Currently back at Uni for another go (sort of, it's complicated), and it's amazing to see how much the place has declined, after Covid, but even since the start of the year...
This particular Uni keeps scrapping student amenities and aspects of the student "experience", from free stuff at O Week through to removing the last remaining ATM on campus (!!), through to killing off most campus food vendors, and then, most importantly, massively reducing staffing numbers and quality, which affects everything from course offerings through to, of course, teaching quality. Hell, they've even sacked most of their "student interface" staff, which means that if we need to, say, sort out an enrolment issue, it is nearly impossible to get seen in person to have it dealt with... It's fucked.
The University in my home city (which is, for the most part, much better than the one I am currently at. Or at least it used to be) is even worse. They've unironically scrapped most of the food vendors and the University textbook shop entirely, from their main campuses, with view to forcibly closing all their main campuses in five years or so, and moving the student body into the city centre, against the wishes of students, the community, and even local businesses. But the Uni doesn't give a fuck.
What are students meant to do in the meantime? Lol, get fucked, essentially. Like, quite literally, they've hollowed out the campus, and left them with nowhere to go, and yet still the international students flood in...
I've been around these campuses, across Australia and elsewhere, for long enough now to know that this shit is not sustainable. Like, how long until (domestic) student bodies wake up and realise that they are being taken for a complete ride? Student fees haven't declined, they've only increased, as more and more facilities are scrapped, and as the teaching becomes little more than Youtube videos. And yet, because we are continually told "a degree is the only way to get a good-paying, middle class job", still the kids stream in.
I honestly just wonder how long it will be before people finally realise what a fucking Ponzi scheme this all is, if ever...
"Expensive day care for middle class adults" while also functioning as a degree mill for immigrants is a complete fucking joke, even compared to what this "system" was like a decade ago...
Of course, this varies by country, and Australia is worse than most, but the US system is at least equally fucked, if for different reasons...
Funny thing is, I have to pass two "transgender flag" road crossings, to leave the campus tonight. Because that's what this University spends money on. Rubbing that shit in your face at every possible opportunity.
Try speaking up, though? Yeah, you're gonna face some pretty severe consequences...
Lol, fuck this entire system.
Except for the White House.
Yeah, I mean, coming in to campus now feels degrading, quite honestly...
We now have to show a security app on our phone, to access the campus library (which has no books) outside normal working hours, or at any time on a Sunday. I've just seen someone (a student) kicked out of the building, because they hadn't yet gone through the absurdly complicated approval process to get on that app...
Our movements around campus are tracked, through that same app. It's very much like the QR code shit during Covid, but somehow even more oppressive...
This shit was only introduced at the start of this year, too, so they can't even justify it with the excuse of ol' Rona... It was never like this, previously.
Something very weird is going on, here. But honestly, I just find it bizarre that most students and staff are willing to put up with that sort of treatment as "this is just the way things are now"...
At some point the dam of bullshit, as you say, has to break. Because it is insane to me how shit they treat us, meanwhile many of my classmates still hype the whole thing up as "wonderful" and "transformative". Like, holy shit the brainwashing is strong...
That shit is insulting to high-schoolers not living in a high crime city, let alone legal adults. I dropped out of community college a decade ago, partly because of patronizing shit like teachers expecting an excuse to not attend a lecture. Easy to fake, but that attitude really had me questioning the value of my scholarship funded education. An expectation that students install any app on their personal phone would have me buying a decoy phone, if there were no other options.
Even if they relax the degree requirement, HR departments currently own the hiring process; and that's a power they won't give up willingly. It'll be "We understand why Jamal doesn't have a degree, but there's no excuse for Brad not to have one."
So what you're saying is that I'll always have job security.