Week 10_Zijing Wu_A04

This week's reading "Academics Awaken: Power, Resistance, and Being Woke." is the perfect summary of what we have covered in class this quarter. The strongest take away for me after reading this article is "what is being woke?" "Power that seeks support itself inevitably leads to oppression.", this is a quote at the beginning of the article that really made me thinking. Being woke is to stand up to fight the injustice structured into the system of power. Before taking this class, I had no idea that inequalities exists even in academia. Now, after all the readings and in class discussions, I realized that the current system is not what academia is suppose to be. Professor Valderde's own experience of battling for her rights in an educational institution uncovers the truth that injustice has been structured into the fundamental of educational systems. And this is not only a problem for the faculties. The "pepper spray incident" happened at this campus shows that this could affect us, students as well. It is time for everyone of us to "woke up", fight the injustice and make academia the place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive in. Just as the author said, "something has awaken in us and we want to be that fire to ignite change."

Question: What it takes to change the current system?



Reference:
Valverde, C. Conclusion: Academics Awaken: power, Resistance, and Being Woke. Fight the Tower.