Directed by: Andrew Rossi.
Written by: Andrew Rossi.
How much is a University
education worth – and what exactly are you paying for when you pay them? Over
the past few decades, tuition has skyrocketed, as state governments have cut
the funding that universities received – and they need to make up that money
somewhere, and tuition is the only place left. The universities are in fierce
competition for students, so they end up spending a lot of that money on ways
to entice students to come to their universities – recreation centers, upscale
student housing, etc. In addition, many universities don’t seem to be
challenging their students academically, but rather focus on their life. As a
results, students are paying more and more money to for their university
education, and get less and less value for that money – they end up going in
massive amounts of student debt, that compound exponentially over time as more
of them have trouble finding a job than ever before.
The new documentary
Ivory Tower asks a lot of questions about the value of a University education,
points out many of the problems with how it stands now, but never really
attempts to answer any of those questions. It presents what it sees as both
sides of the question – as well as some alternatives to a higher education, and
the positives and negatives inherent in them as well. It spends a lot of time
on the fight at Cooper Union – a small university in New York City that was
supposed to remain free for students forever, thanks to an endowment by its
founder, but because of some questionable decisions made by its board and
President in regards to risky investments, now has to start charging tuition.
This angers current students – even if they themselves will not have to pay –
and they organize a sit-in in the University President’s office – a President
with a salary nearly equal to that of the President of Harvard, despite the
fact that Cooper Union is a tiny fraction of its size.
Ivory Tower is a well-made
a documentary – in the typical talking heads style, by Andrew Rossi – whose
last film was also about a venerable institution in trouble in a changing world
– the New York Times. Like that film, Ivory Tower isn’t as interested in
answers as it is in asking questions. This makes the film both fascinating and
frustrating. Watching the film, you are almost left with the sense that no
matter what you do – whether you go to university or not – you’re screwed.
But the questions the
movie asks are worth asking – and are asked all too infrequently in our
society. The system is setup to encourage people to go to university – and that
is a worthy goal for all – but the system is also setup for the universities to
simply be money generating businesses – with no real incentive to provide the
type of education people expect. This doesn’t mean that higher education is
worthless – but it does mean it needs to be re-examined – at least on some
levels. Ivory Tower will hopefully spark some conversations about what it all
means.
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