“Ask Not What You Can Do for Your University, but What Your University Can Do for You”
The Current Undergraduate
The article, “Ask Not What You Can Do For Your University, but What Your University Can Do For You”, written by the University of California Los Angeles Student WebZine, claims that universities are no longer providing education for students, but rather running a business. Colleges have turned into a profit seeking institution, making decisions based on financial concerns. The article claims that students are customers and education is a purchase. Webzine scolds the students for their apathetic and lackadaisical attitudes towards learning. The article claims that undergraduates no longer value true education and the process of leaning. Based on a reputable online article written by Rob Roy Kelly, students lack motivation to learn and rely on teachers for all the answers. Kelly explains that undergraduates expect professors to serve them the knowledge they need to obtain a diploma (WebZine 295). Webzine accurately portrays the lack of study habits of the current undergrad such as cramming, use of cell phones, or social media sites during class, but I believe the article is being too critical of the students for our goals of finding a successful career while disregarding the student’s perspectives.
The article argues that students are becoming lazy due to the business-like transformation of universities. There is a common condition of apathy that has spread like a virus throughout all college undergraduates. I agree with this argument presented; students don’t value the educational process anymore. This attitude can be seen through college norms such as cramming for a test. We memorize the information long enough to regurgitate it back onto a test and then it’s forgotten. We don’t absorb the information like the so-called perfect students referenced in the article. Other examples include the myriad of students with their cellphones out texting during a lecture, unconcerned with the information they are missing. At any given point, I bet
The article, “Ask Not What You Can Do For Your University, but What Your University Can Do For You”, written by the University of California Los Angeles Student WebZine, claims that universities are no longer providing education for students, but rather running a business. Colleges have turned into a profit seeking institution, making decisions based on financial concerns. The article claims that students are customers and education is a purchase. Webzine scolds the students for their apathetic and lackadaisical attitudes towards learning. The article claims that undergraduates no longer value true education and the process of leaning. Based on a reputable online article written by Rob Roy Kelly, students lack motivation to learn and rely on teachers for all the answers. Kelly explains that undergraduates expect professors to serve them the knowledge they need to obtain a diploma (WebZine 295). Webzine accurately portrays the lack of study habits of the current undergrad such as cramming, use of cell phones, or social media sites during class, but I believe the article is being too critical of the students for our goals of finding a successful career while disregarding the student’s perspectives.
The article argues that students are becoming lazy due to the business-like transformation of universities. There is a common condition of apathy that has spread like a virus throughout all college undergraduates. I agree with this argument presented; students don’t value the educational process anymore. This attitude can be seen through college norms such as cramming for a test. We memorize the information long enough to regurgitate it back onto a test and then it’s forgotten. We don’t absorb the information like the so-called perfect students referenced in the article. Other examples include the myriad of students with their cellphones out texting during a lecture, unconcerned with the information they are missing. At any given point, I bet
Cited: UCLA Student WebZine. “Ask Not What You Can Do For Your University, But What Your University Can Do For You.” Other Words: A Writer’s Reader. Ed. David Fleming et al. Dubuque: Kendall Hart, 2009. 293-296. Print.