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E-PrinceAs a senior, I had been expecting my first email about Annual Giving for some time — I just didn’t expect it to frustrate me so much. As I replied to the classmate who had politely asked me for just ...(back to the article)
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"I will not be donating specifically because I don't like feeling targeted by marketing techniques, and I was shocked when they started calling my home and even sent a student to ask me for money... I was shocked because it is inappropriate to request money from students on financial aid while they are still in college!"
gosh, because other organizations who want you to donate to them won't go out and call people and send them letters asking them to donate. because other organizations absolutely refuse to target kids who are still in college.
aside from regular charitable organizations, private high schools do this all the time to kids who are still in HIGH SCHOOL
@Crusty Alum '10 - they are not so much pro-AG as anti-ER.
"Emily is a legacy, and her mom shares Emily's disdain of Princeton (or perhaps, it was her mother who inculcated said disdain)." To whomever made this comment: since you've invoked me directly, I feel the need to point out that you have a very limited understanding of my attitude towards Princeton. If I actually "disdained" the university, I would not have encouraged my daughter to attend it, nor would I have supported her in all she's done to try to make it an even better place. (And her efforts, whether you value them or not, indicate that Emily herself does not "disdain" Princeton; a personal decision regarding Annual Giving is hardly the only -- or best -- measure of an individual's commitment to a community.) I really wish you had offered your name, since I'm curious whether you've ever actually spoken with me -- and if not, I wonder how you've reached the erroneous conclusions you've drawn about my views.
Madeleine Picciotto '78*85
I'm on extensive finaid and I intend on paying Princeton back with interest, every cent, with interest, so someone else can have the opportunities that I had, at the very least, as soon as I can afford to do so. This is something I decided I'd do as soon as I got to Princeton.
That said, as a senior, I'm pretty disgusted with AG. They picked someone I dislike heartily and have not spoken to in years to harass me on a regular basis, who threatens to continue harassing me until graduation. Tasteless.
I disagree with some of Ms. Rutherford's other points, but the amount of vitriol directed at her personally is off-putting. Lay off, people.
Seeing as Princeton currently has an endowment larger than the GDP of some small countries, wouldn't it make more sense, if you are grateful for the opportunities you've had at Princeton and want to "pay it forward," doesn't it make more sense to donate to other quality universities that are strapped for cash? The UC schools come to mind.
The most logical reason to donate to an institution of higher education is because that institution contributes to society by cultivating individuals who have some combination of a useful skill set, a sense of their place in the world, and something at least approaching wisdom. If that is your reason for donating to Princeton, then yes, do it. If the only reason is tribal loyalty, then frankly, such institutions do not deserve to exist.
Emily, I don't know you as a person, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt regarding all the personal attacks in the comments.
That said, I find it hard to agree with you on this issue, because donating to AG is not mutually exclusive with doing all the other wonderful things that would help the world. It isn't like pursuing your ambitions to become a professor/academic/what-have-you would preclude you from giving some affordable sum of money towards AG.
It's true that Princeton students should look beyond the Orange Bubble and seek to affect change in the world at large. At the same time, giving to AG is an act that enables future generations of students to access the amazing education that Princeton provides, thus nurturing new change-makers.
Nobody is asking you to give ALL your money to AG, so it doesn't make sense to conflate donating to AG with owing something "primarily to Princeton students." You've built a straw man out of the intent behind AG, which is probably why everyone is mocking you so viciously in the comments. As a parallel, this might be a bit similar to someone complaining about Planned Parenthood soliciting her for donations because giving money towards fixing African women's fistulas is a more pressing humanitarian need. Well, yes, I suppose fistulas are lower on the Maslow hierarchy, but that doesn't mean Planned Parenthood isn't also a cause worth supporting. From this parallel, I suppose you'll probably say that you don't find Princeton a cause worth supporting at all--this, I think, would make for an interesting follow-up column, as I am genuinely curious on your thoughts.
I'm sorry that you will leave Princeton feeling so bitter about your experience here (judging from your blog entries, and no doubt reinforced by the comments on this article)...but I really can't take this article seriously.
I have never met you, but I do get the vibe that you're better than posting on a board like this...
"high giving rates can help get greater (million dollar) donations from wealthy alums who like to know that students are satisfied with their time at princeton. unfortunately you don't seem to know how AG works, and every student, should"
Well, well, well. Now I understand. You admit that AG exists to artificially inflate the alumni giving rate as a fundraising tool with which the administration can deceive wealthy donors. I rest my case. If students aren't aware of this, nothing is stopping the volunteers from telling us the truth when they ask for our donation.
Emily's argument rests upon one enormous logical fallacy. AG does not prevent anybody from being "a little more ambitious, dreaming a little bigger and morally challenging ourselves a bit more intensively." Does the fact that Ralph Nader give every year to support this wonderful institution mean that he can't do any of those things beyond Princeton?
So...Princeton's endowment is valued at 17 billion dollars. Let's say conservatively that Princeton incorporates about 10 thousand people - undergrads, grad students, faculty, staff and employees. That amounts to an average of $1.7 million per capita. I *think* it might be fair to say then that no-one who has a net worth of less than 1.7 million dollars could have a moral *duty* to pay Princeton money. At least it seems plausible that giving money to those who have more than you do seems like a strange sort of obligation.
I do agree with those who say you have a duty to "pay it forward." When you have been benefited by the goodness of others, it seems like you ought to do your part in turn to make the world nicer. If you just want to do good with money, I suggest Oxfam or any of the other superb charities aroung (a site like Givewell has many recommendations). If you want to give toward education specifically, perhaps support primary education (deworming programs seem to be especially useful) in a third world country. If you'd rather spend on US causes, well, there are plenty of underfunded schools and colleges around. Why not give to your local community college?