York University

York University, like many other post secondary institutions in North America has allowed itself to become like a market place type environment. This sort of environment distracts students from their studies, hindering their progresses academically. One major driving factor to the corporatization of York University is due to the lack of support from the government, therefore forcing the university to look for support from others. Usually, those willing to give a helping hand are not too interested in the students but rather are interested in what sorts of benefits they can reap from helping the universities. This is the key factor to the degradation and transformation of universities into market places.

Universities in Canada have been facing an under funding crisis. This crisis was intensified by the $7 billion in federal transfer payments being cut from the post secondary education in 1993. This forced universities to turn to private sectors for funding. One way in which York University dealt with this crisis was to turn to Pepsi. In 1998, York signed a 10-year exclusivity deal with Pepsi. This and other corporations that have infiltrated the campus gave York University the reputation of the university with a mall.

York University is a university with a mall inside of it! It has at least two food courts that I am aware of and several food outlets scattered around the campus. If this sort of environment is not distracting to students then a circus next door that would conduct a parade into the campus daily would not be distracting either; so why not build one of those as well? Not only is this market like university distracting in itself ( i.e. students come to "hang out" thus neglecting their studies) the students dress accordingly to the environment. Usually it is more of an issue during wormer seasons. If students put a great deal of thought into how good they look and "hanging out" the less energy is left for their studies, defeating the purpose of a place for higher learning. Just like a computer, the more windows opened or the more programs running the slower it gets. When the universities make deals with private corporations like Pepsi they have no choice but to adhere to their demands, equating to more distractions for students. This is so because the corporations demand a certain amount of presence in the universities in return for their "generosity".

At York University keel campus the mall and the food courts are strategically placed to target undergraduate students. As soon as where the bulk of the students get off the TTC busses they are confronted by the York Lanes building and next to it the Student Centre building. York Lanes is the mall at York University. In it there are food services like Berries and Blooms Fruits, Popeye's Chicken, and