Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Giving Time, Then Money

The Campaign for Georgetown is nearing its fall 2016 finish, and Georgetown’s fundraising is in full swing. As in years past, the Office of Advancement’s efforts to seek donations to the university extend to current students.

The 1634 Society, for example, asks freshmen and sophomores to donate $1 to get into the habit of giving to the university, and the Class of 2015 Fund asked for a donation from seniors this week to get into an event at the bar Smith Point as part of Senior Dis-Orientation.

These fundraising efforts are not inherently overbearing, but for some students, it can be off-putting to be asked to donate to an institution to which they are already paying $60,000 a year in tuition, or because of which they can expect to pay off student loans for the next decade and beyond. Students who are unable or unwilling, while still undergraduates, to donate to their not-yet alma mater should not be made to feel like they are lacking school spirit or letting down their classmates and university.

A solution could be to offer ways to give back to Georgetown that do not involve donating, but that help Georgetown in its fundraising goals. The new project of the Office of Advancement, Georgetown Stories, could provide an avenue for students to give back in a non-monetary fashion.

In this project, a group of students is paid to document their year on campus through photos and videos, targeted toward alumni. While this is a paid job, perhaps students who cannot yet donate to the university could contribute to Georgetown Stories for free instead.

There is more to being a Georgetown alumnus than donating to the university. That’s the real habit Georgetown should try to instill in its students before they leave the Hilltop.

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