Week 1 - Chloriza Avila - Section A02

I feel that Professor Valverde's use of the pepper spray video was a reasonable introduction into higher education and activism. This was a great example of the raw truth students should be exposed to in order to understand the harsh realities of higher education.  It shows how much power is given to officials, and how much power is stripped from students. It's honestly very frustrating to watch this video because I feel that as children, we are told to "follow our dreams" or "speak our truth". However, the video shown may have proven that unless you are fighting with the system, you need to be silenced. The treatment that these students received was uncalled for and should never be okay. The university prides itself on acceptance and values student expression, but looks the other way when their control is threatened.

I enjoyed the reading Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia because it is taken from a different perspective that still clearly demonstrates the power and injustices of the system.  Professor Valverde's experiences in her fight for tenure had a great deal of impact on me because I hope to be in her position one day as an Asian-American women and educator. It's quite daunting to see that she had followed the standard path of so-called "success" that we are encouraged to follow, and still faced difficulties with overcoming the barriers created by the "bamboo ceiling". The bamboo ceiling is a term that describes the obstacles that Asian Americans face in their pursuit of executive positions. In my own experiences, I remember when my peers would constantly tease me about being smart "because I was Asian". I was the main target for every group project, homework assignment, or presentation.  It's disappointing that I almost enjoyed being seen as the "model minority" and did not realize that I was being used so that others could succeed. Once I made it to higher education, I noticed that my opinions and ideas were not being taken seriously by those around me in various spaces. I firmly believe that this discrimination was a product of my own intersecting identities of race and gender. This reading gave me comfort in knowing that although I am in a system that was not made for me, I have the support of those that look like me that will help me navigate my time here and remind me that I deserve a space in higher education.

                                  
Question: With the the discrimination and oppressions experienced by minorities in the academic system, what is actually implied when universities include "diversity" as a collective goal? 

References:
Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde. “Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia.”
Pham, H., & Pham, K. (2010, February 8). [Cha Lua Gio Song Vietnamese Ham]. Retrieved January 11, 2019, from http://www.theravenouscouple.com/2010/02/cha-lua-vietnamese-ham-recipe.html