Parking Tickets

The whole concept of the Academic-Industrial Complex is absolutely right.  Universities have become more and more focused on making money rather than providing the best education possible.  It is almost as if their focus is to find new ways to make money rather than finding ways to improve the quality of the education they are providing. 

Although the Universities are to blame for this industrialization, it is hard to hold it against them in this modern world that revolves around making money.  Student tuition is constantly on the rise, and the Public Safety department never misses the opportunity to write a ticket.  I happened to receive a ticket recently, a very costly one I might add, seventy- five dollars for parking in a reserved space.  I also got a ticket for parking in the neighborhood surrounding Chapman without a permit, despite the fact that there was no sign in sight.  All of this just goes to show you that the school will take advantage of any opportunity to make money to the fullest extent.  If the public safety department got as much funding as the teaching department, it would not surprise me, because the public safety probably makes a more money writing parking tickets all day.  Everywhere you go on campus, there is an opportunity to spend your money from the laundry rooms to the cafeteria.  What it comes down to is the University wants you to come be a student at their institution to take your money, their goal is to get as much money out of you as possible.  Also, many colleges bring in the big name professors just to make more money, even if the professor they are replacing is a better teacher.

 Since I only go to Chapman University, I cannot say for sure if this goal of making money applies to Ivy League type schools across the country.  However, it is probably less prevalent than at a smaller, private University that is less known such as Chapman.  Ivy League schools have much more tradition for academic prowess than Chapman, and therefore have more of a reason to focus on improving academics than just making money.  Also, Ivy League schools probably do not have to worry about money as much as Chapman.  Since they have been around for longer and are larger, they receive more monetary donations.  Another reason they receive more money is because their alumni generally make tons of money due to the jobs they are able to land because of the prestige of an Ivy League school degree.  Since the alumni make more money, they are able to give more money back to the school, and therefore the school can focus less on other ways to take money from students.

 

An Ivy League professor, William Deresiewicz of Yale University, defined a leader as a person who rises to the top of his institution no matter the hardships as well as a person who, “keeps the system going.”  However a leader does more than just keep the system going.  Most of the time a system is not perfect and a leader is someone who has what it takes to stand up to the system with constructive criticism and is able to fix whatever problems there may be.  The phrase, “keeps the system going” comes off with the feeling of just doing what it takes to pass through the system the same as everyone else, however a leader is someone who sets a higher example of how to best conduct yourself.  A leader is a person who redefines the system to make it better, not someone who follows the crowd.  For example, Derek Jeter is the leader of the New York Yankees and he has definitely done more than just keep the system going.  He has been more involved with the community than most players, organizing his own foundation called “Turn Two” to help inform kids of the importance of staying away from drugs and alcohol.  He is also the player who represents the New York Yankees to the media and fans. He was the one with the microphone talking to the millions of fans watching live and on T.V. during the final game at Yankee Stadium.  To quote the famous philosopher Aristotle, “ We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  In the case of Derek Jeter, he has been going above and beyond expectations his whole life.  It is because Derek has strove to be above the system that he is able to lead so effectively. 

 

Universities need to stop worrying about how they can take more money from students, and start focusing on how they can provide the best education for their students, helping them to achieve their goals and make more money in their future careers.  If they did this then perhaps they would end up making more money in the long run because the students would be able to donate more.  Less parking traps and more programs to help students succeed would mean more money for the Universities, and would be beneficial for both parties.