I am responding to Amelia Meyer’s recent column (“A costly culture,” 4/15/2009). While I certainly sympathize with Meyer, I would like to expand the fact set a bit so that one does not form the impression that the Alumni Association exists solely to try to separate hard-working students from their funds.
In this article Meyer criticized the Alumni Association’s “Dress for Success” event held at Banana Republic on April 15 and 16. She had two concerns: “the fact this it is held in a store well-known for selling high-priced clothing . . . [and] the fact that the ad mentions Foxfield implies that it caters to a specific audience.”
I would like to point out that this event was free and open to all students. Students were not required to purchase any items; if they chose to they received a 25 percent discount. Banana Republic offered to host this at the store, a venue convenient to grounds. Foxfield is an event occurring this month that draws a number of University students. Graduation was also mentioned in some of the advertising, but there was no mention of this in her column.
This event is part of year-round series of free programming for students. It was created to assist students in the job interview process. The presentation included interviewing tips – tips on advance preparation, answering and asking the proper questions, and advice on steps following the interview. The second part of the presentation offered advice on attire. Banana Republic officials offered general advice on apparel — for example, noting what jewelry and shoes were appropriate.
The Alumni Association offers a number of extracurricular programs free to students. It has sponsored First-Year Food Fest, Second-Year Lecture series, Third-Year Ring Ceremony, class leadership and numerous seminars including those on internships, personal finance and recently a lecture with Larry Sabato. All of these activities cost the Alumni Association over $250,000, money which comes from alumni donations, fees on non-student activities, etc., and not from student activity fees or other changes to students. There are also numerous scholarships, short-term student loans, assistance to approximately 2,000 student organizations from the U.Va. Fund, and funding for 70 student organizations and student oriented programs in the amount of $459,000 from the Parents Committee which operates from Alumni Hall.
The annual graduation banquet is sponsored by the Fourth-Year Class Trustees. It is meant to offer a less expensive alternative to student and parents who are in town for Finals Weekend and would otherwise need to book reservations and dine at one of Charlottesville’s admittedly fine, but frequently expensive restaurants. The Alumni Association is donating the space and the price, which has been set by the Trustees, covers the cost of food and drink for the event.
And finally, I would like to clear up any misunderstanding about becoming a member of the Alumni Association. It is free to join as a student. Payments for membership are made after you graduate. Membership as a student entitles you to discounts at many local restaurants, clothing stores, the University Bookstore, certain athletic events, hotels and Kaplan Test Prep courses.
As I said earlier, I certainly appreciate the point that Meyer is making in her article, and I think that the Alumni Association is doing all it can to ameliorate the situation.
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