The ongoing war in Gaza has been teaching us all manner of things, not just about Hamas, but the ugly realities of Americans who have been exposed as severely antisemitic radicals. The most high-profile examples of this nasty trend have been seen on the campuses of our colleges and universities, particularly some of the most expensive and formerly-revered members of the Ivy League. And it hasn’t just been the students causing all of these issues. Far too many faculty members and administrators have been either singing along with the Nazi choir or remaining silent rather than speaking out. But that’s been slowly beginning to change, as formerly generous alumni and other big-dollar donors to these universities have been shutting off the cash flow in protest. As the New York Post reports this week, this trend has been forcing a change in the way that some schools try to keep their massive endowments topped off. Some of these schools have recently lowered what’s known as their “donor door.” And they’ve been lowering them massively in some cases.
Elite colleges are quietly slashing the level of donations which can secure admission as mega-donors close their checkbooks to the Ivy League over antisemitism on campus.
Their long-term practice of giving special consideration to big donors’ children and grandchildren has been badly hit by a growing backlash against college leaders’ failure to keep Jewish students safe.
Now, according to one college counselor, a $2 million check might be the new $20 million.
So what is a “donor door” and what does it do? If, like me, you weren’t familiar with the concept, it’s part of the “inside baseball” angle of elite universities. If you want to guarantee admission to one of these Ivy League schools for your child or other relative, you can simply cut the school a massive check and assure your benefactor head of the line privileges for the admission process. And by “massive,” we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars.
But now, with more and more big donors saying no thank you and sending their kids to less elite but also less antisemitic colleges, the price of the donor door is dropping rapidly. In some cases, the price of admission has fallen from $20 million to $2 million. That’s still a considerable pile of cheddar, but a 90 percent reduction is the equivalent of a fire sale and it speaks to how desperate the schools are becoming.
The linked report cites instances where some billionaires have committed to making annual donations of as much as 50 or even 100 million dollars. When those cash spigots are suddenly shut off, the university administrations notice quickly. In order to compensate, they are being forced to accept admission applications from the offspring of alumni who can “only” afford to donate one or two million dollars to make up the difference. It’s a real tragedy unfolding before our eyes, I tell you.
The schools are facing potential blowback along other avenues as well. Harvard is now under investigation by the Department of Education over potential incidents of discrimination and antisemitism on campus. Upenn, Columbia, and Cornell are facing similar scrutiny. If they are found to be in violation of these norms, they might see further pain in their checkbooks and trust funds.
Unfortunately, none of this is going to make any difference unless the Powers That Be at these Ivy League institutions have the message pounded into their heads and realize what needs to be done. Instead of complaining about losing donations or fretting over the “rights” of students to fly swastikas on campus (when you won’t even allow a conservative speaker to set foot in the parking lot), perhaps they could reexamine their values and take a public stand against Hamas, terrorism, and hatred. Other schools have managed to figure that out and even kicked some of the most offensive student groups off campus in response. If you can’t manage that much, then you’re part of the problem, not the solution. And don’t come crying to us when your top donors flee for less Nazi-like pastures.
