Thomas Soteros-Mcnamara Send your pity
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by Thomas Soteros-McNamara
[email protected]
Contrary to what you might assume, the relationship between you
and your alma mater does not end when you graduate. Depending on
how your time was spent, your college memories may be wonderful;
they may be dour. One thing remains constant however: your
university will find you, and they will want to keep in touch. More
than likely, the reason for this is money. There will be the odd
professor, administrator or staff member that may seek out your
whereabouts. Without a doubt, however, when the university itself
is calling, it is not because it simply wants to reacquaint itself
with you.
Instead, you must realize that even if you never graduate, never
contribute any academic vitality to the university, your
institution will want at least partial credit. Remember that not
long ago, you needed them much more than they needed you. As the Al
Carnesales of the world continue to remind you of this, it is
important to realize that once you become economically viable in
their eyes, so does the balance of power. Money talks, and if you
have the right amount of cash, the administration will do just
about anything to get it.
Unfortunately, most Bruins will never be millionaires. More
likely, we’ll end up as mildly successful professionals,
business people and technicians. A bachelor’s degree is
simply not worth was it was during your parents’ generation.
The university, however, will not allow this to deter them in
calling, mailing, e-mailing, etc., to somehow find a way to your
wallet. They will call and mention all the great things that you
enjoyed as a student and how “rising costs” might make
it hard for future Bruins to savor what you savored. No matter what
they say, be very careful when you give money to your alma
mater.
This is not to say that you should categorically dismiss charity
of all forms. You simply should realize that your money, your
donations are equivalent to a vote. If you give $1, or $200
million, you vindicate Al Carnesale, Peter Dalis, ASUCLA,
Transportation Services, and anyone else that is affiliated with
UCLA. It is important to realize then, that if you have a certain
concern about what UCLA is doing, let your largesse be your
leverage. If you want to show your displeasure, take your gift
away. Always remember that UCLA or any university will pretend that
it does not need its middle-class benefactors. But never forget
that it would have no future without them.
Playing “hardball” with your desire, if any, to give
cash to UCLA might seem extreme. There is a good reason for this.
As higher education becomes more bureaucratized, authoritarian and
profit driven, there are fewer and fewer avenues for the
student/alumnus to voice his or her opinion. In this sense, a
tele-evangelist fund-raising style is the school’s own
choice, its own statement about its confidence in doing the right
thing and its belief that it will be vindicated for its
decisions.
What the Office of Development ought to realize is that UCLA is
going to find itself preaching to an empty congregation. The
university’s alumni-giving base is mediocre, and as a result,
UCLA has wedged itself on a small group of very generous
individuals. The only problem is that most of these elderly
individuals shall leave this earth long before the current
generation of students will. Most current Bruins already feel UCLA
has designated them as expendable, and not important in the grand
scheme of things. They see the university acting more as a
corporation and less like a public school. Having grown up in
affluence and retaining few memories of lean times or personal
sacrifice, college students no longer believe in a “debt to
society.” Our generation has internalized the values
presented to it, and it will be a definite transition for
humanitarian organizations as we become the impetus of the
economy.
Nevertheless, UCLA will not run out of people willing to donate
to it.