In 2015, ninety percent of students graduated from Holy Cross within four years. Their average starting salary? Forty-eight thousand dollars.
In 1941, the closest my grandfather could get to college was paying a nickel for the bus into Worcester to watch Holy Cross play Boston College. He took five years to graduate from high school, worked instead of going to class, and supported his Irish immigrant family. My grandmother, an Italian-American in a similar situation across town, didn't graduate at all.
While my presence on this ivy-covered hill isn’t all that dramatic or all that rare, having the honor of donning the purple and white was never a given for me. These two worlds of mine have collided at various points throughout my time at HC, beginning with my introduction to Jesuit values, continuing as I encountered the culture of Vineyard Vines, and enduring as I tried to talk philosophy or political theory at the dinner table during breaks. But never have my past, my present, and my future been at such odds as this prior weekend, during the Become More Kickoff, an event celebrating the 400 million dollar “comprehensive campaign for the future of Holy Cross.”
I must preface this by saying I don’t know how much this weekend cost. I don’t know what it takes to run multiple open bars, build staging, construct heated tents, create elaborate flower displays, print programs and signage, purchase food for hundreds, buy or rent glassware and centerpieces, and pay the staff to set up, take down, and serve it all. That being said, as one of the few students invited to attend the Gala in Kimball Hall on Saturday, I can say with confidence that no matter what the bill came to, it was too high. I say this not because I have a strong knowledge of our financial statements, but a solid notion of who we are.
I know full well the stress that many institutions of higher education are under. I know the necessity of being poised to compete for the best talents, the biggest donations, the grandest stats. In certain ways, Holy Cross is not excused from these pressures. The economic realities and the shifting landscape are genuine, the crunch to land the best and brightest a hurdle. Yet, in the most basic of ways, we are supposed to be different. We are taught to face our dilemmas with dignity. We are trained not to waver from our values in stormy seas or when convenient opportunities present themselves. I can’t escape the thought that this weekend was a convenient opportunity. And we took it.
What strikes me as odd is that those who have been so well educated in our purpose and mission would be so greatly impressed and moved by such ostentatious displays of wealth and extravagance. It strikes me as odd that this is what we must do in order to take in money. If this is so, we cannot be succeeding in our purpose. We cannot be succeeding in teaching our students to be women and men for and with others.
But I have received a near-complete Holy Cross education. So I know, all things considered, that the College does succeed in its mission. It does stay true to its time-honored traditions. Before attending Holy Cross, I had never heard of the Jesuits. I had never gone on a retreat. I couldn’t explain what an immersion trip was. Yet I now consider these ideas and values core components of who I am, and who I want to be. Which is why I believe so strongly that this Kickoff runs contrary to our ethic of “living the mission.”
After all, one mustn’t forget that before the temporarily installed lighting went on, the College had already reached more than half its goal in this campaign. For that, a thank-you, much like the beam signing at the Luth Athletic Complex, is in order. Yet, the Gala wasn’t a thank-you, it was an ask. As if the matchless experience of being a Crusader isn’t enough of an ask. If a student’s time on the Hill is not a powerful enough motivator to keep the experience alive for ensuing generations, and we find ourselves resorting to lavish dinners, isn’t there a larger problem?
I am not bitter, but I am worried and wary and concerned. Because I love Holy Cross. These ivy-covered walls, devoted faculty members, and hardworking staff have given me more than I ever imagined I would get out of a college education. I am fully aware that my experience hinges on the generosity of those who came before me.
Possibly, this weekend had nothing to do with me or the majority of my fellow students. But as a graduating senior receiving regular reminder emails about donating the symbolic $20.16, I find this attitude incredibly shortsighted. I find it worrisome that we don’t honor those who give what they can, only those who can give a lot. Or those who have been identified as potentially being able to do so.
Yet, as always, I leave open the possibility that I am naïve and too idealistic about what I think Holy Cross stands for. I have never worked in fundraising. I have never run a business, which I am told the College is. I have never had millions to give. Still, I am committed to this place, and my criticisms are not to be confused with mere complaints. Being critical comes from the fundamental conviction that we can do better, be more thoughtful, avoid hypocrisy, that we can honor who we say we are, and still succeed. It comes from love and devotion. So for every person who tells me we need to spend money to make money, I respond that we can do so in a way which allows us to stay true to our values and our ideals. For in all my years of working reunions, it has never been my experience that someone gives to Holy Cross because they expect something in return.
I have talked with other students, many of whom are proud of and unequivocally grateful to their ancestral Crusaders, but feel similarly disenfranchised and frustrated by the way this weekend was planned and executed. It’s as if the Administration took inspiration from Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World,” with the Important People as campus visitors, secure in their boats, guided from location to location, performance to performance. Meanwhile, the students stood in their spots, smiling and waving as the alums passed.
Which is much the way the students were treated. As accessories. As objects to be planned around and commodities to be strategically placed when needed. Closing major parts of the library for days during the busiest time of the year. Shutting down the main dining hall for the weekend. These are short-term inconveniences, but they are also examples of added insult to injury. They send the message that students were an afterthought, and show that it is not wrong for them to feel alienated, used, and separate from an event which was supposed to mean so much to them.
Perhaps once again exposing my naiveté, I see more value, authenticity, and Holy Cross spirit in a campus-wide, inclusive celebration combining our alums, trustees, administrators, staff, faculty, and students in historic and beloved Kimball Hall than I do in an exclusive, invite-only event in unrecognizable Kimball Hall.
Furthermore, to me, the greatest way to announce to the world that The College of the Holy Cross, in all its glory, will charge ahead into the 21st century would have been to take the money spent on the weekend and do something meaningful. Forgive the loans of former students who have dedicated their time post-graduation to service. Feed those experiencing homelessness. Establish a scholarship for a student who otherwise would never have the opportunity to attend the school. Fund more immersion trips so students can find deeper meaning and purpose to the concepts they are taught in their classes.
Many of these things are part of what the Campaign is all about. Shouldn't its kickoff be consistent with this spirit?
Last semester, it was announced that Commencement for the Class of 2016 would be held not on Fitton Field, as has historically been the case, but at the DCU Center. The construction of the Hart Center had taken away any possible rain location on campus, eliminating the option of having the ceremony outdoors. This was met with disappointment by many, myself included. Yet, I was incredibly impressed and humbled when I heard Father Boroughs tell members of our class that he simply couldn’t justify spending an extra $250,000 to book both outdoor and indoor locations for the ceremony knowing full well that there are people in our home of Worcester lacking basic food and shelter.
After observing what occurred this weekend, the money spent, my question is: aren’t there just as many suffering populations in Worcester on Campaign Kickoff Weekend as there are on Commencement Day?
The world does need Holy Cross. But it needs a Holy Cross which practices on campus what it preaches to the world. Engagement, shared responsibility, and humility.
