Walking out of Olin Library during the first few weeks of school, it was pretty much impossible to miss the makeshift awning providing shelter for the hard-working members of the University’s Alumni Association. Their strategic location allowed them to target a maximum number of students, calling out to them to update their contact information with an association of which they were not yet a part. They bribed people with free tote bags and complimentary baked goods-a shameless way to get a college student’s attention. In addition, the Association sent e-mails to the sophomore, junior and senior classes and mailed flyers asking parents to make a “quick donation.” It seems that no one informed them that, in general, we are living on student budgets, and the money we do have normally funds more entertaining endeavors.
Here’s the deal: any given student attending Washington University is already donating approximately $40,000 a year. A lot of this money comes directly out of students’ parents’ pockets. It seems ill-considered for the University to ask their No. 1 providers for more money before they’ve even finished ponying up the initial dough for their children’s education.
The Alumni Association seems to be banking on wealthy parents donating more while the cause is more immediate. This line of thought says that after their children graduate, parents may be less willing to donate money-so we’d better get ’em while we can! But the Association is still making a mistake by targeting current students. In all likelihood, their efforts will make a number of students less inclined to donate their hard-earned paychecks to a University organization that won’t give them a moment’s peace.
In addition to being overzealous, the Alumni Association has some other tricks they’re not telling you about. Many alumni are unaware that if they do not specify exactly where their money should go when they choose to contribute, it will go into the generic Annual Fund. The money in this fund pays for flowers to be ripped up and replaced on a monthly basis, new sod to be plopped down on the Quad by Top Care workers and all the other egregious finery the University rolls out several weekends a year to impress parents and visiting students.
While having a beautiful campus is nice, this money is wasted on finery and foliage that doesn’t last. Money given by alums should always go to help students directly-or at very least to provide resources that last, like perennial flowers and hardier grass. Note to the University: just because we have money to burn on decorative plants doesn’t mean we should spend it that way.
So the Alumni Association has certainly made some gaffes in their approach to students. That said, students shouldn’t conclude that donating to the Association is a worthless endeavor. Alumni donations are important. After graduation, make sure to give back. For every donation an alum makes, be it a dollar or a million dollars, the University’s alumni giving rate increases-and that directly affects our U.S. News & World Report rankings. The Alumni Association does need our help, even if the way they’re going about getting it is misguided.