Week 4 - Brian Jahja

Brian Jahja
ASA 02 Section A01
Week 4






In this week's reading, titled: A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy movements, we are shown very polarizing reactions to the corporatization of universities. While U.C. Berkeley may have been portrayed as a hero, calling U.C. Davis a villain in this situation may not be completely fair to U.C. Davis. Although part of the same university system, U.C. Berkeley is hailed as the flagship University of California, as it is the first of the schools to be founded. As a result, U.C. Berkeley would be granted a larger budget as well as added benefits. On top of that, Berkeley is a top Division I NCAA school, with sponsorships from big brands such as Jordan. With all of this inflow of cash, it would be far easier for the school to allocate incentives like it has done in response to the Occupy movement. However, Davis is not nearly as reputable. As a result, they do not receive the same endowments as Berkeley does, and is therefore unable to flexibly move around resources for financial aid. The main reason Davis may have complained about the damages, is that it is forced to spend it on repairs instead of potentially allocating it for financial aid. While most of the articles shame Davis for their response, which they could have worked on, it would be very unfair to expect Davis to do the same as their richer, more successful sister school. While this issue does stem from the corporatization of universities, and schools from the same system should technically receive the same resources, the simple fact is that the better performing school will receive more resources, and as a result, are able to upkeep a good image. Was what Davis did wrong? Most likely. To report on the damages is very tone deaf to the issue Occupy presented. However, they are not completely wrong for reporting it as this protest ended up costing the school unnecessary costs.

My question for this week therefore is: Would there be a more peaceful way to solve disputes between a school and their students, such as a board of members or essentially a bridge between the two?

One should not jump to conclusions easily and should take into account the full context of the events that transpire.

References:
A Tale of Two Campuses: Berkeley and Davis respond to Occupy movements. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://ivn.us/2011/12/19/a-tale-of-two-campuses-berkeley-and-davis-respond-to-occupy-movements/
[image] Murori, K. (2016, June 12). Oxfam: 3 Strategies to Minimize Gap Between Rich and Poor. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.africanexponent.com/post/oxfam-3-strategies-to-minimize-gap-between-rich-and-poor-1488

A Tale o Two Campuses: Berkeley and Da may vis respond to Occupy

movements