Law, Business and Society 11th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 21

Big business is also accused of turning college campuses into marketing and development opportunities, as The New York Times vividly described:
It's move-in day [Fall 2011] here at the University of North Carolina and Leila Ismail, stuffed animals in tow, is feeling some freshman angst. A few friendly upperclassmen spring into action. But wait: there is something odd, or at least oddly corporate, about this welcome wagon. These U.N.C. students are all wearing identical T-shirts from American Eagle Outfitters. Turns out three of them are working for that youth clothing chain on this late August morning, as what are known in the trade as "brand ambassadors" or "campus Evangelists"-and they have recruited several dozen friends as a volunteer move-in crew.
An estimated 10,000 students work on campus marketing Red Bull, Hewlett-Packard PCs, and much more, in unprecedented sales campaigns. As The Times observed, "Corporations have been pitching college students for decades on products from cars to credit cards. But what is happening on campuses today is without rival, in terms of commercializing everyday college life."
From kindergarten through graduate school, education is increasingly viewed as a product to be marketed and consumed on the road to prosperity in the corporate state. Recently, Gene D. Block, chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles, criticized those who encourage students to measure and evaluate the college experience as a financial equation:
Universities, particularly those supported with public funds, exist to serve society. Asking students to choose a future based on a salary scale does not serve society and, often, does not serve the individual. Students need freedom and encouragement to find their passions and strengths. Framing decisions about college as a cost-benefit analysis will not encourage the creativity and risk-taking that has made this nation great.
The Wall Street Journal recently talked with critics, including corporate recruiters who are increasingly skeptical about the value of an undergraduate business degree:
[N]ow faculty members, school administrators and corporate recruiters are questioning the value of a business degree at the undergraduate level. The biggest complaint: The undergraduate degrees focus too much on the nuts and bolts of finance and accounting and don't develop enough critical thinking and problem-solving skills through long essays, in-class debates and other hallmarks of liberal-arts courses.
Do you think business courses should have a stronger liberal arts flavor Explain.