Feeling charitable

by Badger Herald Editorial Board

Friday, March 7, 2008 00:00

On Monday, the University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate created a new fund to raise money for need-based scholarships, stemming from concerns over access to the university.

Contributions to the fund will be strictly voluntary and seemingly require no new spending or oversight to manage the account. According to a Badger Herald news article, the Office of Student Financial Services will be tasked with determining payouts.

The haters out there waiting to see what we could possibly find objectionable in such a feel-good, well-intended plan can relax. Maybe we’re still a tad sentimental after Wednesday’s Brett Favre editorial, but we feel pretty good about the fund too. Our intent today is simply to publicly acknowledge and thank the UW faculty members for their thoughtful, kindhearted gesture of charity.

While the faculty resolution was not unanimous in its support — English professor Richard Knowles was reportedly a bit worried that students might perceive donation levels as a barometer for which professors care about students and which professors don’t — we think such concerns are overstated. Frankly, we would be surprised if the vast majority of our classmates ever bother to check in with the Office of Student Financial Services for a roll call. And on a campus with more than 2,000 faculty members, we don’t worry much about a “black list” circulating, either.

Our one and only caveat is to mention the success of this fund is far from guaranteed. While we would never demand anyone make any charitable donations whatsoever, UW faculty members have now voted to expose themselves to such collective scrutiny. The old cliché, “nothing ventured, nothing gained” certainly rings true, but it would be a veritable shame if the only concrete result of Monday’s vote is a little bit of positive media coverage and a bank account that no one remembers ever existed in a year or two.

Donating funds to students who have the drive and the ability but not the money to pursue a higher education is, we think, a truly honorable choice. We’re sincerely excited to see just how much good they can do.