A couple of weeks ago, AngieDawn made a post to her blog that caught my attention. Harvard University is now offering free tuition to students whose families earn less than $60,000 per year. Harvard’s president noted that only 10% of students in elite higher education come from the lower half of the income distribution in this country, and when that’s the case, “we are not doing enough.” So Harvard adopted this policy in order to make a top-quality education accessible to all.
What a great program. I remember when I was 17 and applied to go to Rhodes College… the financial aid they offered me wasn’t enough to make ends meet. Only because of the generosity of my grandfather and my uncle did I get a hold of enough extra money to be able to afford Rhodes. And after I graduated, I had hundreds of dollars to pay each month in student loans. I didn’t get the last loan paid off until I was 29. And because I was sending so much to each month to student loan companies all those years, I had less disposable income to work with, and often had to resort to credit card debt to finance my lifestyle. The kids who qualify for this new program at Harvard won’t have to deal with any of that.
I’d like to extend an open challenge to my alma mater, Rhodes College. In all the years since I have graduated, I have not donated one dollar to their alumni fund. Some years I just didn’t have the money; other years I did but didn’t consider a donation to Rhodes to be the best use of my dollars.
However, if Rhodes implements a program exactly like Harvard’s, offering free tuition to students with family incomes under $60,000, I’ll do the following:
1) Write Rhodes a check for $5,000;
2) Get on the phone bank in Rhodes’ Alumni Center, call as many other alumni as possible, and challenge them to match or exceed my donation;
3) Promise to continue to donate as much as I can to Rhodes in future years.
I think enough alumni would get excited about this kind of program that it would end up paying for itself through increased donations. I think there are many alumni out there who believe, as I do, that a top-quality education should be accessible to everyone, not just kids who are lucky enough to be born into families who are upper-middle-class or above.
BUT… here’s the catch. I’ll only agree to do the three things listed above if Rhodes implements a program EXACTLY like the one at Harvard. No exceptions. No differences. No excuses. Just git ‘er done.
This idea has been bouncing around in my head for about a week now, but Dr. King’s day seemed to be the right time to post it. Speaking of which, I’m off work today for MLK day, and I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone to read that I’m posting this from the Flying Saucer. They have a flyer promoting Pint Nite, with a picture of Dr. King and text underneath that says, “The dream is here! $2.50 pints all day long.” Using Dr. King’s image and most famous quote to promote beer sales? Tacky, tacky, tacky.