Charities and Council

As posters loudly proclaiming "They Need You" pop up around the College, students are discovering that the Combined Charities and Student Council Drive has begun. This year's drive contains several innovations, most of which are good; but here is one which still needs improvement.

Last year the title of the drive was simply "The Combined Charities Drive," in spite of the small type at the bottom of the card which said that 20 percent of the contributions go to the Student Council. The Council members acknowledged that this was a mistake, but they discovered it too late to do anything about it. This year the Council decided not to conceal its share of the drive and to give students the option of not contributing to the Council if they do not want to. At the top of the contribution card, therefore, appears the sentence, "The Student Council will receive 20 percent of the total contribution unless specifically prohibited by the individual student." There is no definite space to signify such a prohibition.

This move clarifies the Council's revenue source but does not go far enough. There is no reason why a donation to the Council should be a fixed percentage of a charity contribution. The Council should have its own line on the card as the charities do, so that it will receive exactly what the students want to give it. The question could be phrased, "Do you want part of your contribution to go to the Student Council? If so, how much?" Originally, the Council combined the charity solicitations with its drive for the students' convenience. This is fine, but the dual purpose of the drive should remain clear.

Another major change is the arrangement of charities on the solicitation card. In an effort to emphasize student charities, as opposed to national ones, only special student appeals are listed separately. National and local charities such as the March of Dimes, Red Cross, and Community Fund, are lumped together at the bottom of the card with the statement that the contributor should single out those to which he wishes to give.

This provides a new emphasis which greatly improves the character of the drive. Appeals such as the Salzburg Seminar and World Student Service Fund rely exclusively on student contributions. The College's donations are needed much more by them than by the larger charities, which do not have to rely on this drive alone to reach the students. Although the new arrangement makes it difficult to answer national appeals, it is the only way that student charities can effectively be stressed.

Once again the Council promises that this will be the College's only solicitation this year. Emergencies forced the Council to break this pledge the last two years. It is hoped and expected that the new arrangement of converting unallocated money into a reserve fund will enable the Council to live up to its promise.

The concept of a combined drive is basically a sound one. Although the Council part of the combined drive is poorly handled, this should not prevent students from giving the emphasized charities the support these causes deserve.