I am glad that last Friday's edition of the Daily covered the proposals for what we should do with the recovered funds. But since so few students attended the last town hall meeting and many haven't heard the full extent of the financial crisis, I do believe the argument bears repeating here.
The economic crisis has hit the world hard. Job cuts have begun across the board, hitting blue-collar and white-collar industries alike. Many of us fear that we are heading into a depression, but our student community has so far remained unaffected by this turmoil. We continue to go to class and party on the weekends. But I'm afraid the financial crisis poses a clear threat to our community, of which most of us are still unaware. There has been much talk about maintaining need-blind admissions, but the extent of the problem is much deeper. It will hit every student whose family contributes financially to his or her education.
Several dozen families have already approached the Office of Financial Aid requesting help. So far, they have been accommodated through emergency funds.
But come this spring, many among us will fill out their FAFSAs and discover that their Expected Family Contributions have significantly decreased because one or both of our parents have lost their jobs, or because savings accounts have lost their value. At this critical moment, when student need is set to increase dramatically across the board, the entity we look to for help is in a crisis of its own.
Tufts University has, along with every other university, suffered massive losses to its endowment. Unlike other universities, which rely to a much greater extent on endowment income for their operating budgets, Tufts has at least managed to remain on stable footing. Our leadership has made sound decisions, but the losses due to the collapse of the financial markets are still significant.
Director of Financial Aid Patricia Reilly recently told me that in order to simply retain our current freshmen, sophomores and juniors, our annual financial aid budget must increase by $3 million. That's not $3 million in endowment money, but $3 million in cash. The reason for this need is straightforward: As resources have dwindled, demand has risen. If we cannot find ways to make up this shortfall, we face the prospect of saying good-bye to our friends and classmates who can no longer afford to finish their degrees.
The need rises to $4 million if you take the incoming freshmen into account. In fact, we must also consider those graduate and professional students among us who have gone into six-figure debt and whose funding sources have dried up. They will never be able to pay off the massive debts they have incurred unless they complete their degrees and begin the careers that make it possible to pay off the debts. The need seems endless. But that doesn't mean we should despair or give up on the cause altogether. We may not be able to help everyone, but we can certainly try.
The university will have to walk a tightrope, balancing liquidation of its endowments to meet immediate needs with the long-term size of its budget. We cannot get into a situation where we sacrifice Tufts' future for the present. We've seen where this leads with Social Security and pension funds. Tufts will be shuffling money around to meet needs, but the university quite simply needs more money.
Tufts students and alumni cannot stand idly by. We must act as one -- the student body, alumni and the administration -- to look out for our fellow Jumbos whose futures are at stake. Luckily for us, there is plenty we can do. The once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis has coincided with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the form of the recovered funds. We have approximately $690,000 at our disposal to help those in need. This amount obviously does not cover the full sum. But just because we can't help everyone doesn't mean we shouldn't help anyone. It is a start, and alumni are already throwing their weight behind this effort.
Any allocation of the recovered funds will have to be distributed between cash for now and endowments for later, because this crisis is expected to last. An anonymous donor has already generously agreed to match any gift over $250,000 from the TCU Senate for financial aid -- dollar for dollar! If we work together, we will inch closer and closer to meeting the full need. Our efforts have barely begun.
Freshmen Cody Valdes and Jimmy Zuniga, a TCU senator, have started a campaign to raise funds from within the Tufts community. Most of us still have some money to spare. Instead of going out for drinks, now we can put money toward ensuring that our friends will still be there to go out for drinks with us next September. Similar to the money we gave to candidates during the presidential campaign, every little contribution will add up over time and enable us to do something magnificent.
In tandem, we must reach out further to alumni and friends of the university to make them aware of this crisis that will affect the futures of hundreds of Jumbos. The administration, in turn, will do everything in its power to cut unnecessary costs. This is a team effort that requires everyone's involvement.
Some have argued that material improvements to the campus are more important to Tufts as a whole. I disagree. Tufts' strength is its community, not its buildings and amenities. Without each other, we are not the same. Some have suggested we put the money toward lowering prices on campus. I agree that this is a valid matter to address. But cheaper food and concert tickets will be of no use to those among us who can no longer afford to attend in the first place.
Tufts needs your help. If you are a student, please let the Senate know that the fate of your fellow Jumbos is the most important thing on your mind. An affirmative vote on allocating the recovered funds to financial aid is still not certain. Time is critical. The Senate must not only act, but act fast to save as many Jumbos as possible. And whether you are a student, an alumnus or alumna or a friend of this university, I ask you to consider giving money to meet the shortfall in financial aid. This is about the despair that all of us feel at a point in our lives, a point where we look to the larger community for help. Tufts graduates can help this country recover from this crisis. They can even work to ensure that we never have to face such a crisis again. But we'll never know if they don't receive the chance to graduate. Whether they get that chance now depends on us, the Tufts community.
--
Toby Bonthrone is a senior majoring in International Relations. He is also a TCU senator.
