Phone call from university personnel asks too much too early
Will Atkinson
Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
For the first time in 40 years Princeton University will not raise tuition for the impending academic year. This was due in part to "generous" alumni donations. Perhaps you're wondering if Winthrop is in a similar position. Could Winthrop keep tuition stable for the first time in years? It's as likely as Whoopi Goldberg becoming a sex symbol.
Eating dinner in the Thomson cafeteria last week, I was disturbed by a phone call. All calls coming from the Winthrop campus appear as the identical number on my caller ID so I decided to answer the interruption. It could have been a colleague at The Johnsonian or a friend who owed me money.
How wrong I was.
The following is more-or-less how the conversation went (names have been changed because I don't remember them):
Caller: Hi, this is Danielle calling from Winthrop University.
Me (suspicious): Yes?
Caller: I understand you are graduating soon.
Me (caught off guard by hospitality): Oh, I'm more than ready.
Caller: That's great. I'm calling with the alumni association.
Me (feeling a pitch coming): Ok…
Caller: How would you like to make a donation?
Me: How do you expect me to have any money right now? You have all of it.
Caller: Well, we can add it to your student bill.
Me: I'm eating dinner right now.
Caller: Ok, may I call later?
Me: Don't bother. *click*
Winthrop wants my money and I haven't even graduated yet. Our fine school's telemarketers should stop wasting their time and wait until students have a steady job. And please, give us time to move past the awkward, still-at-the-parent's-house phase.
Audacity aside, a university that charges among the highest in South Carolina should know that I am not "donor material." I'm not going to finance a $5 million baseball sign anytime soon. Why not try alumni who are making a salary. How about students who went on to law or medical school or MBA graduates?
It's unlikely I'll be caught in a groundswell of school spirit before I start bringing home a regular paycheck. In fact, I would rather spend my money on Silver Strike Bowling at the Silver Dollar than finance pine needles. I'd get more bang for my buck.
Winthrop's telemarketers would be able to raise more money if they told callers that donations are going to a specific cause. I'd like to know where the money is going specifically. Am I giving $50 to Marshall's salary? DiGiorgio's car repair bills? A new smoking bench?
Please don't misunderstand me. I love Winthrop. I'd love to donate to this school's academic - not aesthetic - improvement in the future, but now is not the time.
Call me when I've finished paying off the Benz.
Eating dinner in the Thomson cafeteria last week, I was disturbed by a phone call. All calls coming from the Winthrop campus appear as the identical number on my caller ID so I decided to answer the interruption. It could have been a colleague at The Johnsonian or a friend who owed me money.
How wrong I was.
The following is more-or-less how the conversation went (names have been changed because I don't remember them):
Caller: Hi, this is Danielle calling from Winthrop University.
Me (suspicious): Yes?
Caller: I understand you are graduating soon.
Me (caught off guard by hospitality): Oh, I'm more than ready.
Caller: That's great. I'm calling with the alumni association.
Me (feeling a pitch coming): Ok…
Caller: How would you like to make a donation?
Me: How do you expect me to have any money right now? You have all of it.
Caller: Well, we can add it to your student bill.
Me:
Caller: Ok, may I call later?
Me: Don't bother. *click*
Winthrop wants my money and I haven't even graduated yet. Our fine school's telemarketers should stop wasting their time and wait until students have a steady job. And please, give us time to move past the awkward, still-at-the-parent's-house phase.
Audacity aside, a university that charges among the highest in South Carolina should know that I am not "donor material." I'm not going to finance a $5 million baseball sign anytime soon. Why not try alumni who are making a salary. How about students who went on to law or medical school or MBA graduates?
It's unlikely I'll be caught in a groundswell of school spirit before I start bringing home a regular paycheck. In fact, I would rather spend my money on Silver Strike Bowling at the Silver Dollar than finance pine needles. I'd get more bang for my buck.
Winthrop's telemarketers would be able to raise more money if they told callers that donations are going to a specific cause. I'd like to know where the money is going specifically. Am I giving $50 to Marshall's salary? DiGiorgio's car repair bills? A new smoking bench?
Please don't misunderstand me. I love Winthrop. I'd love to donate to this school's academic - not aesthetic - improvement in the future, but now is not the time.
Call me when I've finished paying off the Benz.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Heather Chatterley
posted 2/21/07 @ 3:05 PM EST
Word. that's fucked up...winthrop is a pretty well established university, obviously. i couldn't imagine any student, scrounging through college, to even THINK about putting their pennies towards more funding. (Continued…)
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