Boston University received a record-breaking $5.1 million in donations during its 12th annual “Giving Day,” beating its previous record of $4.5 million last year. BU held the 24-hour fundraising drive April 8, and received money from more than 13,100 donors.
Despite widespread support from many staff and alumni, a few felt strongly against supporting the University due to longstanding concerns, such as rising tuition and recent controversies on campus, particularly the removal of pride flags in office windows over spring break.
BU Alum Paula Alejandra Lozano Roa, who graduated in 2018, said she encouraged some of her fellow alumni to not donate towards BU.
She said she feels that BU is no longer supportive of people with different identities like it was when she was an undergraduate student. The University is choosing to align itself with institutions avoiding explicit support towards the LGBTQ+ community due to pressure from the federal government, Lozano Roa said.
“We need to be very loud and inform the greater BU community, the greater Boston community, that BU is apparently making themselves not a safe space for all sorts of people and all sorts of identities,” she said. “It’s so important for people to understand what’s happening, especially alumni that are not connected actively to the BU community, for them to understand that this harms all of us.”
Lozano Roa said she chose to rally alumni to protest Giving Day because “money is where it hurts.”
“Certainly, philanthropic support is a personal choice,” Rachel Lapal Cavalarrio, the vice president of public relations at BU, wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press. “While we have thousands of alumni who engage and support the University in a variety of ways, others may choose differently based on their individual situation and perspective.”
Lozano Roa and others voiced their concerns through the comments sections of Instagram posts about Giving Day.
For instance, the BU Alumni and Friends Instagram page uploaded posts telling personal stories while sharing tips and information about the fundraising day.
“No one should donate until @bostonu addresses the pride flag removals,” Lozano Roa commented under one post.
Under another BU Alumni and Friends Instagram post titled, “8 Reasons to Give on April 8,” one commenter wrote, “90k/yr isn’t enough?”
A post uploaded on Giving Day by the account SlackerBU, a satirical Instagram page run by an anonymous BU student, also commented on the University requesting money in addition to its costly tuition.
The post’s caption reads, “BU has been really scrapping for money recently, so they want their students and families to pay even MORE money to fund their clubs! What a great idea!”
Despite these concerns, many alumni showed support for Giving Day, with some signing up to be an advocate, whose role is to encourage others to give to the University.
The University also held 88 challenges and matches throughout the event, which sparked competitive donations for organizations and alumni.
One advocate, Daryl Ireland, wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that the advocate challenge, in which those who inspired the most gifts secure bonus funds for another cause they support at BU, was a fun addition to Giving Day.
“The competition kept not only me engaged, but I know it inspired so many others to make a contribution,” Ireland wrote.
This year’s Giving Day brought contributions from people living in 51 countries and 49 states.
“We deeply value our global alumni network and are committed to ongoing engagement, dialogue and collaboration,” Cavallario, the spokesperson, wrote. “Together, we have a shared commitment to the future of BU.”
