Week - 5 Miguel Flores A02

Inlined with the theme we were discussing last week, the privatization and corporatization of universities had effects on the "optimization" of education in the United States. Strategic economization of institutions leaves students carrying the burden of paying expensive tuition and unreasonable fees. The historical effect of these comes from the imperial colonization of higher institutions and their influence in restructuring common ideologies that stirs political divisiveness and controversial social debates. Reflected upon the tactical methods of the elites who have focused power on vital resources in the United States, the fall-out of these methods are directly damaging those who simply try to exist in complex networks of political games that uses people as pawns for their economic and political gain. The efforts to decolonize universities from manipulating entities and elites is a constant struggle in today's day and age. Academic Freedom should be freely exercised by those who are involved in academia and as a student, we have every right to shine on the truth and rebel against those who try to control the politics and mechanisms behind our education. In the complex network of higher learning in the United States, yes, politics is something that we cannot avoid, it is a messy battle of David and Goliath and in this battle, Goliath is destroying David without mercy.

Rooted in economic issues, social injustices, and politics; a political cartoon by Rob Rogers depicts the UC Davis pepper spray incident as being enveloped in the larger issues that divides people in the United States. 

Academic Freedom and its definition is being tangled and perceived as a "smokescreen" for the bigger picture that is happening right in front of us. There are still debates if academic freedom solves the injustices or if it is just a false entity that makes people temporarily assured of their worries. We are enmeshed in this messy politics and many critiques argue that universities should function what it is intended to do - to work within its place, but anything that happens must not be romanticized and should be rightfully situated and go beyond the university. In any uprisings, one should engage in alliances and put light on matters that affect the ideological structures of higher learning and as well the scholars that are involved within it. Messy is something we all have to deal with and there is no "clean" way to combat these uprisings and issues surrounding our society today. Higher institutions have been instrumental in uncovering controversies and inconsistencies in our globalized society. Movements are stirring conversations that echo to far distances that reach a wide variety of audiences that may be unaware of these issues happening in our world. If peaceful movements and protest are becoming a strategic way in shedding light on our corrupt systems and faults in our society, then what are the grounds of the people in charge to suppress this kind of freedom of expression? Are people high up there so afraid to expose their wrongdoings that by using such militarized tactics proves their dominance - if so, then they are a bunch of felines.

References:

Chatterjee, P. and Maira, S. (2014). The Imperial University: Race, War, and the Nation State

Hamamoto, D.Y. (2003). Empire of Death and the Plague of Civic Violence

Rogers, Rob (2011). GOP Pepper Spray. Pittsburgh-Post Gazette