After three years of attending undergraduate school and dozens of hours of research, I would say I have built enough credibility to critique higher education. However, I understand through an intersectional worldview that my analysis can only reflect my lived experiences. As a 20-year-old, middle-class, cisgender, white woman, I cannot truly represent the expansive oppressions and difficulties faced by anyone who does not possess those same identities.
Thus, I decided to reach out to students and faculty at SUNY Oneonta to ask them various questions about their experiences with higher education. All of the reflections will remain anonymous, as to respect the boundaries of each individual who was kind enough to share their experiences with me. With the many different perspectives offered, I, as well as any reader, can see a more well-rounded critique of academic capitalism and the politics of success as they intersect with higher education.
Faculty Questions:
- What problems do you see in higher education as someone who works at an institution? Do you think these experiences are individual or universal? Are these similar to problems you faced when you were a student?
- Do you think the education students are receiving is worth the rising cost of tuition?
- What impact do you see higher education has on students? Is it obvious that many students are mentally and physically fatigued? How does this compare to when you were a student?
- How do you define success? Do you see yourself as successful? Do you think capitalist society would view you as a successful?
Student Questions:
- What problems do you see/have you experienced in higher education? Do you think these experiences are individual or universal?
- Do you think the education you have received (thus far) has been worth the price of tuition?
- How do you define success? Would you describe yourself as successful, and do you think society would define you as successful?
- How has your mental health been impacted by your experiences with higher education? Have you taken on any coping mechanisms, such as drinking alcohol, as a result of this? Do you go to counseling/therapy on- or off-campus?
Contributors were also encouraged to include any reflections, stories, or details they felt were relevant to this project. However, this was optional and completely up to the disgression of the faculty and students themselves.
While the questions asked to each group are similar, they are tailored specifically to create a separation between educators and those being educated. Even with this very explicit and purposeful separation, we can see that the two groups actually face similar oppression as a result of the capitalist system that is becoming more and more intertwined with higher education. Additionally, these questions were chosen to highlight the most notable points discussed by the sources I researched. They do this, as well as bringing up points that I either did not have time to research or ones I was completely unaware of in the first place.
