A documentary about the problems of higher education, “Ivory Tower” has gotten quite a lot of attention. It was screened for the UNC Board of Governors and has gotten plenty of media attention. Is it any good, though? In this week’s Pope Center Clarion Call, Jesse Saffron discusses the movie’s strengths and weaknesses. In his view, the presentation is not really balanced, as critics don’t get much time to really explain the growing disparity between the cost of college and the educational value of attending, while establishment voices have more time to lament that government funding is down and schools are “corporatizing.”
Moreover, director Andrew Rossi wastes time on the tempest in a teapot over tuition charges at Cooper Union. Worse still, he ends his film with a shout-out to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s nutty plan to let those who have college debts refinance them cheaply. That seriously undercuts “Ivory Tower’s” claim to objectivity.
Nevertheless, the film raises many of the issues that need to be discussed and may spark useful debate.