Public to Private

Soo Lee
Section A002
Week 4

The privatization of public Universities is becoming more evident in last a decade. As Josh Eidelson mentions on the article, "Fighting Privatization, Occupy Activists at CUNY and UC Kicks Into High Gear," the process of privatizing from the hands of public to the 1% millionaire takes place in many form. The issues such as tuition hikes, private sector administrators, huge investment towards firms, governmental/personal trade, student activism, and police brutality all inevitably collide in the process of privatizing the public. As he states of occupation on UC Davis campus, the student protest was to fight against the privatization of the University: against 81% tuition hike and against police brutality that systematically shields and perpetuate the privatization. As Megan Wachpress precisely describes the logical relationship between privatization and free market, she writes, "what's at the heart of the privatization is the bringing in of the market logic, and the kind of exploitation and the inequalities associated with the market...into parts of life and relationships that we used to see as parts of our responsibility as co-citizens." Even though the privatization and corporatization is becoming more prominent than ever, such issues are being masked and pushed aside as a political strategy.

In order to bring awareness of privatization of public Universities, what are the pragmatic practices we, as students, can do to each other within the sphere of Universities?
Workshops? classes? posters? Teach-Ins?