Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Every year millions of students embark on the dynamic journey of post secondary
education in hopes of getting a good education and valuable working skills that they can
take with them when they step out into the practical world. Post secondary institutions are
designed to provide the finest education in a healthy learning environment with good
academic interests. However, living in an era of globalization and corporate rule our
universities have no chance of surviving on its own. In recent years, there has been an
government funding, which has produced the academic environment of universities into
one that is geared more towards corporate interests (Clarke and Dopp). Universities are
dollar contracts and in doing so they fail to realize that they are violating the very
increasingly noticing a corporate takeover of the university campus. There are corporate
values seen everywhere on campus - in the advertisements on the walls, bill boards, and
washrooms, the large food corporations providing food on campus, corporate battles on
campus, and much more deeply rooted ideas not easily noticeable. Our University was
meant to be a learning space for students but is now turning into a more corporate battle
field space. Vari Hall for example, has had a moment in history where students once
misunderstood this space as a place for students and held a protest in the building but
soon realized that this act was not allowed there. In 2005, police were called in to arrest
York students, a couple of whom were badly beaten at the hands of the police as well for
protesting in a forbidden area. Students erupted in riots arguing (Student argued) that Vari
Hall should be considered a place where students can have the right to voice their
opinions (Behmard, Maryam. 2005). It is very unfortunate to see that Vari Hall was a
building that was designed as a space for students ???? but now it is rather being used
for corporations to advertise and sell their products. Slowly but surely these mega
corporations are going to take over the entire campus, if they haven’t already. Social
York Lanes
York Lanes is an on campus mall that houses stores of big corporate companies
(Telus, IBM, Apple, HP, etc), a convenience store, a pharmacy, doctor’s clinic, a bank,
traveling services, the York University Bookstore and a wide variety of restaurants. These
resources are available to students on campus for their convenience but it also serves a
more corporate purpose. If the only places available to shop are big corporate stores on
campus then one doesn’t have an option but to buy from there. Where else does one go;
what other options does one have? Prices are also so high that only the ones who can
afford it can buy. “Who are excluded and who are included?” The unfortunate ones from
low income families are unable to afford the prices. Thus only the elite have these
resources available to them. Another interesting thing to note is that “…the more
campuses act and look like malls, the more students behave like consumers.” (Klein,
Naomi. 2000. No Logo: Taking Action at the Brand Bullies.) The York lanes mall takes
advantage of students as consumers by creating an environment that looks like a mall that
Student Centre
This space is named “The Student Centre” but it rather gives an impression of
or 5 major fast-food chains located here it has turned into a fast-food court. Question
arises, Is this a place for students or for corporate businesses? It was probably meant to
be a space for students but has turned into a centre committed to corporatization. If one
looks long and hard they might realize that there is a 2nd level that houses offices for
student clubs which are in nature mostly ethnic/religious clubs that favour specific
ethnicities/cultures and disfavours others. Can we consider our Student Centre a place
Moreover, a student centre that provides no healthy choices and a cascade of junk
food restaurants is not beneficial for students already starved for healthy choices. With a
fast food giant breathing its corporate fumes on the campus, what choice do students
have? If the only available food on campus is junk food where do you look to for healthy
choices? Who can afford the food and who can’t? Again the elitist rule applies: only the
privileged can afford it but then what happens to the underprivileged ORDINARY ?
Where can they go to buy affordable food? What option do they have in such restrictive
Catering giant – Sodexho-Marriot Services, a U.S. based corporation provides food in our
campus cafeteria. Again another corporation selling food in our campus with hiked prices
that are only favouring the elite and discriminating the underprivileged THE
ORDINARy. Is this social equity on our campus? (It points to social unjust ) Can we call
our campus one that promotes social equity if it favours the elite and discriminates the
Vending Machines
These massive high priced vending machines are spread about in every nook and
cranny of the campus. One doesn’t realize it until you think about it. If one opens their
eyes around the campus - there are obvious signs of corporate take over everywhere.
Either we just don’t see it or we simply ignore it. Why don’t students take a stand?
Excessive corporate encroachment The university is a space for students and students
have every right to voice their concerns and not be craze stop to speak out.
One would be surprised to not that York university kindly hosts innumerable free water
spouts for students. Unfortunately, these drinking fountains have been grossly overlooked
for their maintenance and upgrading. I believe more robust consumer corporates readily
grasped the opportunituy to take away users attention from rusty water fountains and
installed glimmering, high tech, state of the art, coin operating vending machines. I
wonder if the university ever asked users opinion before giving the companies a green
doesn’t the campus fix this? Is this situation intentional? There might be a more intricate
reason as to why these rusty water fountains are positioned right beside these vending
machines. It is a smart idea to make the cheap water fountains appear so revolting that
students would rather spend a few bucks and buy a clean bottle of water from the
campus can suggest that Pepsi could likely be the “official soft drink” of York U (Klein,
Naomi. 2000. No Logo: Taking Action at the Brand Bullies.). York University campus is
becoming a Pepsi - Coke battleground. PEPSI INC seems to have won the race and knock
Coke out of our campus. No coke is ever sold on campus and there is no sight of it
anywhere.
“In Toronto, [Pepsi Cola Company] gets to fill the 560 public schools with its vending
machines, to block the sales of Coke and other competitors…” (Klein, Naomi. 2000. No
Logo: Taking Action at the Brand Bullies.) There is a clear connection there, yet it makes
Based on the examples of corporate rule on campus, it seems quite plausible that the
York University campus has been re-imaged as one that promotes SHOWS OF AND
university is falling short of what it stands for. York University is an academic institution
that should have its grassroots in promoting education. However, if you walk JUST
WALKING AROUND around on campus you will surely be forced to think that you are
campus we are not only walking away from the roots of our institution but also allowing
involvement in our university it APPEARS seems as if York University has turned its
money-making monopoly? The values that York tries to embed in its students are being
changed mixed adeltered violated by the university itself. What are we teaching our
future generations correctly ? Is it the fact that only the elitist shall prosper and the poor
shouldn’t? Environment can be tarnished just to get your corporate goals? If nothing is
done in the immediate future to remedy the present situation on campus we are sure to