Kevin Mo - Week 4 - A02

Kevin Mo

ASA 2 Section 2

Week 4

A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy Movements by Alan Markow highlights the dichotomy of reactions from both campuses. UC Davis, the chancellor specifically, took the petty route by blaming costs of vandalism on the students as the only consequence of the protests; meanwhile UC Berkeley took the high road by promoting the new UC financial aid program for middle class families.

Articles like these sometimes make me ashamed to be going to UC Davis. It makes me feel like I shouldn’t support such a vile corporation, but I know the actions of the few shouldn’t represent the many. The unfortunate realization is that this world, including academia, is nothing but a business. Students are simply another number, another dollar sign, in the UC collegiate conglomerate. In the eyes of the college, students will always be available; thousands of students apply each year and thousands more are denied. All that matters to the administration is the bottom line; student relations come second to that. Until the demand of the consumer (students) for UC Davis’ education fails to meet the supply of the school, there will be no change unless students press for it beyond the fact of attendance and actually go out and demand a change.

Question: How can we incentivise collegiate organizations to act less like a monopolistic business and more like an altruistic organization?

References:

1. Markow, A. (2011, December 22). A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy movements. Retrieved October 14, 2017