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Students Shamed for Not Contributing to Senior Gift

Students Shamed for Not Contributing to Senior Gift
10/29/2010
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Suada Kolovic

“Have pride in giving back to the institution that has given you so much” is surely the sentiment colleges intends for students to graduate with. And while a majority may decide to give back, what will come of the students who decide not to? Two students from elite Ivy Leagues – where you might expect a higher degree of integrity – were faced with that exact predicament and were subsequently shamed by their peers for not contributing to the senior class fund.

At Dartmouth, the single student from the 1,123-student Class of 2010 that did not contribute was publicly criticized in the college newspaper where they addressed Laura DeLorenzo directly without publishing her name, writing she has “symbolically shown the Class of 2014 that she did not consider their chance at happiness valuable.” The next day, another student – writing under a pseudonym – revealed DeLorenzo’s identity on the Little Green Blog, a popular blog on campus. But why was there such a hostile response towards a student with possible financial strains? Her decision jeopardized a potential donation from the Class of 1960, which had promised to give $100,000 to the college if every graduating senior contributed. In response, DeLorenzo sent out an e-mail, posted on the Little Green Blog, writing that her decision not to donate was personal and reflected “that the negative aspects of Dartmouth outweigh the positive, and nothing more."

At Cornell, volunteers overseeing fund raising efforts were provided lists of classmates who had not donated. They were encouraged to send multiple e-mails and to call students on their cell phones, telling them that they were among the few who had not yet given. One student, Erica Weitzner, reported getting four or five e-mails in addition to phone calls imploring her to contribute. "I understand the theory behind the Cornell campaign is they want their seniors to donate, but pushing this hard makes it seem like it's no longer really a donation but more like part of tuition," Weitzner told the New York Times.

Do you think imploring such pressure tactics – repeatedly calling and sending multiple e-mails – and public humiliation is the approach in which well-respected institutions should conduct themselves in order to solicit donations?

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