, accent, or manner, I often found myself internalizing the idea of "acting white" to get ahead in life. That I'll expand on another time.
2. Generally, I see Asian Americans as privileged in the student bodies of top universities. That's most Americans' viewpoint, really. However, the aspect of this that stood out to me was that they are generally not privileged in the faculties of said universities, as Thursday's paper illustrated so well. What's worse is the perceived ethnic hierarchy, in academia and especially media representation, in the Asian race with East Asians at the top, and mixed-race Asians at the bottom, as expounded on by this quote: "Because of a long-standing history of tension between various Asian groups, including mixed race, which I conjecture was internalized by some of my colleagues, I was viewed as inferior to East Asian Americans and this view was compounded by patriarchal attitudes. This view was confirmed when colleagues told me on several occasions that some in the department were “patriarchal” and “paternalistic” and that I should tread lightly around them, allowing them to “save face.” I was expected to accept this behavior because it was culturally explicable by their Confucian background. My non-East Asian cultural background was irrelevant in their eyes. I was made to feel very aware of my positionality as a mixed race, Vietnamese American subject within this department, an academic organization largely dominated by East Asian American leadership." (p. 389)
3. There was also the issue of mental health. As said before, I have autism, while Prof. Valverde has ADHD. I also connected with that issue of mental health.
4. Finally, I was surprised and a bit saddened to learn about the clique mentality adopted by academia during her tenure process.

In conclusion, it was quite eye-opening to read.Questions: Why are these articles framed within the context of Star Wars? Wouldn't that suggest a needlessly incendiary, warlike tone, according to said figures in the "intellectual dark web"?

Why are East Asians perceived as being at the top of said hierarchy?
How can Asian Americans in higher ed best view and deal with mental health?
Have there been any formal measures at UC Davis and other top universities to commit to not just student body, but also faculty and staff diversity according to the solutions presented in the papers?
Sources:
Asian American/Pacific Islander Communities and Mental Health. (2016, June 30). Retrieved January 13, 2019, from http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/asian-americanpacific-islander-communities-and-mental-health (Image)
Hamburger, E. (2018, July 18). The “Intellectual Dark Web” Is Nothing New - Los Angeles ... Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-intellectual-dark-web-is-nothing-new/
Valverde, K.L.C. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle J. Soc. Just., 12, 367.