To the Argus:
I am writing in response to and to disagree strongly with several aspects of Mike Butterfield’s Wespeak, “Real Problems with the Endowment.” And my criticism of Mr. Butterfield’s views also leads me to critique Wesleyan and its apparent lack of success in instilling the right values in a student after four years of a Wesleyan education.
With a modest effort Mr. Butterfield could easily have discovered that Wesleyan’s endowment is far lower today (in real, per capita terms) than it was forty years ago. However one feels about the accumulation and growth of large endowments, most sensible people would agree that shrinking endowments don’t serve the institution well over the long term. Mr. Butterfield should have checked his facts.
But much more disturbing is the scorn Mr. Butterfield displays in his letter for donors to Wesleyan, and for future students. Where, one should ask Mr. Butterfield, does he think the endowment comes from? It comes from donors who are doing precisely what Mr. Butterfield ridicules—donating money to the University for the benefit of future students—even (and why this group deserves extra scorn escapes me) for “people that haven’t been born yet.” We give because we can, because Wesleyan helped us, and because Wesleyan taught us to give back.
And it is on this last point that I feel the need, reluctantly, to criticize Wesleyan. How can we be graduating a student who after four years has so little regard for the institution and the values for which it stands? And who understands so little about how the real world actually operates?
Mike Butterfield is probably a decent guy despite this one letter he wrote. He’s entitled to his views on capitalism, on Wesleyan’s spending priorities (Spanish does seem to be more important than email, I agree), and on Yale University. I hope over time he’ll come to appreciate the steps Wesleyan is taking to ensure the institution endures and thrives long after we’re all gone. Indeed, he may even one day contribute to the “accumulation” he mocks today.
But in the meantime, I suggest Mr. Butterfield rethink some of his basic assumptions about Wesleyan, and perhaps consider being more charitable in assessing the motivations of other members of the Wesleyan community.
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