End of tuition day met with mixed reactions
By Jonas Shellhammer
Students entering and exiting classes around mid-day Tuesday were met with a cheerful greeting and offerings from a table of free food.
While free food and some tabling may not be too uncommon of an occurrence at Earlham College, this event was only the second of its kind — a celebration of End of Tuition Day, which marks the approximate time of year that Earlham College’s day-to-day activities cease to be funded by tuition, and are instead paid for by philanthropic gifts.
End of Tuition Day began last year, but blossomed into a much larger and widespread occasion this year. Associate Director of Annual Giving Liz Gordan mentioned that this year’s event saw a better attendance than last, and attributed the increased student presence to a range of things.
“It was really a collaborative effort,” said Gordan, and continued to say that she wished to thank those involved, “including dining services, the Alumni and Development Office, housekeeping, maintenance, and Bill Buskirk.”
A reception highlighting retired biology professor Bill Buskirk and his involvement with the Birding Big Day event was also held as part of the day.
But why celebrate End of Tuition Day?
“I think the campus community is getting more sensitive to how much we depend on the philanthropic efforts of alums and the friends of the college,” said Gordan. “The idea is to help foster this kind of atmosphere on-campus.”
Senior Director of Alumni Relations Gail Clark staffed one of the tables in the Landrum Bolling Center.
“We’re just trying to build awareness about philanthropy, and all the wonderful gifts that we get from alumni, parents of alumni, and members of the Richmond community,” Clark said.
Both Gordan and Clark mentioned that the Earlham Fund, which is where day-to-day donations from activities such as the Phone-A-Thon go, has been doing well lately. Gordan stated that the Phone-A-Thon alone is doing better than it did last year, whereas Clark theorized that the reason the fund has continued to thrive in harsh economic times is that people are becoming very intentional about which organizations they donate to.
For instance, donors might be more discriminating about where they put their money, and evaluate their different options more than in the past due to the economic recession.
Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Kevin Klose, who was one of the staffers at the table in Carpenter Hall, also mentioned that the Earlham Fund is doing well.
“It sort of bucks the trend nationally,” said Klose, and continued to remark that last year was the first time the Earlham Fund topped $1.5 million.
When asked how he sees Earlham College’s reliance on philanthropy will play out in the future, Klose said that “In the ideal world, Earlham’s endowment and annual fund would grow so we could even better meet the financial needs of our students.”
However, large changes in the 75-25 percent ratio of tuitionto-philanthropy funds that keep day-to-day operations at Earlham College going are not expected.
Klose also echoed some of the other staffers’ feelings on why End of Tuition Day should be a big event.
“A lot of students leave here without understanding the role that philanthropy plays at Earlham College, and how important it is to their ability to be here,” he said.
However, sophomore Emily Bobrowich did not get an overwhelmingly positive impression of the event.
“I think that having students be aware of how much of their education is dependent on philanthropy is important, but this isn’t the right way to be doing it,” she remarked.
Bobrowich further commented that she thought the day’s events seemed slightly brash and passive aggressive in their message.
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