Warwick Inc: Souls for Sale

Amidst the wasteland on the outer edges of Coventry, a human factory is in operation. The raw ingredients arrive every year, some locally sourced, some imported from as far away as China or India. They are stamped, sculpted, cut down to size and filled with information, before being shipped out to the four corners of the globe. Welcome to Production Line Warwick.

Even brand new, state of the art equipment cannot hide the quiet buzz of dissatisfaction. A sense of isolation from the real world diffuses through campus, both a blessing and a curse. Dubious corporate links and a constant ‘career’ focus expose a heartless reality inside the bubble; we are here for the sole purpose of making ourselves look pretty for future employers.
Why? Why must we constantly cater to the demands of the market, simply because it is the market that makes them? It is surely time to recognise education is not a commodity. We are fortunate to live in a time, and a country, where education is a universal right; it should not be demoted to the role of ‘stepping-stone’. The University of Warwick is not merely a recruitment office. Education is not a business opportunity; it serves its own purpose, to cultivate minds and formulate discussion. What happened to learning for the sake of learning, to grasping a greater understanding of important current and historical issues for mere self-satisfaction? Following your passions because they fascinate, excite and motivate you: this is surely the first, most important element of a university education. If you can then find a job that fulfils these considerations, even better.

With economic recessions and financial forecasts even bleaker than the weather report, the sense of panic about future employment is spreading. Students are frantically whoring themselves out to every multinational corporation dangling the possibility of an internship or job offer. University is not a networking event stretched over three years, a time to shake as many hands and collect as many cards as possible. The maxim that it is not what you know, but whom, only applies to a certain extent; a clown in a suit and tie, even with a thick book of contacts, is still a clown. Ultimately, intrinsic characteristics will set you apart; the full range of individual qualities that shape character cannot be taught, only refined.

Meanwhile, government officials flounder about, blindly stapling price tags to university courses based on projected future earnings. Obviously, courses such as management and business consistently finish at the top end table, whilst the humanities subjects hover around relegation. However, to say that one degree is ‘worth more’ than another is to ignore a crucial aspect of the debate – worth more to who? To the prospective employers or the students themselves?

Though it is naïve to think the sole reason for attending university is personal enrichment, it should surely play some part in the experience. Studying with the long term intention of gaining meaningful employment is admirable, but abandoning your passion for the sake of future millions? Shrewd, yes, but deplorable.

It is abundantly clear that some students have sacrificed their own personal satisfaction for the sole aim of ticking boxes for prospective employers; however, it is also evident that they remain a crucial cog in the global machine. Without them, the economy, and by definition what we have come to define as ‘civilization’ would disintegrate. A certain level of respect is required. But, equally, humanities students should not be dismissed with unjust disdain and a patronising pat as if their degree choice was made in a spasm of naivety in regards to the wider world. Perhaps some students chose to follow their hearts, rather than their greedy, grasping fingers.

The decision to study a subject because of interest or passion should not be rewarded by snorts of derision. As an indirect consequence of such an attitude (the Government evidently do not place sufficient value on such courses) a crippling series of cuts have been made across the board, whilst slick-suited clones prance around a brand new corporate-funded Business School. Why is it that those who didn’t sell their souls now must dance with the devil?