Devon Muchmore-Mulhaney ’21
Contributing Writer
It isn’t a conspiracy theory because it is not a theory. The Democratic National Committee acknowledged in a court of law that the Party deceived Bernie Sanders during its 2016 primaries. According to Donna Brazile, the former interim chair of the DNC, it sold out its surplus of integrity to resolve a debt mismanaged by its administration. But that’s old news. Despite his furrowed, oxidized face and airy, stress-filled hair, however, Senator Sanders remains relevant and full of promise. President Barack Obama, after all, said: “be the change.” He invited the disaffected and disillusioned to do what their representatives were not. Bernie represents our yearning for fairness—for equity. It is appropriate, therefore, that there exists a rather large community of Sanders supporters on our campus. College campuses are the central nervous system of our great nation’s youth culture. That is why I am perplexed. It perplexes me that there isn’t more of a reaction to what is happening here. And this is not a theory.
Look at your school, Bantams. We live in a business, not a summer camp. And the sloppy Joes suck. I cannot imagine a single person here who will argue in earnest that Chartwells, a monopoly generously forced on students, is a positive presence. Don’t get me started with the facilities. Or the new facilities. All of this, even though the school is a non-profit organization. Yet our tuition is one of the highest in the world. Is it actually surprising? Trinity College has a history of administrative mismanagement. So, where does the money go? Non-profits are obliged to spend all of their revenue. Former Trinity College President Jimmy F. Jones, Jr. earned millions of dollars. Let’s be fair. School presidents as senior-level corporate executives are typically compensated relative to the salaries of the heads of peer institutions. Berger-Sweeney, who makes over half of a million dollars per year, is, therefore, normal. This exploitative culture is the status quo. We are being left behind. As more and more of us become dependent on their generosity, they have less of a responsibility to care beyond tired, flimsy handwaving.
After all, we aren’t customers. For the customers, it would help if you care where your tuition is going. Many of us like to pretend that our family’s money is our money, after all. I mean, won’t it be eventually? The majority of the campus remains relatively well-heeled and white. It seems that Trinity College failed its diversity initiative—its top ticket. According to an analysis compiled by Professor Alcorn, Trinity College failed this promise compared to peer institutions. And the administration recently announced yet another diversity initiative. That means more administrative bloat. Does anyone know precisely what one diversity officer manages? To that end: two? Three? Twelve? What is the added value per position? The article “What Does a Chief Diversity Officer Actually Do?” by Peter Wood for the National Association of Scholars finds that the diversity officer does not, in fact, do much of anything at all. Now, I’m not calling for a revolution. Trinity College students are apathetic. We’re weak. You know it. Life isn’t fair.
Alex: Trinity College is a finishing school for prep schoolers that could not get into an Ivy League school. Career services does nothing to help launch careers and the graduates that move on to great jobs already were in line to get those positions through family connections anyway. The education has exactly zero added value. When I was there all the student ID’s had the name of the college spelled incorrectly and no one seemed to care enough to fix it. That lasting impression of the school sticks with me to this very day.