Deon Anthony
Sabrina Gomez
Elijah Ramirez
A01
Corporatization of the University
Upon reading "Ethics and and 'Breaking Bad': Developing and Practicing Ethical Skills" by Amy Block Joy, it became clear that the overall message of the article can be applied towards the corporatization of the university. When universities becomes corporatized, all of the middle individuals lose some to all of their power. This article relates because it shows that to another extent when people surrender their ethical value, or stray from action based ethics, they surrender more of their power to the corporate board. This article strongly suggests to readers that one of the best ways to become an actively ethical individual is to practice ethics. This means speaking up for what is wrong and taking action.In a professional setting though I can see why there are implications as to how and why the ethical regulations are followed, specifically when an issue is occurring and not being brought to light. This is similar to the term "group think" meaning everyone goes along with the group. Perhaps this brings up the question of whether or not these ethics tutorials are even being as effective as they are intended to be. This notion can definitely be seen in even friend groups or college settings. Since people do not have to directly deal with authority everyday, it can definitely seem daunting to confront them. When on the other hand, people have to deal with people of their same entry level everyday and it is logical to not want to stir up issues even if the issue is not connected to one specifically. Block emphasizes the importance of practice in order to reach a working level of ethical decision making“.
A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis Respond to Occupy Movements” by Alan Markow discusses the Occupy Movement and how the two schools responded to the issue of the rising cost of attending universities. UC Berkeley responded by announcing to make its’ campus more affordable for those of middle class, while UC Davis’ chancellor decided to complain about the cost spent over student protests and how they vandalized the campus. Hearing about this issue is quite outrageous, even shameful, to accept that this is the type of school I chose to attend. UC Davis found that the money spent to clean up their campus was of greater importance than students being able to afford attending their school, or even be able to pay off loans and debts. This short article actually speaks words to me because I come from -not a middle- but a low-income family, who receives plenty of financial aid, but still struggles to pay for school tuition. This article proves how schools are just part of a business industry. Universities receive thousands of applicants each year. Students’ need for financial support won’t matter as much because they will always get more and more new students every year.
In the excerpt from "Whistleblower," Amy Block Joy describes her experience in the interrogation room of a police station to release information of embezzlement in UC Davis. After finding out about her superior's fraudulent activities, Block Joy decides to confront the Dean and the Chancellor with the situation. However, a period of inaction soon follows and she decides to move the case to the authorities. In doing so, Block Joy is surprisingly isolated by her coworkers and superiors. The inaction and retaliation of the higher-ranking workers in the university shows the corruption of the public education system, workers can commit illegal activities and can get away with them to keep the university's reputation in good standings. This situation all ties back to the corporatization of the university. The reputation and esteem of the university is the most important thing, as student enrollment and government funding are positively correlated with them. This leaves the education of each student as a lower priority goal in the university's list of importance, which furthers the original goal of secondary education - to help grow an individual's potential as much as possible.
In “Why We Should Fear University”, Fredrik deBoer ties up his article to claim how universities operate more and more like corporations every single day. Because our schools are so corporatized, students tend to hide their voices and refrain for speaking up for what they believe in. We are becoming so accustomed to this institution that we unknowingly become apart of the corporatization. As we study to become the greater future of our generation, we also help the industry. After industries gain success, its’ individuals no longer matter- unless you have a full wallet. These industries only find importance in money and or reputation. As many can already infer, our universities have begun to hire more administrators than professors. With this unbalance, our campus just becomes lifeless buildings with students who spend money on the view. deBoer advises committed student activist to recognize that administrators are not our friends, but they are the ones we may need to fight for the justice we deserve.
Christopher Newfield’s introduction to his novel, “Unmaking the Public University,” goes in-depth about the industrialization of public universities and how it strays from secondary education’s original goal - to nurture intellectual and human development. Newfield describes the goal of public universities has shifted to a more economical standpoint, they are made to “fulfill a job to create a job to fulfill a man.” The focus is moved toward investment, resources provided by the university goes to fields in the current market that provide a high return. This leaves human development and cultural progress as a secondary issue on the educational system’s agenda, because low funding means less research and effort will be put into these fields. This all ties back to how the educational system has become another corporate tool in an industrialized society.
All of these articles tie together on multiple grounds. A common theme that all five of these articles encompass is are the topics of ethics and the lack of power of the middle class. All articles seem to point towards the notion that the more powers corporate boards of universities have, and for longer time, the less power and/or motivation the middle class has. By middle class, indicating the employees of the organization such as teachers and educational staff as well as university students.
References
DeBoer, Fredrik. “Why We Should Fear University, Inc.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Sept. 2015, www.nytimes.com.
Joy, Amy Block. “Whistleblower.” Bay Tree Publishing, 5 Jan. 2011.
Joy, Amy Block. “Ethics and ‘Breaking Bad’: Developing and practicing ethical skills.” Compliance and Ethics Professional. May 2014, pp 71-74.
Markow, Alan. “A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy movements.” IVN.us, 22 Dec. 2011.
Newfield, Christopher. “Unmaking the public university: the forty-Year assault on the middle class.” Harvard University Press, 2011.
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