My Letter in Today's New York Times

[mabfan]

For all the letters on the subject, see Letters - What Do Graduates Owe the World?, about the article “Big Paycheck or Service? Students Are Put to Test” (news article, June 23)::

To the Editor:

As a Harvard graduate, I am fascinated by the school’s recent focus on trying to get recent graduates to consider low-paying public service jobs instead of high-paying financial services jobs. What about Harvard’s reliance on alumni donations?

Two years after I graduated, I became a teacher. Many years, I was unable to make a contribution to Harvard. Never did Harvard send a letter thanking me for my public service; I received letters of thanks only when I was able to contribute.

If Harvard truly wants its graduates to take low-paying jobs in order to serve the public good, it will need to account for the fact that those alumni will be making a choice to support society as a whole over supporting Harvard.

Perhaps naming a building after one of them would be a good start.

Michael A. Burstein
Brookline, Mass., June 23, 2008

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Great letter, Michael!

Susan
http://www.rixosous.com