Inquisitive Posters Tied to Senior Gift

If you're confused by the signs around campus asking "What if we had no financial aid?" and "How much fun did you have at Yardfest?", we've got an answer for you.

After a bit of investigative journalism, we've confirmed that the posters are part of an advertising campaign for the senior class gift fund.

According to Alexandre J.C. Terrien '11, one of the organizers behind the posters, the goal of the campaign is not solely to encourage people to give money.

"It's really to raise awareness amongst the senior class about the importance of giving back to a community that we've all been a part of for the past four years," Terrien said.

According to Terrien, the posters are not exclusively directed towards seniors. He hopes that the signs will encourage all undergraduates to think about the resources available to them at Harvard.

"Although senior gift is behind the effort, it's more to get people to ask themselves these kinds of questions and reflect on their experience here," Terrien said.

So what would Harvard be like if we had no financial aid?

"My goodness, if we had no financial aid Harvard would be a completely different college! Less than 40 percent of the current students would be able to finance costs, which means over 60 percent would likely go elsewhere," Sally C. Donahue, director of financial aid, wrote in an e-mail.

"The quality of a Harvard education would decline almost immediately, and even the most talented students whose families could pay would likely decide to go elsewhere because of the declining value of our education and the utter lack of economic diversity.Financial aid is essential to our identity," she added.

Photo by Hana N. Rouse/The Harvard Crimson