Right Idea, Wrong Donors
Published: Thursday, February 23, 2012
Updated: Friday, February 24, 2012 15:02
Think your last year as a student at Georgetown is the last time the university will ask you for money? Think again.
Even families burdened by growing tuition bills and alums paying off student loans are asked to donate to the university. These solicitations — accompanied by a projected 3.5 percent tuition increase each year through 2016 — are representative of Georgetown's indifference to current economic challenges.
The rapidly escalating cost of college in the United States is a serious problem. Georgetown's administration is quick to point out that the trend of increasing tuition applies to many elite universities, but that attitude misses the point.
Many current students and recently graduated alumni will remember their time at Georgetown fondly and one day will be financially situated to give back to the university, but these same students and alumni are committed to making sacrifices to foot hefty tuition bills and likely won't be able to do more than that while in school or starting a career. Asking current students or newly employed alumni to provide additional funds is unfair and may sallow their impressions of the institution they associate with the best years of their lives.
While we understand that the university seeks to further its national and international standings, requesting donations from recent graduates and the families of current students is not an acceptable way to do so. Many students depart from the Hilltop hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and a phone call asking for more money displays insensitivity on the university's part. Campaign administrators may think that it doesn't hurt to ask, but this callousness won't be forgotten when alumni do have the financial resources to potentially give back.
The current capital campaign features the slogan "for generations to come." While the university has a right to look toward the future and long-term ambitions, it cannot in the present blind itself to the current financial realities of tuition-paying families and recent graduates.
13 comments
Real Hoyas Give Back
Anonymous wrote:
"I will never give to Georgetown. I agree with this editorial-it is insulting and insensitive to be charged one of the highest costs of attendance in the country and then be hit up for even more money before and after graduating. I know there's a chicken-and-egg thing going on here, but I for one have made enough sacrifices to this university already. And don't claim that we owe it to Georgetown. I earned my accomplishments, Georgetown didn't give them to me, and I paid handsomely for the product Georgetown sells-college degrees. There are no favors to be repaid."You are exactly the type of selfish twit that those of us in the Georgetown Alumni Ambassadors Program hope to weed out when we conduct alumni interviews. It is nothing short of a crying shame that you were offered the chance to walk through Healy Gates, and good riddance to you when you walk through them for the last time.
"I will never give to Georgetown. I agree with this editorial-it is insulting and insensitive to be charged one of the highest costs of attendance in the country and then be hit up for even more money before and after graduating. I know there's a chicken-and-egg thing going on here, but I for one have made enough sacrifices to this university already. And don't claim that we owe it to Georgetown. I earned my accomplishments, Georgetown didn't give them to me, and I paid handsomely for the product Georgetown sells-college degrees. There are no favors to be repaid."You are exactly the type of selfish twit that those of us in the Georgetown Alumni Ambassadors Program hope to weed out when we conduct alumni interviews. It is nothing short of a crying shame that you were offered the chance to walk through Healy Gates, and good riddance to you when you walk through them for the last time.
Anonymous
I just don't understand why you would write this article. If you don't want to give, don't give. It's not wrong for them to ask!
Deep In Debt
If someone is barely surviving on their income while trying to pay off loans for Georgetown after graduating, how is it fiscally responsible for them to donate? It makes much more financial sense for them to use that money to pay off loans that are gaining interest and putting a burden on their future as an adult.
First Commenter
But the fact is, we do owe it to Georgetown. Whether you pay (paid) full tuition or not, the money that Georgetown receives from tuition runs out in the middle of the second semester. This institution, and the benefits that it has provided for all of us, would not exist without the gifts from our Alumni. We owe it to Georgetown because someone before us cared. They knew that they owed it to us. Someone gave to Georgetown, long before you could add, multiply or even spell. Someone gave to Georgetown and allowed our student groups, athletics, and facilities to grow. You complain about high tuition, which is fare and valid, but if everyone thought like you and made the decision not to give, then our tuition would HAVE to increase like we've never seen before.Furthermore, what do you think Harvard, Princeton and Yale do once their students graduate. Do you think they simply ignore them and ask only after 5 or 10 years? No. If we are going to compete with the best schools in the country, then we have to continue to improve not only our endowment, but also our facilities and financial aid. Tuition from students don't even come close to meeting these demands. Finally, I think we should remember what it means to be a "Hoya". When we gathered, in our black gowns in McDonough for New Student Convocation, we were told of what it means to live out Georgetown's Jesuit Traditions. We are Georgetown, and we are men and women for others. We aren't selfish and conceited. We understand that almost 16,000 students wanted to attend this new class of Georgetown, but we are the privileged few. We are special. And when provided the opportunity, we give back. We give back to Georgetown because we are the privileged few who've been given so much.That's the difference between a gift and a donation. This isn't just a charity organization. Georgetown is our home. You don't donate to your family or to your home. You GIVE to your family. You give back.
Anonymous
I agree with some commenters' sentiment that Georgetown has to ask -- that's how the process works. But the editorial is on to something: as a recent alum who is deep in debt and does not have the luxury of donating (I need food and shelter in addition to making loan payments), it would be nice if I stopped getting calls after the first time I politely declined. Give me another year, not another month.Also, to the first commenter: what the heck is the difference between a gift and a donation?
Anonymous
I will never give to Georgetown. I agree with this editorial-it is insulting and insensitive to be charged one of the highest costs of attendance in the country and then be hit up for even more money before and after graduating. I know there's a chicken-and-egg thing going on here, but I for one have made enough sacrifices to this university already. And don't claim that we owe it to Georgetown. I earned my accomplishments, Georgetown didn't give them to me, and I paid handsomely for the product Georgetown sells-college degrees. There are no favors to be repaid.
Anonymous
I think the Hoya has missed the mark here. I'm on financial aid and my parents take out loans to make my tuition work. And both of them, when they get the call, give without hesitation. It's not a contradiction - my parents understand the type of sacrifice people make that allows me to be on financial aid in the first place. Furthermore, I admire the example they set. I already give back to my high school, and will be giving to Georgetown before I graduate despite my student loans. Neither I nor my family is offended that Georgetown asks, and people shouldn't be. My family and I want people to have the chances that I have as soon as possible. It is how we show that we are grateful that opportunities like Georgetown exist in the first place. It is infuriating that the Hoya is encouraging people into mindset that is selfish and fails to appreciate how lucky every Hoya is.
Giving is a Privilege
As a young alum, I have to say that giving to Georgetown is a privilege I'm happy to have. I think some 16,000 people wanted the spot in the Class of 2007 that I received, and I will gladly give my hard earned dollars to current Hoyas to alleviate some of the strains of loans. To your point, Higher Education is expensive anywhere- the fact that Georgetown is placing the alleviation of that burden at the center of its capital campaign says to me that my dollars are going to the right place- the Hoya family. And that is why I gladly make my gift every year to Georgetown.Given that 55% of GU students are on financial aid, I have to wonder- where would the staff of the Hoya be without alumni philanthropy?
Anonymous
"With gestures like this, the administration made a movement both for today and tomorrow, making us appreciate our roots even before we leave the gates behind." ("A Capital Start," The Hoya, 10/31/2011)The volunteer alumni leadership of the campaign say it best: "No one is obligated to give, but we are obligated to ask." Also, President DeGioia has emphasized that "great universities are not only built on great philanthropy, they flourish because of great philanthropy." Philanthropy makes Georgetown what it is -- from the 1789 Scholarship Imperative and the Georgetown Scholarship Program, to the new Regents Hall and the renovation of Dahlgren Chapel. We give what we can to make Georgetown better. I guess the editorial board of The Hoya would prefer to not have this progress. If this is the quality of the paper's opinions before independence, I cannot wait to see what trash talk they produce if they ever become independent. Maybe then, when they are struggling to pay for their own office and supplies, they will appreciate the power of alumni philanthropy.
Anonymous
I agree with both of the previous comments. Why not remember something you liked about Georgetown and give to that club or department or team, or even help another student who wouldn't have a chance at going to Georgetown without financial aid? Building an early relationship with alumni is incredibly important, as it keeps them in the habit of giving and Georgetown's endowment would be even smaller without the relationship built by asking recent graduates for gifts. This editorial misses important facts about alumni giving.
Real Hoyas Give Back
P.S. I would add that part of the reason costs go up is because the university's endowment is paltry. Why is that? Because many alumni share the same bad attitude displayed here.
Real Hoyas Give Back
I think this article makes some good points, but there are a couple of other important considerations that must be observed. First, developing a habit of giving back from your first years out of school is important. If you wait until you are 10 or 20 years out of school or when you're done paying your loans, it is simply harder psychologically to get into the habit of giving to an institution that is a more distant in your memory. Second, there are few Hoyas who, even with student loan balances, do not have a little bit of disposable income. A gift to Georgetown does not have to be massive to be important. Fundraisers rely very much on smaller gifts that really add up when people are willing to make them. Thirdly, after four years at this university, the one thing you should have learned is the importance of giving back. It is your responsibility to do so, and it is the university's responsibility to ask that you do. Finally, the giving rate of alumni is a factor that is considered in university rankings. While Georgetown routinely ranks well in academics, its giving rate from alumni lags way, way behind, which hurts our overall ranking. That, in turn, lessens the value of your degree, so if you cannot be persuaded by altruism, maybe that is the best reason to be sure to give a little something, and the time starts now.
Anonymous
Where to begin.... We ask for GIFTS (not donations) early from our Alumni not because we're greedy, but rather giving early builds a relationship. While The Hoya may be turned off by the idea of giving to your Alma Mater, I couldn't be more excited to give when I graduate. Giving is a way of saying, "I had an amazing time at Georgetown and I want others to have an amazing time as well". So why should we ignore those who just graduated? We shouldn't! In fact, it is those alumni that have the tightest bond with Georgetown and know first hand how important giving is! Gifts less than $1,000 combine for a total of 6.5 MILLION Dollars. Does The Hoya have some cost cutting measures to balance the loss of money from their proposal? Maybe we could start with their funding??? Surely The Hoya can't be serious.
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