> My point went beyond vocabulary. Criticism of the university as a
> bastion of bourgeois/capitalist/alienated (take your pick) culture is
> a colossal navel-gazing waste of time.
So bitching about the factory as a bastion bourgeois/capitalist/alienated culture is also a colossal navel-gazing waste of time? I know, the factory and the university are not the same thing. But I think what most of the protesters and their communiques are saying is that they are a lot closer to being the same thing than they were in the past; the university is more closely tied up with the reproduction of capital. I'd say their evidence -- rehearsed here and elsewhere, so I won't repeat -- is pretty compelling. I think to make the assertion you make, that it's a suspension of and autonomous from real life, you would need to make arguments against their arguments. Do you really think the site of struggle is neutral?
As for the "privilege" stuff, I think that's just silly.