To the Editor:

Re: “The Problem with the Senior Class Campaign,” Opinion, March 17

The author’s critique of the Senior Class Campaign, though understandable from a cash-strapped senior, demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how non-profits work. As a Cornell graduate and current non-profit employee, I want to elucidate a few points.

There is room for debate about whether the University is run too much like a “business.” But all non-profits are run like businesses: A non-profit is a corporation, like any for-profit. “Non-profits” should be called “not-for-profits,” because the only distinction between a for-profit and non-profit is that the latter has a charitable rather than profit-driven purpose, and is therefore tax exempt. That being said, like any business, non-profits want to end each year with more revenue than expenses, which is essentially the same as making a profit. And while the author sarcastically suggests that Starbucks should start asking workers for donations, he indicates that the University’s mission is to produce strong citizens and workers, which does much more “charitable” good than serving lattes.

Though five dollars may seem like “rhetorical gratitude” to the author, Cornell hopes that a relatively negligible donation early on will cultivate larger donations over the course of a lifetime of (hopefully) increasing earnings. People have their closest connection to Cornell when they are students, and it costs less money to have seniors call their classmates than for development professionals to cultivate more wealthy alumni who have lost touch with Cornell.

There may be valid critiques about the way the University spends its money. But the University’s desire to raise money shouldn’t be at issue.

Alex Haber ’08