Bowdoin College Shows It Has a Heart

[ucbalumnus]

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@compmom

This support from the college is based on emotion or perhaps on publicity, not principle or policy.</p>

<p>I would feel better if this young person qualified for aid the way anyone would, through the EFC on a FAFSA and reasonable adjustments based on projected income after the Dad was killed.

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<p>Hmmm, are you sure that Bowdoin was not just stating that its normal financial aid adjustment for the loss of family income will cover the student’s costs (Bowdoin is a good financial aid school)?</p>

[compmom]

<p>I asked that question myself. With the Yankees paying already, and donations coming in, I wonder what Bowdoin actually is paying.</p>

<p>I don’t think it is up to colleges to reward dangerous professions (which often have relatively high pay and benefits).</p>

<p>Colleges should simply have equitable and fair financial aid based on consistent principles and formulas.</p>

<p>As for adjustments in aid when a family’s situation changes, some do and some don’t. I now personally of situations in which a college did not make an adjustment after a family tragedy with huge impact on the kid’s future.</p>

<p>Said I was done making my point and here I am again, on the day before a holiday. Ugh. Getting off the darn computer!</p>

[DmitriR]

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Really?? You can’t grasp the difference? Lots if those deaths are due to negligence, and accidents, not due to trying to protect the vulnerable from bad folks who are intent on killing them.

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<p>None of this denigrates the hard work of dedicated police officers who are putting their lives on the line, of course. It’s just that other people are placed in danger by their jobs too, and not just from accidents and negligence. </p>

<p>According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the workers most at risk of homicide are actually taxi drivers – 17 fatalities per 100,000 attributed to homicide (usually robbery and murder) compared to 4 fatalities per 100,000 for police officers (police officers actually come in second, with the rest of the employed population trailing after them). </p>

<p>I don’t have a problem with Bowdoin deciding to reach out a hand to this young man though. For an individual grieving the murder of a parent, the statistics don’t matter, the principles don’t really matter. I wish colleges in general more affordable for everyone, but in the interim I’m happy with any good news that we can find for anyone going through such an awful tragedy.</p>

[thumper1]

<p>Um…in the spirit of this season, and in the spirit of giving…can the hatchet be buried on this one?This fsmily and student will surely benefit from all that is being offered to them from multiple sources. Thank goodness there are people and organizations who can reach out and provide help. </p>

<p>Everyone should be grateful for this. </p>

<p>The finger pointing is…well…pointless.</p>