The most recent issue of the New York Times Magazine includes a very thought-provoking article by Frederick deBoer, a recent graduate of the doctoral program in English at Purdue University. In “Why We Should Fear University, Inc.,” deBoer considers the whole gamut of ramifications of the increasing corporatization of our universities. After very succinctly but…
This buzzword has actually been around for a while: Higher Education Is a Government-Created Cartel By Conn Carroll August 6 2013 Washington Examiner The government-created accreditation cartel is one of the biggest reasons why college costs continue to rise and there is very little innovation in the higher education industry. It is no…
We often talk about teaching our students critical-thinking skills, but the fear of provoking controversy causes many of us to steer away from many, if not most, of the controversial issues of the day. So our students are left to absorb the almost always very selective and superficial talking points disseminated by public figures and…
Both of these two things were actually said by a non-candidate who was speculating about her future roles if a particular Republican candidate should will the 2016 presidential election. While being interviewed on CNN about what cabinet positions she would prefer to hold within a Trump administration, Sarah Palin responded that she would like to…
This is the Labor Day message sent out by Muskovitz and Lemmerbrock, the law firm which has advised our chapter at Wright State ever since it was formed almost two decades ago: “Labor Day is a day to celebrate working men and women and their efforts to secure workplace rights and better working conditions, and is a steadfast symbol…
Three years ago, a blogger who signs his or her posts “TheNewDeal00” posted the following list to the progressive blog The Daily Kos. The post went viral, and on each subsequent Labor Day weekend, he or she has reposted the list framed with a fresh commentary. The list is titled “36 Reasons Why You Should…
The more upbeat view is provided by Harold Meyerson in a piece written for American Prospect and re-posted to the labor blog Talking Union. Although Meyerson starts with some grim statistics on the disconnect between increasing productivity and stagnant, if not declining, wages and on the decline is vacation time available to and taken by…
If the kind of mass strike reported in my previous post on labor unrest in India have become historical curiosities in the U.S., strikes by faculty and students at American universities do still occur, even if relatively rarely—and very rarely in tandem. But this past week at Central University of Hyderabad, both faculty and students…