Week 4 - Arwin Mauricio - A03

The theme of Week 4 is “Corporatization of the University.” The reading titled “Unmaking the Public University: The 40 Year Assault on the Middle Class” relates to the theme because it discusses the history of the transition of the university into an institution that bends to industry and private funds. The two readings written Amy Block Joy relates to the theme because her personal experience and her action to solve ethical issues are the result of a university culture shaped by corporate interests. The university culture turned into a culture of silence due to the corporate administrative body. The reading that details the two responses made by UC Berkeley and UC Davis relate to the theme because the divergent responses reveal the corporate interests of the university administration since UC Davis’ response sought to paint a negative narrative of the protesters in order to protect itself. 

These readings brought a new perspective in how the university functions. As a computer engineering student, I always interpreted the university’s increasing focus and funding in STEM as a result of the changing times of the 21^st century. It seemed that STEM field jobs were growing, so education should focus more on those topics. However, these readings made me realize that the university’s increase attention and research on STEM related items was the result of private and corporate influences. Looking back, I did not question big corporate chains on campus. When I was a freshman, there was a Carl’s Jr. and a Starbucks at Silo Union. Today, Starbucks is out and in comes a private company, Peet’s Coffee. There’s also ATM machines such as Chase and Bank of America. These ATM machines are there as a way to incentivize students to open an account and become their customer. 

Question: Was Carl’s Jr. replaced with Spokes Grill in Silo Union because of criticism of that chain having a clear corporate influence in the university?

References:

Joy, A.B. (2015). Ethics and “Breaking Bad”: Developing and practicing ethical skills.

Joy, A.B. (2010). Whistleblower: Police.

Markow, A. (2011, Dec.) A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy movements.

Newfield, Christopher. (2008) Unmaking the Public University: The 40 Year Assault on the Middle Class.

(2013). [Image] Retrieved from http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2015/06/in-corporatization-they-trust.html