<p>Last year, my D returned to campus at the beginning of J-Term. She and her friends didn’t take classes but rather hung out. They wanted time to just be friends without the pressure of classes. Smith housed and fed them, free of charge, during this time. I was amazed. While this time was invaluable to them, I wouldn’t mind seeing this kind of cut – total elimination of campus activities until the first day of spring semester – if it meant that other amenities could be kept intact during the regular academic year.</p>
<p>As the NY Times articles points out, even the richest universities in the country are suffering. Imagine what it must be like behind the scenes at the smaller LACs. LACs use a proportionately higher percentage of their endowments every year compared to universities, and so, if the endowment shrinks, their available funds do as well. While I don’t understand why places like Harvard don’t temporarily change their policy to take a few more percentage points off the endowment, LACs like Smith and Amherst cannot afford to do that. They will quickly go bankrupt. I hope that all current Smithies remember this and give back to their alma mater when they are able. </p>
<p>No one dreamed that the economic downturn would affect higher education like this. But it is a reality everywhere. No institution is immune.</p>