Last night, college rang and I caved in. Actually, it was the third time they had rung and I could no longer claim that I was busy as I had done the last time. But it had given me time to think; and I had decided to give them some money.
In essence, my logic went like this:
- I believe in elite universities. It is paramount that we have academic centres of excellence. This is hardly controversial - ask and Frenchman or American
- I think Oxford should be one of them. Actually, I think this is really important. Oxford has a certain charm and refusal to take it all too seriously which I welcome. It's a useful corrective t0 the tedious seriousness which characterises working life
- I believe, again quite strongly, that private funding should be a part of the solution. Now isn't the time to detail my thoughts on university policy (there are many)
- I approve of philanthropy. I give.
- I owe a great deal to Oxford, both for the obvious career benefits it gave me, but also the enjoyment and the friends I made
So, actually the resistance to handing over cash is irrational. The only rational objections remaining were either financial (which doesn't stack up. I have the money - it comes out of my tithe) and the feeling there are more deserving causes. Clearly this last is powerful, starving children in Africa &c. &c. But I think we have to move past that, otherwise nothing would be donated to anything other than development charities. They are both important.
As a final aside, in the cold light of day, I feel slightly cowardly in that I did specify that it should be spent on student support. This is obviously an accounting fiction and Christ Church will just rebalance the books accordingly, but it made me feel better. If I had really had the courage of my convictions, I would have given it to them to spend at their discretion. Maybe next time.
1 comment:
Student support is possibly the worst thing to give money to. First, at the moment the Government guarantees huge funds to poor undergraduates. Second, it is the easiest thing to raise money for. Thirdly, wealthy colleges already have excessive amounts of bursaries for the current funding system, which encourages waste.
You would be far far better off giving to either the endowment of junior teaching/research posts or graduate scholarships. Both are relatively underfunded, difficult to raise money for, and - in the longer run - much more essential for the preservation of Oxford's international status.
But good on you anyway :)
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