Skip to main content
Article
Media Pranks: A Three-Act Essay
International Journal of Communication (2011)
  • Kembrew McLeod, University of Iowa
Abstract
Times are tough for public universities. Over the past quarter-century, state legislatures have slashed college budgets, and these cuts have only accelerated during a seemingly endless economic meltdown. We have been told to do more with less, make sacrifices, and be self-sufficient—and I couldn’t agree more. Unlike those socialists lining up to mainline milk from the nanny state, many of us favor fiscally sound solutions. We should teach our children well by following dogmatically free-market principles that reject government meddling. My modest proposal is multipronged and forward-thinking. It would hand over all aspects of academic life to private companies, creating a university system that is more efficient, even profitable. In reimagining how higher education can be rebooted, we must ask ourselves, “What would a liberal arts education look like if McDonald’s funded it?” Killing many birds with one lethal stone, we can simultaneously solve the problems of overstuffed budgets, overpaid professors, and—as an added, unexpected bonus—plagiarism. Let me explain.
Publication Date
2011
Publisher Statement
Authors who publish in The International Journal of Communication will release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) license. This license allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given. For details of the rights authors grants users of their work, see the "human-readable summary" of the license, with a link to the full license. (Note that "you" refers to a user, not an author, in the summary.)
Citation Information
Kembrew McLeod. "Media Pranks: A Three-Act Essay" International Journal of Communication Vol. 5 (2011)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kembrew_mcleod/115/