A Discussion with Ana Lucia Tarott, Tutor, Rafael Landívar University, Cobán, Guatemala
With: Ana Lucia Tarott Berkley Center Profile
May 30, 2015
Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Project, in May 2015 student Nicholas Lake interviewed Ana Lucia Tarott, a tutor at the Cobán campus of Rafael Landívar University (Universidad Rafael Landívar). In this interview, Ana Lucia Tarott discusses the responsibilities of her position and the impact of machismo in Guatemala.
How did you start as a tutor here?
I graduated from here and then began to do socioeconomic studies here. Then they gave me the opportunity to become a tutor, and I applied and was selected.
What are the responsibilities of your position?
We’re here to help and assist the tutors in whatever way they need. We need to know what courses the students are enrolled in and what courses they have to take. Also if they have any difficulties they come to us. For example, if academically they’re having trouble with a course, what can they do? As well, all the students need to do community service, and we help organize that. There’s also an auxiliary tutor who works with me, and she only comes Fridays and Saturdays, when the students are here, to assist.
Have you had problems with students who don’t want to do the community service?
One of the great positives is that we have reached a point where we don’t have trouble with that anymore. In the past they didn’t want to do service, but now we incentivize the work and record who does what. They want to participate in the activities, and we give them non-mandatory options. They feel more motivated by this, and we also have records of what they do just in case.
Are there consequences for not completing the service work?
The students don’t really have issues not completing it; it’s more academic problems. We really try to provide a lot of options, because without the options the students don’t have as much motivation to do it. So everyone’s getting their hours.
The scholarship recipients all have work during the week, and then come here on weekends. Do they have difficulty with the amount of work they have? Do they have enough time to do everything?
I think the students we have work during the day and study at night. Yes, it’s something that is difficult, but from my point of view these are the students that can do the most. They work and they come here; they have a house and maintain a family. They know this is an opportunity they cannot let go.
How many students have you had that have left the program?
That have deserted? Well, last year it was three, and this year one. The one this year just hasn’t come; he had money problems at home. The others before, one was for an academic reason, one was because of an illness, and the other was for something academic as well.
What’s the role of justice in the project?
The project seeks to help the people who don’t have the opportunity to get an education. The focus is on women, and why on women? Because here there are problems of machismo, people here say that poverty has the face of a woman. Through this project many women have been benefitted. Obviously there are men in our program, but the majority are indigenous and have scarce resources. This program is also very different from studying at a public university. Why not study at a public university? Because then you have to pay for where you live and your expenses. You can study at Rafael Landívar University because the university covers everything that you need.
Do you think this education for women will change the machismo at a grand level or only at a person-to-person level?
I think the impact of the project at the end is that it gives educational access to women who normally don’t have it. Usually as a woman you need to serve your brothers and father. In Guatemala it’s something you see all over the place. The access that women and indigenous have now to education lets them say, “I want to graduate, and after graduating I’m going to take my children and go.” In the past there’s been that condition that it all depends on their husbands. It’s the case now that many women still live with their husbands, but with this education they have an independence that before they didn’t have.
Do you think that there’s a culture of machismo among the students at this university?
Yeah, I think that culture still exists here. It’s something general; the majority of people have that belief. Some people think that women shouldn’t be able to dress in a more open or sexual manner, because that’s the cause of sexual assault. It’s a really bad idea for people and teachers here to have, and it’s difficult to get rid of it.
How can you change the attitudes of men, especially those who are educated and still have the same attitudes?
Now we have a femicide law, which it is incredible that a law for that exists, but Central America has the countries with the most violence against women. There should be a lot of political will pushing for education that teaches equal rights, that we’re all equal. There’s a problem in Guatemala with people leaking private photos of people, but it’s always against women, not men, and to change that is something structural. The health system, family planning, all those resources are ones that women should have equal access to and should have the right to use as they wish.
Through this project, women will receive education, but why will their husbands or children adopt a different attitude than machismo?
Really, I think this project is about giving the opportunity for someone to say, “Things are not that good. We need to relearn.” The place of the woman in society is a social construct. I think the first point is to empower women; we need to know our rights. Even in primary education we have problems with “the boys do this and the girls do that.” We always teach the girls how to cook and other things for the boys. We’re not going to achieve all the changes we want, but most importantly we want to change the way people think.
I graduated from here and then began to do socioeconomic studies here. Then they gave me the opportunity to become a tutor, and I applied and was selected.
What are the responsibilities of your position?
We’re here to help and assist the tutors in whatever way they need. We need to know what courses the students are enrolled in and what courses they have to take. Also if they have any difficulties they come to us. For example, if academically they’re having trouble with a course, what can they do? As well, all the students need to do community service, and we help organize that. There’s also an auxiliary tutor who works with me, and she only comes Fridays and Saturdays, when the students are here, to assist.
Have you had problems with students who don’t want to do the community service?
One of the great positives is that we have reached a point where we don’t have trouble with that anymore. In the past they didn’t want to do service, but now we incentivize the work and record who does what. They want to participate in the activities, and we give them non-mandatory options. They feel more motivated by this, and we also have records of what they do just in case.
Are there consequences for not completing the service work?
The students don’t really have issues not completing it; it’s more academic problems. We really try to provide a lot of options, because without the options the students don’t have as much motivation to do it. So everyone’s getting their hours.
The scholarship recipients all have work during the week, and then come here on weekends. Do they have difficulty with the amount of work they have? Do they have enough time to do everything?
I think the students we have work during the day and study at night. Yes, it’s something that is difficult, but from my point of view these are the students that can do the most. They work and they come here; they have a house and maintain a family. They know this is an opportunity they cannot let go.
How many students have you had that have left the program?
That have deserted? Well, last year it was three, and this year one. The one this year just hasn’t come; he had money problems at home. The others before, one was for an academic reason, one was because of an illness, and the other was for something academic as well.
What’s the role of justice in the project?
The project seeks to help the people who don’t have the opportunity to get an education. The focus is on women, and why on women? Because here there are problems of machismo, people here say that poverty has the face of a woman. Through this project many women have been benefitted. Obviously there are men in our program, but the majority are indigenous and have scarce resources. This program is also very different from studying at a public university. Why not study at a public university? Because then you have to pay for where you live and your expenses. You can study at Rafael Landívar University because the university covers everything that you need.
Do you think this education for women will change the machismo at a grand level or only at a person-to-person level?
I think the impact of the project at the end is that it gives educational access to women who normally don’t have it. Usually as a woman you need to serve your brothers and father. In Guatemala it’s something you see all over the place. The access that women and indigenous have now to education lets them say, “I want to graduate, and after graduating I’m going to take my children and go.” In the past there’s been that condition that it all depends on their husbands. It’s the case now that many women still live with their husbands, but with this education they have an independence that before they didn’t have.
Do you think that there’s a culture of machismo among the students at this university?
Yeah, I think that culture still exists here. It’s something general; the majority of people have that belief. Some people think that women shouldn’t be able to dress in a more open or sexual manner, because that’s the cause of sexual assault. It’s a really bad idea for people and teachers here to have, and it’s difficult to get rid of it.
How can you change the attitudes of men, especially those who are educated and still have the same attitudes?
Now we have a femicide law, which it is incredible that a law for that exists, but Central America has the countries with the most violence against women. There should be a lot of political will pushing for education that teaches equal rights, that we’re all equal. There’s a problem in Guatemala with people leaking private photos of people, but it’s always against women, not men, and to change that is something structural. The health system, family planning, all those resources are ones that women should have equal access to and should have the right to use as they wish.
Through this project, women will receive education, but why will their husbands or children adopt a different attitude than machismo?
Really, I think this project is about giving the opportunity for someone to say, “Things are not that good. We need to relearn.” The place of the woman in society is a social construct. I think the first point is to empower women; we need to know our rights. Even in primary education we have problems with “the boys do this and the girls do that.” We always teach the girls how to cook and other things for the boys. We’re not going to achieve all the changes we want, but most importantly we want to change the way people think.
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