As liberal-minded, idealistic college students, many of us at Georgetown would like to say that we are wholeheartedly against the corporatization of our school. We come to university to learn and to be challenged intellectually?not to be bombarded with corporate logos and sponsorships.
Then reality sets in. In stark opposition to these ideals that many students hold is the conflicting desire to attend a university with new and advanced facilities and up-to-the-minute technology. While some Georgetown students complained that the University sold out when it sold the Medical Center to Medstar, a private hospital management company, in 2000, students complain just as much about the lack of a fine arts facility or the dinginess of New South.
How then is the University?which has the legal status of a non-profit corporation?to satisfy these seemingly conflicting desires of its student population? As illustrated in this week’s cover story, the University has responded by privatizing several of its “historic functions” in order to streamline its spending. Just a few of these changes include the sponsorship of the Career Center by the MBNA credit card company, the buy-out of Hoya Station by Mail Boxes, Etc. and the management of the University’s bookstore by Follett Higher Education Group.
How much do these changes affect the everyday lives of students? Surprisingly little, if one is willing to look past the corporate trimmings. Yes, some people may mistakenly walk into the Career Center thinking that they can find answers about their credit card bills, but everybody else just sees it as the nicely-furnished center which can assist them in their job hunt. Similarly, while half of the students here still refer to Mail Boxes Etc. as Hoya Station, that is all the change has really been for most of us: Hoya Station with new signs.
For the University, however, these changes have been much more significant. For one, before MBNA pledged $2 million to the University in 1994, the Career Center and Sellinger Lounge were nowhere near as nicely furnished as they are now. Before these renovations, Georgetown students were not afforded the same luxury of a professional-looking center-?and really, who can be confident that a shabby-looking office can effectively find sparkling corner office jobs? Additionally, funds provided by MBNA enable the career center staff to go on an annual retreat to help them to better serve students.
Likewise, the revenue generated by the sale of Hoya Station to Mail Boxes Etc. has provided the University with some much needed funds. While Hoya Station was an “uncontrollable expense” for the University, according to Assistant Vice President for Communications Julie Green Bataille, Mail Boxes Etc. is now a “revenue stream.” Essentially, since the corporate takeover, the University is no longer losing money for operating a post office on its grounds.
So yes, in the eyes of die-hard liberals, the University may have sold out to corporate America. Could it have been avoided? Perhaps, but that could have meant even higher tuition rates and more out-dated facilities. It should also be noted that the University is also seeking funds to be directly used for students, faculty and staff through its Third Century Campaign. With a $1 billion goal, University administrators are working to raise funds through alumni donations to go towards the endowment, towards the development of facilities and to enhance other programs not supported by consistent revenues.
The University would be struggling without this corporate sponsorship. It is trying its best to maintain its Jesuit values throughout this entire process. Now it’s our turn to realize that without these corporate income sources, there might not be even be a University.
