GUEST COLUMNIST: Utopia does not exist in academia

Neville Ravji, Guest Columnist Neville Ravji, Guest Columnist The anti-Wharton trash-talk under the guise of Amar Kosaraju's column "And Justice For All" titled "The University of 'Wharton'" (DP, 1/30/97) is in my opinion a pile of manure. (Of course, you are entitled to your opinion, and I to mine. My opinion is it is a pile of manure). And as a second-year MBA student at the Wharton School of Business, I strongly feel I should tell Kosaraju to wake up and smell the coffee (or dandelions and petunias, depending on where you wake up!) He is probably naive in the 'harsh cruelties' of the real world. Utopia does not exist, not in academia, not anywhere. Amar, my good man, do you realize it is this "One University" concept that has Wharton share it's donations for the benefit of the entire University, including the School of Education and the School of Social Work (though I must admit the dandelions and the petunias are still not as omnipresent on campus as you would like them to be!) While on the topic of the new building, I have to point out certain facts. As the column grudgingly and indirectly admitted, Wharton does generate a lot of funds for the University. And why is that so? Because its graduates go out and become successful enough to donate money to the institution. Which is because they get great jobs. Which is because Wharton has a fine reputation. Which is because it attracts the best students. And in the intensively competitive world of business schools, the quality of the facilities are a major factor both in attracting the right students and the top recruiters. Most leading business schools, from Harvard to University of California at Berkeley have recently upgraded their facilities. Wharton risks losing its high ratings due to its relatively antiquated and cramped facilities. It is evident that letting Wharton build a new facility for itself, will indirectly benefit the University as a whole. Or is the preceding line of reasoning too complex for someone who seems to be living in an academia-induced stupor? Let's not forget the fact, that Wharton is home to both undergraduate and graduate students, who combined, probably form a large portion of the University's student body. So, in simple words, the more students, the greater requirement of space. Let me remind you of the fact Wharton's computer labs are open to all students of the University, and many of my classmates have waited till the late hours of the evening to use them because they were being used by students from other schools. This, my friend, is what the "One University" concept is all about. Evidently the columnist has a problem with the fact administrators want the University to be run like a business. Education is becoming more and more competitive. And if, a Penn degree is to have any additional value following graduation, the University has to be run like a business. Kosaraju obviously seems to revel in pure socialistic ideals in a 'cruel, increasingly capitalistic world.' The world is not what it used to be a mere hundred and fifty years ago, and societies that lived by socialistic ideals have collapsed. And, to make things worse, education, experience and profit are all indistinguishably intermingled. Alas Kosaraju, let me offer you my shoulder to cry on, now you have realized the cruelty of the real world. Maybe, if we all work together, we will be able to remove money and profits from education at Penn. And when we are all standing together in line to collect our unemployment benefits, we can feel good we have made Penn a better, if utterly, completely mediocre University. And by the way, could someone please tell me where exactly is a flower-bed filled with petunias and dandelions outside Steinberg-Dietrich? In my two years of passing the building everyday, I haven't seen anything like it ever. And a last piece of advice for Kosaraju. Don't ever in the future, take a job in any for-profit organization. The view of an ideal world will be shattered by the obscene amount of money which you will be forced to charge for, say, pulling out people's teeth. Unless of course, you decide to share it equally with everyone in the organization. And you will be utterly horrified by the fact you have to park in the best spot in the hospital lot, while the nurses park a mile away!