Berkeley's Betrayal - Public Sociology @ Berkeley - University of ...

Sam’s story is not unique. Behind the stately façade of America’s most prestigious publicuniversity, custodians, food service workers, groundskeepers, and clerical workers toil under conditionsthat betray the very principles which we want our university to embody. And yet, students,professors, and administrators know surprisingly little about the sacrifices made andinjuries suffered by those who clean their classrooms and dormitories, cook their meals, maintainthe grounds, and record their grades.As sociology graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley, we usually focusour scholarly attention on “the world out there,” far beyond Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate. In ourcapacity as graduate student instructors, we encourage our students to explore the causes ofpoverty, the repercussions of inequality, and the often invisible power dynamics in our society.Rarely do we, as scholars and teachers in the making, explore the social ills that exist right herein our cherished halls of learning.This project began when we realized that all was not in fact well with the labor force at U.C.Berkeley. Like most members of our society, we came to the university taking for granted thateven as serious problems pervade the society around us, the university community is a protectedspace where the dictates of money-making give way to the mission of creating an inclusive educationalcommunity. It is easy to believe U.C. Chancellor Robert Berdahl when he says thatbeing a university employee means “you work in a stimulating and vibrant environment rich indiverse ideas, talents, and public service.” University policies, Berdahl explains, promote “anenvironment of trust, openness, responsibility and tolerance, so that a sense of community canprevail.” 1 Indeed, most workers are proud to work at such a prestigious university and are deeplycommitted to performing the everyday tasks necessary for its ongoing functioning. They appreciateworking on Berkeley’s beautiful campus and enjoy interacting with students. Donald, a longtimecustodian, likes being around the students. “To me,” he says, “everyone’s like family.”Samantha, a student affairs officer, agrees. “The students are the best part of my job.”Many workers, like most students and professors, also came to U.C. Berkeley with highexpectations about contributing to a world-class educational institution. What we discovered,however, is that their expectations were quickly crushed once they got on the job. Not wanting tocomplain, they tell cautiously at first, but passionately once they get going about finding themselveson the brink of poverty and routinely facing dangerous and degrading employment practices.But their disappointment extends beyond their own personal injuries; many workers feelbetrayed and disillusioned by the university’s narrow focus on the financial bottom line, underminingthe ideals that the university has long held dear—fairness, objectivity, safety, dignity andrespect. Kim, a student affairs officer, has come to expect that the “university will pretty much doanything for money.” “At some point,” she assures us, “Sather Gate will be called McDonald’sArches. The question is, for how much?”Workers’ experiences at U.C. Berkeley can only be understood against the backdrop of thewidespread corporatization of American universities. This transformation of the universityreflects the rise over the last three decades of a free market fundamentalism which posits thatunregulated capitalism is the best system, both morally and practically, for organizing all spheresof society. 2 We expect universities to be qualitatively different from for-profit corporations, witha distinct set of ethical aims, including the pursuit of knowledge, the investigation of moral andsocial problems, the molding of young adults into good democratic citizens, and the cultivationof community. However, the organizational and ideological blurring of universities with for-profitcorporations has been occurring at an alarming and ever-increasing pace.4