In the article, What is the point of college? By Kwame Anthony, there is an interesting discussion on that there are two different versions of students in college. One being Utility versus two being Utopia.

“One vision focuses on how college can be useful — to its graduates, to employers and to a globally competitive America.” “As college grows more expensive, plenty of people want to know whether they’re getting a good return on their investment. They believe in Utility U.”, as stated by Kwame. It simply means the students that believe in Utility U are motivated by financial income. Their more focused on themselves, getting through college, and constantly worrying about will they actually get the career they have studied for after graduation.

The second version, ‘‘experiments in living,’’ aimed at getting students ready for life as free men and women, as stated by John Stuart Mill. In other words students who believe in Utopia U are free willed spirits. Their more focused on building there values, skills, and are willing to test out there ideas on campus with others. Utopia U is where you go for “the pursuit of happiness.”, as stated by Kwame.

As a photographer, I think about how I can portray these different views. I will go with a simple approach being that these views are a bit complex.

When I think about Utility U, I think about isolation, multi-tasking, and stress. Utility U as you read above is constantly worrying about will all their college expense be worth it in the long run. These students aren’t focused on socializing, they are most likely juggling their school work and many other things at once. So, I will be taking photos of students in a school environment that look stress, isolated, are multitasking, and focused on other things then school.

When I think about Utopia, I think about community, happiness, teamwork, and students taking their time to better themselves as well as their projects. As stated above, they are focused on building their values, skills, and ideas with others. So, I will be taking photos of students in a school environment as well but socializing with others, smiling, and interacting with their environment.

Krystle PenaUtopia vs Utility