ASA 2
Week 4
This weeks' reading focuses on the increasing corporatization of universities and higher education. Instead of universities having the purpose of educating students as the sole purpose of their institution, universities have become concerned with making money. In a "A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy movements" by Alan Markow, the article discusses how differently UCB and UCD responded to protests against increasing tuition. The UC Davis administration focused on addressing the cost of damages the Occupy student movements created. Instead of addressing the issues that the students are protesting for, UCD focused on their own financial concerns, which is a failure of a university. Reading the article made me disappointed in my own school and makes me question the true motives of the university.
The corporation of universities takes away the purpose of higher education and creates a system that oppresses minorities and middle to lower income students. Students of middle class income, which minorities are especially included in, do not only have to worry about being academically disadvantaged in the American school system, but also have the burden of being concerned with economic matters. This also creates an unfair advantage for students who come from economically well-off families because they don't have the burden of worrying about financial concerns. Students who are economically disadvantaged are more likely to have to work multiple jobs, taking away time to study and succeed in school, which then makes them more disadvantaged in the work force.
Citations:
Markow, A. (2011, December 19). A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy movements. IVN. Retrieved from https://ivn.us/2011/12/19/a-tale-of-two-campuses-berkeley-and-davis-respond-to-occupy-movements/
Preston, K. (2013, January 25). The Corporatization of Higher Education [Digital image]. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from https://attackthesystem.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/education.png?w=474
Question: What is an efficient way to protest school corporatization? Is there any way to stop it or is it inevitable in a capitalist society?
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