Commercialism on campus:

This article is in response to Ms. Wayment’s recent opinion piece on the evils of commercialism on campus. The most intriguing comment she makes is this: “These are companies I choose not to support.” Bless you for exercising your freedom to choose in the marketplace. In essence, we vote with our dollars. Some people consider carefully how they will vote, and others do not – that is their prerogative.

In her very next paragraph, however, Ms. Wayment makes the assumption that anyone who chooses to “vote” differently than she does is doing so out of ignorance: “.students (are) blindly consuming with little thought to how if affects them and the rest of the world.” This sounds like the standard argument that says ‘If you were intelligent and really thought it through, of course you’d agree with me.’ We can agree on the facts, and hold different opinions.

Commercialism.commerce.economic opportunity.choices available in the marketplace. Call it what you will – it’s the engine that drives the American economy. And you – the consumer – have the power to choose where, how, and when to spend your dollars. Whining about how companies are evil and hinting that they are making us purchase their products is an outright rejection of the power of individual and market freedoms. Perhaps you are suggesting a system in which a central government has control over the manufacture, production, pricing, and distribution of products (ask the Soviet Union how that is working for them). Here are a few other examples of “commercialism” on campus:

Aramark sells food and drink in the SUB.

You can go bowling, play pool, or play video games in the SUB and they charge money for it.

The bookstore sells books and lots of “branded” clothing (it’s all orange and blue!).

BSU sells classes, health insurance, parking permits, etc.

Plays, concerts, and other special events take place on campus regularly, and they have the nerve to charge admission!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had the freedom and power to choose for ourselves? To look at the products available, the companies that offer them, the impact those products and companies have on us, on the community, and on the world, and then make our own individual choices of what, where, and when to purchase? Oh, wait – we do!

The beauty of our economic system is that I am free to make my choices, and you are free to make your choices (even if they are different choices).

Stacey Axmaker is a part-time BSU student.

STACEY “AX” AXMAKER
Guest Opinion

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