If you commute to the University of Toronto by subway, you may have noticed that the TTC has done some interior decorating at St. George station. The station has been vacuum-sealed in York University advertisements. The support columns now support two things: the station and your perception of higher education. The clever advertising campaign slogan asks the viewer to “Redefine the possible,” adjacent to the York University logo. This statement might seem innocuous, save for its convenient location: at the Bedford Street entrance, which is in viewing distance of the former Varsity Stadium. Indeed the campaign would, at first, appear to be a direct affront on U of T, but as we’ve learned from those York ads, more than one interpretation exists.
“An ad executive sees a big paycheck,” which is what a York history professor hopes to expose. David Noble and his group, the Ad Hoc Student/Faculty Committee on University Accountability, have called into question spending practices of York using what Noble calls “station domination marketing” at St. George.
The money that has been spent on this campaign is not about poaching U of T students, according to Noble and his colleagues, as well as U of T public affairs representative Jane Stirling. Although there is certainly a peripheral value to the campaign (enticing U of T students-especially post-graduate students-to continue their studies elsewhere, maybe York), the campaign is, it turns out, intended for everybody. It is an attempt to build support for and awareness of the pressure York places on the TTC to extend the Downsview Subway to their campus.
Stirling qualified that York had said that “the campaign was not expressly a conversion attempt.” However, “Redefine the Possible” and the other myriad curt slogans which have invaded the station don’t necessarily scream “build a subway.” If that is the goal, then it appears to be playing hide and seek within a well orchestrated attempt to make people look at the words “choice” and “future” while they make their way to school.
Another issue that Noble and friends have raised, using the advertising campaign as a jump-off point, is university financial accountability. Noble wants to put universities under the freedom of information act.
“Advertising is not education,” is what Noble and his group tout as the problem with this whole campaign. “The money used for this is money not spent on education,” said Noble. “When I go to ask how much, York says ‘we don’t have to tell.'” In other words York does not have to crack the books or even give Noble a reason for spending all this money.
According to Stirling, however, U of T and all universities “certainly fall under the freedom of information act.” She did make the distinction that in matters that involve divulging personal or sensitive financial information, the university may withhold some data. Stirling addressed the issue of financial accountability by saying that “U of T has been very open with their books.”
