I am Uni qualified but I have done all sorts of roles.
I think you may be reading more into the booing than meets the eye. However, many uni students have ego's and have tickets on themselves and can see inferior stuff in their minds right or wrong.
I think it might be more a reflection of the people of rugby league more likely to being used to a suppression environment and having a tougher environment and also a life disconnected from the political movements generally so Howard is a blip on the radar just another figure head from one side or the other to ignore. While with the union people they know it is all politics and his credentials may not be as profound as the general public including some league folk may be lead to believe. I have heard public servants are the most difficult to negotiate with because they are used to getting something for nothing so this line of thinking may have had an effect.
Now in terms of the Romians there are a couple of things to bear in mind. There is a difference between brainwashing and education. If someone is educated it means they could be capable of thinking freely which is not good for some controllers. That is unless the education is propaganda courses which promote an attitude supporting a conducive way for management to rule the roost. You will note the popularity of managers getting staff in and training them up on their various methods. You will also probably notice how methods change depending on who is your manager There is also the divide and conquer rule which applies to blue and white collar roles. This is where management give the worker as little as possible and separate the workforce to prevent ideas getting in their heads so little info in this context is good for control.
So although some info can be used to control more often, IMO ,less info is used to control the workforces I have seen
