Charlene Chan
Section 2
April 23, 2017
Week 4: Corporatization of the University
“Why We Should Fear University Inc.” by Fredrik deBoer addresses the concerning trend of corporatization of American universities. Using a garden at Purdue as a metaphor for the university itself, deBoer likens its demolition to the destruction of pure, non-corporatized aspects of Purdue University. deBoer places Purdue in the landscape of universities across America that have succumbed to the same fate.
The idea that deBoer presented of “creating systems and procedures that sacrifice the needs of humans to the needs of institutions” (deBoer, 5) was the most thought-provoking to me. It was strange to think of myself as a student within a system that cared not for my well-being, nor my growth as a scholar, but rather as a means of profit. In such a system, the administration that I would instinctively turn to for protection in times of trouble would turn against me the instant my situation could tarnish their name. For example, there have been cases of universities covering up cases of rape and sexual harassment “for fear of reputational damage” (Davidson).
Question: How might we challenge and reform a system that is widely trusted and that we so rely on?
References:
DeBOER, F. (2015, September 09). Why We Should Fear University, Inc. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/why-we-should-fear-university-inc.html?_r=0
Davidson, H. (2017, February 27). Universities 'actively covering up' sexual assault and harassment, report says. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/27/universities-actively-covering-up-sexual-assault-and-harassment-report-says
Scheinman, T. (2015, March 19). How Colleges Misspend Your Tuition Money. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://psmag.com/how-colleges-misspend-your-tuition-money-be27af82cabb
No comments:
Post a Comment