On my final full day of classes as an undergraduate, I sat down at my computer and did something I never thought I would do: I gave a gift to Brown. Completing the transaction was quick and painless - a few clicks and my gift of $20.07 was accepted and a confirmation e-mail was waiting in my inbox. But getting to that point took me a long time and a lot of thought.
For some, the notion of "giving back" to a school that cost roughly $160,000 over four years may seem absurd. But at its most basic level, the argument for donating to Brown goes something like this: Your tuition only covers a fraction of what it costs for you to attend, while the rest was largely financed by generous gifts from those who came before you. Therefore, it is incumbent upon today's alums to fulfill that role for the generation that follows.
Having had the privilege of attending a private high school, I fully understood the logic behind this argument, but still I questioned its applicability to my situation. From my first semester here I had felt let down in one way or another, from the lack of small classes, career advisers who think the only jobs out there are in the tech or consulting fields, a feeling that the school was moving ever closer to a math, science and pre-professional focus, to the fact that I lost my advisor six weeks into my first year and did not get another one until the end of my sophomore year.
As my frustrations piled up I became more and more determined that I would be a lifelong member of the "Not One Penny," or NOP, club, as my cousin referred to it. Thus, when spring of senior year rolled around and the Office of Development began its big push for 70 percent participation for this year's senior gift, I was confident that my name would not be one of the roughly 1,084 seniors they would need to meet this goal.
I attended the gift kickoff on March 7, took a class photo with President Ruth Simmons and politely listened to her announce that she was contributing $20,007 out of her own pocket. Still, I felt little motivation to take out my credit card.
My decision had nothing to do with the amount of money requested. According to Johanna Corcoran, the Brown Annual Fund's assistant director for student programs, gifts from this year's seniors have ranged from $1 to $1,000. While I could afford something on the lower end of that spectrum, I felt that giving anything would be in some way rewarding an experience that did not merit it.
Then came my last Spring Weekend. Sitting on the Main Green, barbequing at a friend's house, performing the fast food song at Dave Binder, I started to rethink my decision. Looking around and seeing people I had grown to know very well over four years, I finally realized why I should give a gift to Brown.
I had been thinking about giving to Brown from the wrong perspective. I looked at the situation as an economics concentrator. I felt that the price of Brown's education had adequately reflected the academic, residential, recreational and other services I received. But I had failed to see the externalities that had been around me all along.
What I realized after that weekend was that a gift to Brown might help rectify many of the problems I have with the school, but it would also maintain the status quo. Giving back to Brown allows it to keep its reputation for looking beyond the grades and GPAs of applicants to find interesting students who also understand the importance of making friends and valuing collaboration over competition. My gift was not about hiring more professors or improving facilities, though that's likely what it will go to. Instead, it was a positive referendum on the job the admissions office has done in picking current and future
Brunonians.
So, I logged onto my computer and became the 421st person to donate to the senior gift, and now, a few weeks later, I am glad I did. More importantly, I am glad that I did not donate on a whim, or because I felt compelled to by someone else. Instead, I did what Brown teaches us to do. I sat down, thought about it and then made the decision I felt was right.
Now I am not advocating that everyone has to donate, nor am I saying that you are a bad person or don't care enough about Brown if you don't. What I am arguing is that making a gift should not be a passive process where you blindly fill out a form online and then move on with your day. Donating at this point, when the goal is to get you accustomed to giving, rather than collecting a specific amount of money, carries with it a certain understanding. My gift is an acknowledgement that there is something about Brown - academically, socially, etc. - that I feel is worth supporting for future generations of students.
So, I ultimately did decide to give. But I did not do so because of any specific professor or class. Instead, I'm giving for the friends I have made in four years and for someone else to have the chance to be part of a community that, while far from perfect, does have a lot of positive elements and opportunities. And that's something I'll gladly support.
