The Assembly Line Factory in the State University of New York at Oswego

Factory at Oswego is not unlike most, if not all, establishments of “higher education.” Its architecture and design, instead of stimulating and encouraging intellectual growth and paving the way for imaginative approaches on life, gives off an aura of blandness and conformity – much like that of a factory. The campus looks more like a prison than anything else. <!--break--> <img class="dada-image-center" src="http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/migrate_dada/3901_industry.jpg"><br>The Assembly Line at Factory at Oswego My friend is thinking of dropping out of school. “Why on earth would anyone do that?” you’re probably thinking. Well, simply put, he wants to learn – he has a yearning for knowledge and feels that school has gotten too much in the way of his education. He feels, as do I, that he will learn more through self-education. He is planning, and rightly so, on leaving SUNY at Oswego or as I like to call it “Factory at Oswego.” Factory at Oswego is not unlike most, if not all, establishments of “higher education.” Its architecture and design, instead of stimulating and encouraging intellectual growth and paving the way for imaginative approaches on life, gives off an aura of blandness and conformity – much like that of a factory. The campus looks more like a prison than anything else. Now, the purpose of a factory is to develop a product en masse so it can then be distributed widely in the capitalist society. These products are bought and sold. They are commodities. Lately, I have been feeling that students are treated and tuned in a very similar way that products on the assembly line of a factory are. Just look around. Listen in class. A homogenous culture and a frighteningly homogenous ideology have taken hold and are strangling the students (not just at this Factory, but at every one in the US – Ivy League schools included). The product at Factory at Oswego, the commodity, is the student. The student comes into the Factory system as a freshman and, like all the other products on the conveyer belt is given the same treatment. Sure, one product may be more oriented in science, one in marketing, one in history, but the overall modus operendi and final outcome are the same. Each product receives its general “education” which is supposed to make the product fit into society better and have a more well-rounded “education.” But does this really happen? Many students are frustrated that they are forced to take classes they feel are moot and are overall not interested in. But the product continues on its way, not questioning, not concerned and then finally it is stamped with a seal of approval, or “diploma” as others call it. With this seal of approval, the product can attempt to sell itself to this corporation or that business, in hopes to find a job. (Those who do not have a seal of approval, purportedly, do not get anywhere in life. People like Malcolm X, who only had an eighth grade education beg to differ.) But is this really a factory? Does Oswego, or any school, attempt to manufacture drones for the beehive of capitalism? Well, what does an actual factory do with products that are malfunctioning? It throws them in the garbage heap. What, or who, are the malfunctioning products at Factory at Oswego? Generally, they are those who think critically and are constantly questioning what is presented as being correct or an ultimate truth. Anarchists, communists, socialists, libertarians, Greens, nuts of both the left and right wings, free thinkers, radicals, rebels, revolutionaries – perhaps these are the malfunctioning products. Instead of being thrown in the trash, these malfunctioning products endure constant difficulties. Struggle is an every day affair. They are labeled as terrorists, unpatriotic, crazy, abnormal, uppity, combative, socially awkward, or perhaps they have ADD or are depressed and need to be made more like the rest by injecting some Ritalin or Prozac into their systems. And here arises the question of fear. If Factory at Oswego or any Factory of “higher education” really believes in diversity of thoughts and ideas and encourages and teaches it, then why is there no rippling effect of this onto all other sectors of society? If this was true then would there not be more options out there, more alternatives? Why is it that the topics of anarchy, communism or any other revolutionary idea are not taught in a sincere openness (and not the “communism” of Cuba, the USSR and like despotic governments, or the “anarchy” of Somalia but the true nature of these ideas)? Why are less radical topics not taught such as Green and libertarian movements? Is it because these ideas put all that we believe in in the crosshairs? Is it because they don’t work? Hardly. Who knows about the Zapatista movement in southern Mexico, or the Makhnovist movement in Ukraine during the 1920s? Who knows about the Paris Commune of 1871, the Spanish Revolution, the Hungarian Revolution, the early days of the Russian Revolution, revolts and rebellion in Paris and all over the US in the 1960s, the Six Nations (Iroquois), worker occupations of factories in Argentina…? Do you know who Malcolm X is? What about Amilcar Cabral, Che Guevara, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Emma Goldman, Ward Churchill, Subcommandante Marcos, Paolo Friere? Should you? More importantly, do you know the stories of the unnamed toiling masses that are swept away under the rug of history? They are still there. Take a look. Do you know about American history? Do you really know? Do you know that time and time again, the US is on the brink of radical rebellion, secession, dissolution? Do you know what really went down in the 1960s and 1970s? And, are you happy with the way class runs? Is education participatory, or is it the same old system of teacher and students? Why must students work on meaningless assignment after meaningless assignment? Why is the quality of the student, or product, measured in a letter grade? Do standardized tests, pop quizzes, or any test really encourage you to learn more? Do you ever lust for knowledge? Do you ever leave class wanting to run to the library to learn even more? There is a way to solve these problems, but because of the fear so deeply embedded in the Factory system in the US and in the entire for-profit mentality of the system, there needs to be radical changes, if not an entire overhauling of the education system. For a start, let’s not fall into the trap of becoming ideologues or dogmatic. It is dangerous to label yourself as a Marxist, a Reaganite, a Naderite because not one person has all the answers to all the problems. It’s also quite counterproductive to label yourself or others with any name or title – Muslim, Jew, Democrat, Republican, Green, liberal, conservative, feminist, etc. because it provides people to let loose their preconceived, and often inaccurate, notions of what a “Republican” or a “Muslim” is. Nationalism is also counterproductive – the world should be seen as our nation. If the time is not right now then when is it? As for my friend who is dropping out of school and venturing off to a seminary out in the natural world (not to be spoon-fed dogmatic ideologies about a supreme deity, but to self-educate himself on his own accords), he is doing the most revolutionary thing that seems possible right now. We need to become our own masters; we should not and cannot be ruled by or rule others. However, we need to be teacher and student at the same time; we all have something we should share. The hierarchy at this Factory and at every Factory is crushing what people claim to cherish: democracy. If we want to make a better world possible then we need to do so in a radical fashion, for being a radical is simply going to the root of a problem.

<p>Factory at Oswego is not unlike most, if not all, establishments of “higher education.” Its architecture and design, instead of stimulating and encouraging intellectual growth and paving the way for imaginative approaches on life, gives off an aura of blandness and conformity – much like that of a factory. The campus looks more like a prison than anything else.</p> <!--break--><p><img class="dada-image-center" src="http://rochester.indymedia.org/sites/default/files/migrate_dada/3901_industry.jpg" /><br />The Assembly Line at Factory at Oswego</p> <p> My friend is thinking of dropping out of school. “Why on earth would anyone do that?” you’re probably thinking. Well, simply put, he wants to learn – he has a yearning for knowledge and feels that school has gotten too much in the way of his education. He feels, as do I, that he will learn more through self-education. He is planning, and rightly so, on leaving SUNY at Oswego or as I like to call it “Factory at Oswego.” </p> <p> Factory at Oswego is not unlike most, if not all, establishments of “higher education.” Its architecture and design, instead of stimulating and encouraging intellectual growth and paving the way for imaginative approaches on life, gives off an aura of blandness and conformity – much like that of a factory. The campus looks more like a prison than anything else.</p> <p> Now, the purpose of a factory is to develop a product en masse so it can then be distributed widely in the capitalist society. These products are bought and sold. They are commodities. Lately, I have been feeling that students are treated and tuned in a very similar way that products on the assembly line of a factory are. Just look around. Listen in class. A homogenous culture and a frighteningly homogenous ideology have taken hold and are strangling the students (not just at this Factory, but at every one in the US – Ivy League schools included).</p> <p> The product at Factory at Oswego, the commodity, is the student. The student comes into the Factory system as a freshman and, like all the other products on the conveyer belt is given the same treatment. Sure, one product may be more oriented in science, one in marketing, one in history, but the overall modus operendi and final outcome are the same.</p> <p> Each product receives its general “education” which is supposed to make the product fit into society better and have a more well-rounded “education.” But does this really happen? Many students are frustrated that they are forced to take classes they feel are moot and are overall not interested in. But the product continues on its way, not questioning, not concerned and then finally it is stamped with a seal of approval, or “diploma” as others call it. With this seal of approval, the product can attempt to sell itself to this corporation or that business, in hopes to find a job. (Those who do not have a seal of approval, purportedly, do not get anywhere in life. People like Malcolm X, who only had an eighth grade education beg to differ.)</p> <p> But is this really a factory? Does Oswego, or any school, attempt to manufacture drones for the beehive of capitalism? Well, what does an actual factory do with products that are malfunctioning? It throws them in the garbage heap. What, or who, are the malfunctioning products at Factory at Oswego? Generally, they are those who think critically and are constantly questioning what is presented as being correct or an ultimate truth. Anarchists, communists, socialists, libertarians, Greens, nuts of both the left and right wings, free thinkers, radicals, rebels, revolutionaries – perhaps these are the malfunctioning products.</p> <p> Instead of being thrown in the trash, these malfunctioning products endure constant difficulties. Struggle is an every day affair. They are labeled as terrorists, unpatriotic, crazy, abnormal, uppity, combative, socially awkward, or perhaps they have ADD or are depressed and need to be made more like the rest by injecting some Ritalin or Prozac into their systems.</p> <p> And here arises the question of fear. If Factory at Oswego or any Factory of “higher education” really believes in diversity of thoughts and ideas and encourages and teaches it, then why is there no rippling effect of this onto all other sectors of society? If this was true then would there not be more options out there, more alternatives? Why is it that the topics of anarchy, communism or any other revolutionary idea are not taught in a sincere openness (and not the “communism” of Cuba, the USSR and like despotic governments, or the “anarchy” of Somalia but the true nature of these ideas)? Why are less radical topics not taught such as Green and libertarian movements? Is it because these ideas put all that we believe in in the crosshairs? Is it because they don’t work? Hardly. Who knows about the Zapatista movement in southern Mexico, or the Makhnovist movement in Ukraine during the 1920s? Who knows about the Paris Commune of 1871, the Spanish Revolution, the Hungarian Revolution, the early days of the Russian Revolution, revolts and rebellion in Paris and all over the US in the 1960s, the Six Nations (Iroquois), worker occupations of factories in Argentina…? </p> <p> Do you know who Malcolm X is? What about Amilcar Cabral, Che Guevara, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Emma Goldman, Ward Churchill, Subcommandante Marcos, Paolo Friere? Should you? More importantly, do you know the stories of the unnamed toiling masses that are swept away under the rug of history? They are still there. Take a look. Do you know about American history? Do you really know? Do you know that time and time again, the US is on the brink of radical rebellion, secession, dissolution? Do you know what really went down in the 1960s and 1970s?</p> <p> And, are you happy with the way class runs? Is education participatory, or is it the same old system of teacher and students? Why must students work on meaningless assignment after meaningless assignment? Why is the quality of the student, or product, measured in a letter grade? Do standardized tests, pop quizzes, or any test really encourage you to learn more? Do you ever lust for knowledge? Do you ever leave class wanting to run to the library to learn even more? </p> <p> There is a way to solve these problems, but because of the fear so deeply embedded in the Factory system in the US and in the entire for-profit mentality of the system, there needs to be radical changes, if not an entire overhauling of the education system. For a start, let’s not fall into the trap of becoming ideologues or dogmatic. It is dangerous to label yourself as a Marxist, a Reaganite, a Naderite because not one person has all the answers to all the problems. It’s also quite counterproductive to label yourself or others with any name or title – Muslim, Jew, Democrat, Republican, Green, liberal, conservative, feminist, etc. because it provides people to let loose their preconceived, and often inaccurate, notions of what a “Republican” or a “Muslim” is. Nationalism is also counterproductive – the world should be seen as our nation. </p> <p> If the time is not right now then when is it? As for my friend who is dropping out of school and venturing off to a seminary out in the natural world (not to be spoon-fed dogmatic ideologies about a supreme deity, but to self-educate himself on his own accords), he is doing the most revolutionary thing that seems possible right now. We need to become our own masters; we should not and cannot be ruled by or rule others. However, we need to be teacher and student at the same time; we all have something we should share. The hierarchy at this Factory and at every Factory is crushing what people claim to cherish: democracy. If we want to make a better world possible then we need to do so in a radical fashion, for being a radical is simply going to the root of a problem.</p>