College students are aggressively pursued by corporate America. From clothing retailers and technology firms to beer companies and banks, corporations are intensifying their efforts to make lifelong customers of us. This week, the New York Times reported that on-campus marketing has proliferated at American colleges, involving sponsored shopping trips, student "brand ambassadors" and free food and gear. Far be it from us to stand between students and free stuff — or Brown and easy money — but we must voice our concern over the gradual commercialization of higher education.
One of the most prominent new ways marketers are reaching potential customers is through student "brand ambassadors," who use personal connections and popularity, product giveaways and local knowledge to sell their employers' products and brand. Other stores team up with administrators and orientation committees to organize freshman shopping trips — 66 universities and colleges featured trips to Target this year. Red Bull uses its "brand managers" at 300 schools to push its products and sponsor events and lectures.
These new tactics make good business sense. After all, students are likely to form lifelong purchasing habits while in college and tend to exert influence on what their families and friends purchase back home. Indeed, marketers are unlikely to be satisfied with their current campus foothold.
The commercialization of higher education must be curbed, preserving universities and colleges as a refuge for thought amid an impatient culture of mass consumption. Already we have seen the first steps of commercialization at Brown: Samsung charging stations at the Sharpe Refectory, the Gate and the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center; drink companies and clothing retailers promoting their brands in dining halls and dormitories; and, most recently, Bed Bath and Beyond setting up shop beside Apple in the Brown Bookstore. (Despite appearances, the Brown Bookstore is independent of the University.)
After their installation in 2010, the Samsung chargers were judged an eyesore by students. One student told The Herald that the brand's "infiltrating" of the Sharpe Refectory was "shameless promoting for Samsung" ("Samsung jolts campus with charging stations," Feb. 11, 2010). We agree.
Shameless or not, commercialization carries certain benefits for both the University and students. Employed students gain pay, free gear and work experience, for example, and Brown earns money from corporations. (Samsung pays Brown $4,500 per year to host the charging stations.) That being said, bringing branding to campus also carries serious risks. The campus should engage in a discussion over the extent to which it is willing to allow corporations to expand before it is too late. It would be a shame for future students to attend "Kraft Presents the Culture of Nutrition" taught by the J. Crew chair of anthropology in Motorola Hall.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
