Of course, universities also aren't public space in the sense that street or city parks are. But they perform many of the same functions as public space, and many others besides. And we have to do everything we can to make sure they continue to perform them. We must recognize that it is not necessarily a bad thing that universities are detached from the real world. In fact, this is one of the few things saving us from the tyranny of a 'real world' in which reality is a function of the market.
Society needs heterotopias, no matter how costly they are to preserve.
And we need universities to retain their heterotopian dimension. All rights reserved. Permission to link to this site is granted.