December 1, 1983 — With only 130 seniors having pledged support for Project '84, this year's campaign is lagging far behind those of the previous two years, assistant director of Annual Giving Robin Morrison said.
According to the latest totals, only 11.4 percent of seniors have made pledges, in comparison with 35 percent for Project '83 and 26 percent for Project '82 at this time of year, Morrison said.
Project '84, which is part of Annual Giving, ends June 1.
While the fund drive's coordinators attributed the downturn of support to a variety of reasons, most conceded that the student-initiated Endowment for Divestiture has been a significant factor.
"We probably have more people to convince this year since (Endowment for Divestiture) started up a week before ours did," said Phil Gordon '84, the open club coordinator for the campaign.
"Endowment for Divestiture made people think twice before giving to the project," he added.
Money raised for the endowment, a fund drive designed as an alternative to Project '84, will be turned over to the University only if it rids itself of stock holdings in financial institutions doing business in apartheid South Africa.
Only if
Under the terms of the endowment, if the University does not divest its stock in 20 years, contributions will be given to area organizations promoting better race relations.
Craig Kramer '84, one of the endowment's four founders, said that support has probably been diverted from Project '84, but he cautioned against drawing any conclusions with the alternative campaign's finale still three months away.
"Eleven percent may mean that people are considering the endowment, or it may mean that people are just not giving to the campaign for economic or other reasons," Kramer said.
While no firm totals have yet been tabulated, Kramer estimated that 50 students have pledged support to the endowment, a figure that represents slightly more than 4 percent of the senior class.
Despite the slow start, Project '84 organizers are optimistic that the fund drive will pick up momentum as controversy over University investment policies toward South Africa wanes.
"I think that there was oneto two-week setback during the time that the debate (about divestiture) was going on," said John Pauly '84, the campaign's co-chairman.
"There was obviously an editorial debate, where the endowment said that giving to Project '84 was tantamount to giving to apartheid," he said. "Once those erroneous statements were cleared up, the pace picked up."
Not so sure
Not everyone is convinced that Project '84's trouble can be attributed to the Endowment for Divestiture. Sandy McGrath '84, campaign coordinator for the selective eating clubs, blamed the poor start-up on "a combination of factors, most of which were technical."
"I don't really think the endowment had that much to do with Project '84," he said.
Whatever the reasons, the campaign's sluggish start has tempered much of the optimism that greeted its arrival. "We don't expect to reach last year's levels, but I still believe we will do well," Amy Yerkes '84, the campaign's publicity director, said.
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