Why We Should Fear University By Fredrik Deboec Analysis

What stands out about American universities today? Is it the academic opportunities offered to students, experienced faculty, or strong sense of community? Or...perhaps they have lost their focus. It is not uncommon for universities to focus their efforts and budgets elsewhere; by building state of the art gyms, for example, remodeling luxury dorms, grooming campuses, or creating more management positions. College students and professors alike are subject to the nationally occurring changes in higher level education. Colleges are becoming commercialized and tuition is rising, but is the quality of education improving? In “Why We Should Fear University, Inc.”, Fredrik DeBoer is able to provide a personal take on the issue of corporate domination

in English and taught as a part time instructor. It’s a garden that he describes as “overgrown and seemingly unmanaged...perhaps the only place left at the university that is not meticulously landscaped and stage-managed for tour groups and the website”. While the “aesthetic conformity” of the school is not the only issue, DeBoer’s portrayal of the campus sets the mood of his statement. The juxtaposed descriptions of the natural versus managed spaces on campus reflect the bigger picture; namely universities are more focused on marketability than education. He backs this up with other information, but it is this personal example that will likely stick with the audience. The garden might seem like a trivial issue, but it represents DeBoer’s personal stake in the subject. “That’s precisely why I love the garden: It’s one of the last little wild places left at Purdue”, he says, “Naturally, it’s slated for demolition”. This particular statement is a powerful ending to his introduction because it depicts the weakness of campus culture and freedom against university

He recognizes the counter argument by stating, “It’s hard to blame people within a system-particularly people so young- who take advantage of structures they’ve been told exist to help them”. By this, he means that students are responding naturally by trying to help themselves. They play along with the rules that school CEO’s put in place. When they voice their opinions it is through organizations under their university’s control. These organizations formed to promote student politics actually limit student activism. Student government, for example, is more censored than student initiated movements and