Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Ch. 18 - "School Spirit"

Ch. 18 - The universities had become "degree factories" by 1500 (314). Deja vu, all over again?

“Universities used to be gateways to infinite possibilities, places of free thought and experimentation where young men and women could define and find themselves, expand their maturing minds, argue, develop ideas and interrogate beliefs. Now they are expected to be maniacally focused on degrees that lead to jobs, the repayment of the fee loan and cut-throat competition (Alibhai-Brown).” The aforementioned passage wraps a pretty bow on the current state of affairs in higher education. Universities are no longer a breeding ground for free thought and expression. Unfortunately, the university has become the modern equivalent of the auto industry. High school graduates come in and various different models of college graduates come out. 

“We live in an age of moral nihilism. We have trashed our universities, turning them into vocational factories that produce corporate drones and chase after defense-related grants and funding. The humanities, the discipline that forces us to stand back and ask the broad moral questions of meaning and purpose, that challenges the validity of structures, that trains us to be self-reflective and critical of all cultural assumptions, have withered (Hedges).” A recent study from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences determined that humanities degrees declined by 8.7 percent between 2012 and 2014. This decline is a direct reflection on a universal push towards STEM majors. Yet, such a calculated push robs our society of free thinkers that inevitably always help to change a nation. Consequently, the drive to push students into the STEM majors just helps NISSAN to produce more models of a watered down product.

Works Cited
Alibhai-Brown, Y. "When did university become a factory?" Independent 18 Aug. 2013: n. pag. Web. 15 June 2016.

Hedges, Chris. "Higher Education Gone Wrong: Universities Are Turning into Corporate Drone Factories." Alternet. Alternet, 27 Mar. 2009. Web. 15 June 2016.

1 comment:

  1. Brandon, we're on the same page entirely. It's still possible for motivated students to develop their critical freethinking skills and discover themselves, but increasingly they have to supply their own motivation. But I'm encouraged to realize that our Office of Student Success employs someone as freethinking and motivated as yourself!

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