As a dutiful Tufts "active citizen," I am heartened to see that using the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's recovered funds to bolster our financial aid system during the ongoing economic crisis is a major idea up for debate. I am encouraged by the passion exhibited by some TCU senators and Tufts students who would like to see the money go to the financial aid coffers. But in the spirit of that debate, I would like to add my thoughts, particularly on why proponents of giving the money to financial aid are, in my view, simply misguided.
Tufts has made meeting current student need its number-one priority during the economic turmoil. This prioritization, I hope, is more than simply a symbolic gesture, but rather a real commitment to ensuring that no students will have to leave Tufts due to an inability to afford tuition. Arguing that funding students' education is a moral imperative does not mean that it is the students' responsibility to meet that need. The responsibility for ensuring that students can stay at Tufts rests with the administration.
Given that Tufts has already committed itself to this cause, the student body and its elected representatives, TCU senators, should be neither encouraged nor expected to put their Student Activities Fee funds toward financial aid. The fact of the matter is that the recovered funds are derived directly from funds stolen over the past seven years from the Student Activities Fee, which is paid by parents and students. Those parents and students had a reasonable expectation that the TCU Senate would responsibly steward that money and ensure that it made its intended impact — on student activities. The fact that student programming for the past few years did not suffer in the wake of the embezzlement does not change the origin of this money, nor does it in any way affect the purpose for which it was earmarked.
Moreover, Tufts simply does not know the extent of its need. Even more significantly, economists, at Tufts or elsewhere, simply do not know how deep the current economic crisis will run. An endowment for financial aid, while symbolically powerful, could be a severely irresponsible investment of student money. In the meantime, as University President Lawrence Bacow has consistently assured the community via e-mails, and as he reiterated to the Senate last month, Tufts is doing everything in its power to keep our student community intact.
Despite my opposition to the financial aid plan, I do have two ideas I believe to be acceptable and appropriate guidelines for the process moving forward. First, the recovered funds must directly benefit student activities. Student activities can be broadly interpreted, and I do not limit the term to refer only to TCU-recognized groups. These funds must be spent in such a fashion as to benefit campus life and student activities for the broader undergraduate community.
Second, these funds must not be spent on anything that the university should be expected to provide its students as a basic service. This includes wireless Internet, extended library or dining hours, campus lighting and solutions to any other public safety concerns. These are programs and services that any university should ensure for its students. Students should not even consider financially supporting these measures beyond their normal tuition payments.
To this end, I would like to offer another proposal for the Senate's consideration. First, I would like to see a sum of money go directly to student programming. While the exact number is flexible, I would propose approximately $100,000 of the remaining $690,000 in recovered funds. This money could go toward capital expenditures that the Senate normally would not have the money to support, or it could go toward creative events or one-time programs that any student group might envision. These funds do not need to be spent this year alone, but could be distributed by the Allocations Board and the Senate on a first-come, first-serve basis over a year or more so long as resources last.
With the remaining $590,000, I propose that when the Senate meets on Dec. 7, we simply do nothing. At the Nov. 23 Senate meeting, sophomore Sam Wallis proposed that the Senate simply save the recovered funds for future use. I fully support this approach, which would allow the remaining funds to collect interest in the TCU's current accounts, available to the Senate for a future endowment (for any purpose) or for immediate use, should the need arise.
We need not rush to spend these funds now, on financial aid or anything else. The fact that Tufts does not know the extent of its own need or how deep the economic difficulties will ultimately run provides all the more reason to save rather than spend. Just because the money is available does not mean we need to use it. Indeed, any responsible deliberation would at least allow the possibility of saving this money for the future (near or distant). These savings would be unrestricted, so that this Senate, or any future Senates, would have the option to spend them on any of the proposals currently being debated (including financial aid) or on any new proposal that may arise in the interim.
I do believe strongly in a "pay it forward" approach. Those who have been blessed with means have a responsibility to take every available opportunity to use their resources for good, to help those who need it more. But spending the recovered funds on financial aid does not fall into this realm. This money had a very specific purpose, a purpose that did not change when it was stolen.
The very essence of a university is its students. The very essence of Tufts is the diversity of thoughts, ideas and backgrounds that a robust financial aid system generates and fosters. The Tufts administration is fully committed to that cause, so Tufts students should not wholesale fund their own financial aid awards. It is time for some ideas besides financial aid to join the public debate.
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Matthew Shapanka is a senior majoring in political science. He is also the TCU treasurer.
