Week 4 - Madison Yn

Madison Yn

ASA 002 A02

Week 4

As Fredrik Deboer expressed in his article “Why We Should Fear University, Inc.”, even the ostensibly irrelevant aspects of the education institution, such as a free growing student maintained garden, are influenced by corporatism of the education system. When adopting a broader perspective on the mannerisms of Universities, we expose how these supposedly stimulating environments for intellectual pursuit are carefully designed to mimic the format and rules of companies like Walmart or Exxonmobil that are purely concerned with yielding maximum economic profit within the parameters of corporate laws. Deboer argues that the educational function of the university (which is arguably one of the most essential purposes of higher education) is becoming increasingly corporatized while many student activists remain unaware of this issue and unknowingly support the structure that degrades them. I think it’s difficult for many passionate students to acknowledge that their efforts to improve the culture of their universities only perpetuates the larger injustice that confines them. Deboer’s example of students filing charges under Title IX is a demonstration of how student blindly follow corporate procedures because taking legalistic approaches to resolve a concern seems to greatly resemble actions that would occur within a business. Student activism shouldn’t be condemned but it is important to educate and inform those who wish to engage in activism so their efforts don’t coincide with the corporate agenda of the universities. Deboers argument provides a few topics to consider when reading Amy Block Joy’s story Whistleblower which addresses the reasons why universities can behave in questionable manners. In Whistleblower, Joy recounts the interview she had with the police regarding her exposure of embezzlement occurring at her university. She describes writing many letters to her supervisor about this crime and again sending letters to the department chair, vice-chair, dean, and even chancellor after repeatedly coming to dead-ends and receiving cautions to “wait” before telling more superiors. These repeated deferment of this urgent crime reveals how many universities would rather preserve their reputation and avoid a scandal than confront a serious injustice. These actions can be traced to being corporately motivated as with any other company or institution, who use silencing or more illegal methods to conceal a potential viral issue. Until money isn’t considered power, it will be difficult to dismantle the corporatization of entities, like American universities, that should be devoid of corporate politics due to the desire of success measured by wealth and reputation.

Why do systems use corporatization? For financial superiority? Why do power and money dictate success?

References:

DeBoer, F. (2015, September 09). Why We Should Fear University, Inc. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2017.

Joy, A. B. (2010). Whistleblower. Point Richmond, CA: Bay Tree Pub.

I Must Not Question Corporate Rule. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://dcgmentor.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/polyp_cartoon_corporate_school.jpg