Tuesday, September 20, 2011

thoughts on the news of the day: standards

hmmm…..
            Why is it all about the money?  Seems to be the case these days.  Large college football programs are abandoning their conferences and opting for better paying ones.  That is, more money for television programming.  It has nothing to do with whether longstanding rivalries and compacts are destroyed.  It doesn’t matter that central time fans will have to watch games at 10:00 at night because the games are on the west coast.  None of that matters; what matters is how much money the program will make.  At least that’s how it seems.
            I serve on a board for my alma mater and went to a meeting yesterday.  We were told that we were expected to contribute to the annual fund as part of our service to the institution. I don’t have a problem with contributing, but I do have a problem with the expectation, which almost feels like a demand.  What about the alumni who doesn’t have the resources to make a contribution?  The argument is that any amount will do.  Really?  If they know whether a board member contributes or not, don’t they know how much?
            Somehow it seems that our values are skewed.  Not that as humans we haven’t always been a little greedy, but it strikes me as a little crass that institutions of higher learning wouldn’t be above it.  I guess I hoped that those who have a better education would also have a higher standard.  But that’s just me.
            hmmm…..

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