Edmond Li ASA 002 A03 Week 5

On Week 5, the reading that caught my eye the most was Shannon Deloso's "Precariously Positioned: Asian American Women Students' Negotiating Power in Academia". In this reading, Shannon describes how she successfully let her voice out and fought for the fate of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. Shannon was an introverted Asian American who grew up in an environment where women are expected to stay silent. From an outsider's point of view, she wouldn't be expected to be defiant to authoritative decisions. When the College of Ethnic studies faced large budget cuts, she rose into action to support her college. Despite being filled with doubts, she researched, negotiated, gave speeches, organized hunger strikes, and let the world know about her fight. Eventually, she won and was able to negotiate a budget increase. All her hard work has paid off.

Shannon Deloso showed how to be a strong leader to a community. She defied expectations of the model minority myth and threw it back at the institution that lit her fire. Her "experiences and lessons as an activist student, though filled with the loss of innocence, painful truths, and university administrative deception and unjust backlash, made her stronger, more vigilant to structural oppression within academia, and more resilient."(Deloso pg 186) A leader's age, gender, and background don't matter. As long as they have the willpower, anyone can be heard. That's the lesson I learned from this reading.

Question: What happens if a campaign like this fails?

Bibliography:

Valverde, Kieu-Linh Caroline, and Wei Ming Dariotis. Fight the Tower: Asian American Women Scholars Resistance and Renewal in the Academy. Rutgers University Press, 2020.

Asimov, Nanette. “Raucous Confrontation at SF State over Ethnic Studies Cuts.” SFGate, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Feb. 2016, www.sfgate.com/education/article/SFSU-s-iconic-Ethnic-Studies-school-threatened-6852705.php.