Being a Jumbo has never been pricier — and one student-run initiative is revamping its attempts to alleviate the cost of a Tufts education for one Jumbo.
With a yearly price tag of more than $50,000 for tuition, room, board and fees, Tufts ranks as the second most expensive school in Massachusetts, according to a report released last month by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The proceeds of the Tufts Student Fund (TSF), which, according to its student leaders, is gearing up for its third cycle of fundraising to begin in February, contribute to the tuition bill of a single student in need.
Last year, the TSF initiative generated close to $7,000 in student donations, supplemented with a grant from two anonymous alumni who donated $50 for each student donation, raising the total to $40,700.
Though TSF participation in the form of student donations has hovered around 20 percent — a number consistent with Tufts' overall alumni donation percentage — since its inception during the 2008-2009 school year, the goals of the TSF have not been met with unanimous approval by the student body.
Among the criticisms levied at the TSF, according to TSF Committee co-chairs Kyle Sircus and Daniel Slate, both seniors, is the complaint that students should not be responsible for the finances of their peers, particularly during difficult economic times. Additionally, the co-chairs said, the TSF's opponents have argued that the fund's proceeds should benefit the financial aid budget in general rather than a single student; the Office of Financial Aid chooses the recipient.
"We do get a lot of questions," Sircus said. "You know, ‘Why are you donating to one student; isn't it better to donate across the student body so that more people can get a piece of this?'"
"We of course understand the controversy," he continued. "It's a big question, but the philosophy we want to expose people to is that living a philanthropic life begins here, in the strong sense of community we develop here."
Slate admitted responsibility, on the part of the committee, for what he deemed a lack of success in communicating the TSF's goals to the student body in the previous two years of fundraising.
"I do find it sort of crass to hear people say, ‘Because I'm a student, I don't have a responsibility to support the other students here,'" Slate said. "But I think it's because we didn't do a very good job in the past of explaining to students why they should be donating to this."
To more effectively address potential student donors, the TSF Committee has shifted this year from a central, administration-driven body to a largely student-driven one, according to Slate.
The initial TSF Committee was formed by the administration, which chose student representatives from campus groups, including the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, which is no longer directly involved with the TSF, Slate said. Unlike in past years, the TSF Committee is also currently allowing volunteers to participate.
"Now we're more of a student group functioning in an advisory role to the [University] Advancement office so that the fund can be pitched more effectively to students, which is where we've gone astray in the past," Slate said. "There used to just be an informal meeting between the committee and the administration."
Sarah Pease, volunteer coordinator for the Tufts Fund for Arts, Sciences and Engineering, which, according to Slate, provides administrative assistance to the TSF, said that the internal changes being implemented by the TSF Committee are noticeable and impressive.
"I would say that they're definitely choosing their mission," she said. "We're just supporting them and providing as much help as we can in their efforts."
Despite the shift in approach, Sircus and Slate stressed that the overall goal of the TSF remains constant: getting students involved.
"We're emphasizing that this is not about the money, the $50,000 for a scholarship," Slate said. "It's about students demonstrating support for the vision of education not needing to be restricted financially … and demonstrating support for each other. To expect students to donate $50,000 is an undue burden, but we can expect them to demonstrate support, which can even mean donating a dollar."
According to the TSF Committee co-chairs, the actual financial impact of the TSF's student fundraising efforts pales in comparison to the awareness about financial aid issues it generates among students and potential alumni donors.
"We're making a small but important contribution to a huge financial aid budget," Sircus said. "It's not about the dollar amount; it's about getting the whole campus involved in this issue, dealing with something that's a hot topic on our campus and trying to do something about it."
Ultimately, Slate sees donating to the TSF as a part of a circle of giving.
"I go back to the fact that all of our experiences here have been as positive as they've been because of the people who've come before us and donated back to the school," Slate said. "I look at [the TSF] as a way to ensure that our experience here continues for those after us. A lot of us are here today because alumni have donated grants to financial aid that have allowed us to come here."
