Tactless fundraising

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, tact is “a delicate and considerate perception of what is appropriate.” It’s also something administrators at Virginia Tech seem to be lacking at the moment.\nPerhaps they should have consulted this definition before they finalized the design of their $1 billion fundraising campaign, because from the way it’s being run, it appears that they have forgotten the meaning of the word. Barely six months after the tragic shootings that claimed the lives of 32 students and faculty and left the nation upset and confused, the university has already, whether intentionally or not, taken advantage of the outpouring of support it’s received from across the country and used it to support its own institutional goals. \nHere at the Indiana Daily Student, we’re scratching our heads about the whole situation. Exploiting a tragedy that just occurred in April? Wow, that was fast!\nSince then, Virginia Tech has raised about $8 million in a memorial fund for payments to the families of the 32 people killed and to others wounded in the massacre. However, because this money was collected during a quiet phase of a $1 billion fundraising effort conducted by the university as a whole, it will be counted toward that campaign total. \nThink, if you will, back to the cardboard thermometers used in elementary school to show progress in Parent Teacher Association membership drives. Each day, as more and more parents turned in their registration forms, the “mercury” rose a little bit and let the rest of the world knew just where the second graders stood, as far as PTA support went. This is not far from what’s happening with the funds raised at Virginia Tech; despite their special purpose, these funds, which symbolize an outpouring of support in the face of tragedy, are not separated from general donations raised from alums who give money based on their fond remembrance of their days of tailgating and mayhem. \nIt’s an affront to both the victims of the massacre and their families to include these $8 million – funds that were meant to signify restoration and healing in the face of tragedy – in the totals of a commercial, general fundraising campaign. Not only does it show a lack of tact, but this demonstrated insensitivity indicates a much larger, disturbing trend taking place on many college campuses across the country.\nInstitutions of higher learning, in striving to outcompete each other, are playing a numbers game that makes massive fundraising efforts like this one a top priority. In addition to high-caliber academics and athletics, one of the major attractions that campus tour guides and administrators often stress to potential students is the size of their institutional endowment. In other words, schools are flaunting their ability to generate and spend large amounts of money, and thus their ability to undertake major renovations and initiatives. \nIt’s because of a desire to be bigger, better and more highly endowed – no pun intended – that Virginia Tech decided to use the $8 million to inflate its campaign numbers. But instead of impressing us with dollar signs, how about focusing on what universities are intended for in the first place – some good, ol’ fashioned edu-ma-cayshun?