RU Endowment/Foundation Assets make it into the top 100

[Upstream]

I guess my entire class is full of whiners.

Not your class. Pretty much the entire university is full of whiners. It seems to be a cultural thing at Rutgers (and maybe NJ). People complain about stuff at Rutgers that no one would complain about elsewhere. You even have a name for it: RU Screw. (Even the pub at the student center, when under-21 drinking was legal, was called the RUsty Screw.)

And quite honestly, the incessant whining about trivial things makes it hard for students to be taken seriously when they have real issues. The important stuff just gets lost in the noise.

 

[sct1111]

Not your class. Pretty much the entire university is full of whiners. It seems to be a cultural thing at Rutgers (and maybe NJ). People complain about stuff at Rutgers that no one would complain about elsewhere. You even have a name for it: RU Screw. (Even the pub at the student center, when under-21 drinking was legal, was called the RUsty Screw.)

And quite honestly, the incessant whining about trivial things makes it hard for students to be taken seriously when they have real issues. The important stuff just gets lost in the noise.

Wow. So you're still insistent that it's the students themselves that have the problem, huh? So you are saying that if you swapped the student body of Penn State and Rutgers, all the complaining would disappear? If we took University of Minnesota students and put them at Rutgers for 4 years, our rate of alumni donations would substantially increase?

Or maybe, just maybe students complain because their experience is actually poor. Because all of the little things that Rutgers can't get right add up to one big subpar experience.

 

[retired711]

Not your class. Pretty much the entire university is full of whiners. It seems to be a cultural thing at Rutgers (and maybe NJ). People complain about stuff at Rutgers that no one would complain about elsewhere. You even have a name for it: RU Screw. (Even the pub at the student center, when under-21 drinking was legal, was called the RUsty Screw.)

And quite honestly, the incessant whining about trivial things makes it hard for students to be taken seriously when they have real issues. The important stuff just gets lost in the noise.

Upstream, do you have any evidence that "people complain about stuff at Rutgers that no one would complain about anywhere else? " Do you really think that no one elsewhere would complain about confusing instructions, a ceremony that starts late, and the use of an unsuitable venue?

 

[Scarlet Pride]

Here's how I would sum this thread up...

• There are plenty of things to complain about at Rutgers
• Most of those things are not unique to Rutgers
• That doesn't mean they don't deserve criticism
• But any connection between the "RU Screw" and the Endowment level is a weak one

 

[Upstream]

Upstream, do you have any evidence that "people complain about stuff at Rutgers that no one would complain about anywhere else? " Do you really think that no one elsewhere would complain about confusing instructions, a ceremony that starts late, and the use of an unsuitable venue?

Just anecdotal evidence. Mostly from friends and family (and what I read on these boards).

I can give you more anecdotes it you want. For example, I can tell you about how I got shut out of a required class at Hopkins and the same time one of my best friends got shut out of a required class at Rutgers. Or I can tell you about the time Rutgers made an error on my football parking and the Rutgers alumni in our tailgate group all screamed "RU Screw" while the non-Rutgers-alumni took the error in stride (and how Maryland made an error when my sister ordered basketball tickets and she didn't scream "Maryland Screw").

And the weird thing about Rutgers, is when their are actually things that are broken, and the university tries to fix it, people complain. The most noteworthy example of this is when New Brunswick had multiple liberal arts schools, all with different academic requirements, creating a real nightmare for students who want to take courses at multiple schools or transfer from Douglass College to Rutgers College, for example. The first time Rutgers tried to fix this, objection was so strong that the university merged the faculty but kept the separate schools, which just made matters worse, because now the faculty didn't now the requirements for any of the colleges. And the second time Rutgers tried to fix the problem, student and alumni protests got Trenton involved. (My wife, a Douglass alumna, was one of the ones who initially protested, until I asked her why she objected to something that would actually make the university better, and eliminate one of the complaints she had.)

So, no, I don't have any statistical or randomized data. But I have plenty of anecdotal data from relatives and friends who attended Rutgers and attended other schools.



Nor am I saying that there aren't problems that need to be fixed. (In the issue regarding my football parking that I mentioned above, I suggested an easy solution to help prevent the problem in the future, and it appears that Rutgers has implemented a solution similar to my suggestion.)

But there certainly seems to be a cultural tendency at Rutgers to complain about everything, and scream "RU Screw" over the most trivial of issues (and even issues that are not Rutgers' fault). And I believe that this cultural tendency causes problems to become magnified, and for Rutgers students, staff, faculty, and alumni to think the problems at Rutgers are worse than they actually are, and worse than they are elsewhere.

 

[Upstream]

I wonder if you could construct a study to see if Rutgers students (and/or New Jerseyans) complain more than people elsewhere.

You could have students come in under the premise that you are doing a study on cultural norms. And you can have them participate in some sort of real or dummy cultural study. But you also have to introduce an element of some sort of bureaucratic snafu (whether it is a study registration problem, wrong instructions error, computer problem, etc). At the end of the dummy study, you have them fill out a questionnaire, which includes questions about the intentional snafu.

You do this at multiple colleges (and multiple states to compare to NJ).

Anyone interested in funding this?

 

[derleider]

I think the existence of the term RU screw encourages people to see things through that lens, but it also likely leads to other people kind of dismissing any claims of the RU Screw as being overreactions and whining.

RU is perpetually underfunded, so its would be expected that it has a less effective bureaucracy and more issues in general than a place like JHU or even UMD, which have generally had good to great funding.

Does that have an effect on giving? I dont see hwo it cant. If your college experience is worse, you are almost surely less likely to donate. Whether its really worse, or you perceive it as worse because you dont have a comparison and you you are preconditioned to see failures is kind of moot.

 

[Scarlet16E]

Except that, as someone noted in this thread, the Rutgers' alumni rate of giving to their alma mater is about the same as Rutgers' peers. Where Rutgers falls short is when compared against aspirational peers. This is part of what makes them apirational.

 

[retired711]

Just anecdotal evidence. Mostly from friends and family (and what I read on these boards).

I can give you more anecdotes it you want. For example, I can tell you about how I got shut out of a required class at Hopkins and the same time one of my best friends got shut out of a required class at Rutgers. Or I can tell you about the time Rutgers made an error on my football parking and the Rutgers alumni in our tailgate group all screamed "RU Screw" while the non-Rutgers-alumni took the error in stride (and how Maryland made an error when my sister ordered basketball tickets and she didn't scream "Maryland Screw").

And the weird thing about Rutgers, is when their are actually things that are broken, and the university tries to fix it, people complain. The most noteworthy example of this is when New Brunswick had multiple liberal arts schools, all with different academic requirements, creating a real nightmare for students who want to take courses at multiple schools or transfer from Douglass College to Rutgers College, for example. The first time Rutgers tried to fix this, objection was so strong that the university merged the faculty but kept the separate schools, which just made matters worse, because now the faculty didn't now the requirements for any of the colleges. And the second time Rutgers tried to fix the problem, student and alumni protests got Trenton involved. (My wife, a Douglass alumna, was one of the ones who initially protested, until I asked her why she objected to something that would actually make the university better, and eliminate one of the complaints she had.)

So, no, I don't have any statistical or randomized data. But I have plenty of anecdotal data from relatives and friends who attended Rutgers and attended other schools.



Nor am I saying that there aren't problems that need to be fixed. (In the issue regarding my football parking that I mentioned above, I suggested an easy solution to help prevent the problem in the future, and it appears that Rutgers has implemented a solution similar to my suggestion.)

But there certainly seems to be a cultural tendency at Rutgers to complain about everything, and scream "RU Screw" over the most trivial of issues (and even issues that are not Rutgers' fault). And I believe that this cultural tendency causes problems to become magnified, and for Rutgers students, staff, faculty, and alumni to think the problems at Rutgers are worse than they actually are, and worse than they are elsewhere.

You didn't answer my question, so I will answer it myself. I think students *anywhere* would be upset if their graduation were handled in the way Sct1115's was. So I think this particular beef has nothing to do with RU students being "whiners."

 

[Upstream]

You didn't answer my question, so I will answer it myself. I think students *anywhere* would be upset if their graduation were handled in the way Sct1115's was. So I think this particular beef has nothing to do with RU students being "whiners."

I'm sorry that I didn't directly answer your question. No, I don't think students at most other schools would complain in the same way about graduation being hot in a non-air-conditioned venue, starting 30 minutes late, and receiving multiple communications. I think they would complain and laugh off all the issues, forgetting about all of them within days, except for the heat part. They'd remember that graduation was hot, and they'd blame Mother Nature, not the school

 

[retired711]

well it might be that the student elsewhere would have a ton of positive experiences to offset the negative one. RU doesn't seem good at that, and I think the reasons are complex. (President McCormick actually launched a program to re-train staff in how to deal with students.) And, while neither of us can prove it, I do think that those elsewhere would be ticked.

 

[Upstream]

I don't disagree with McCormick's initiatives to improve student experience. Rutgers (like other schools) can certainly do thing to improve. But just because Rutgers is striving to be better, doesn't mean that it is worse than most other schools.

(Also, to the point I made earlier, do you also remember that when McCormick announced his initiative to improve student experience, both faculty and students objected, with claims that college shouldn't be like a consumer company concerned about customer satisfaction.)

 

[retired711]

I don't disagree with McCormick's initiatives to improve student experience. Rutgers (like other schools) can certainly do thing to improve. But just because Rutgers is striving to be better, doesn't mean that it is worse than most other schools.

(Also, to the point I made earlier, do you also remember that when McCormick announced his initiative to improve student experience, both faculty and students objected, with claims that college shouldn't be like a consumer company concerned about customer satisfaction.)

I don't remember that, and the student objectons are completely contrary to what I and other faculty perceive is going on. Students expect to be spoon-fed and feel they are the consumers and it's the faculty's job to produce a product they like.

 

[Upstream]

The faculty certainly complained. And a faction of students (I remember a group aligned to the RU1000) also complained.

 

[retired711]

I'm not surprised by the faculty complaints. The faculty hates the consumerist culture. As for the students, any group of students under the influence of Prof. Dowling is bound to be somewhat unusual (for better or for worse).

 

[Upstream]

I assume the 5 "bonus" priority points are not cumulative -- they only have significance this season. With the Athletics Dept giving away priority points this way, it trivializes the loyalty of those who buy tickets and parking tags each and every year (consecutive year buyers). Sounds like they are equating sending in your dough early this one time with 5 consecutive years of faithfully supporting a bottom feeder program. When are they going to reward long-time supporters? Perhaps spare tickets to meaningful games? Or a free pre-game light buffet? Or discount cards to local bars/restaurants? Or paid membership to the Court Club?

I rest my case.

 

[cyrock3]

This is a little too fancy for me. Suppose I live in New Brunswick. The employees of the city government don't pick up my garbage. The police harass me. (Remember all of NIRH's complaints about the New Brunswick police.) A city inspector cites my property for a code violation on fallacious grounds. Wouldn't I be entitled to have a poor opinion of the New Brunswick city government? Wouldn't I be entitled to say "I never want to have anything to do with that town again?" (I hasten to say that I'm not saying that New Brunswick would do this; I'm just drawing an analogy.

BTW, cyrock3, everyone here not only should make a "pretense of civility," but should in fact be civil. Otherwise a discussion board just turns into a shouting match.

I used to have the same belief as you, but after seeing how civility is *abused* in the modern context to give certain clearly false ideas (e.g.: being gay is a choice, manmade global warming is not real) weight that they do not deserve, sometimes a spade needs to be called a spade. Genuine ignorance is something that deserves to be treated with civility. Putting your head in the sand to cling to a position against a tide of overwhelming evidence, with nothing to support you but emotions and/or discredited evidence, does not.

That will be my last comment on this matter. I prefer keeping this thread focused on Rutgers rather than something tangentially related to Rutgers.

 

[retired711]

Cyrock3, in that case I feel justified in ignoring any comments you might make in the future. I say this with some regret because clearly you have the right side on some important matters. You are not going to persuade anyone by being rude

 

[cyrock3]

Cyrock3, in that case I feel justified in ignoring any comments you might make in the future. I say this with some regret because clearly you have the right side on some important matters. You are not going to persuade anyone by being rude

I'm glad to be on the same side as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, etc.

 

[retired711]

I'm glad to be on the same side as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, etc.

Yes, but they're talented and you're not. They don't just yell at people the way you do. BTW, does anyone know how to ignore someone in this new format?

 

[cyrock3]

Yes, but they're talented and you're not. They don't just yell at people the way you do. BTW, does anyone know how to ignore someone in this new format?

Well, I said I wasn't going to respond anymore, but this post was begging for a response, so I'll have to give you one:

Just click on a person's username and then you will see an option that will allow you to ignore them.

 

[retired711]

Well, I said I wasn't going to respond anymore, but this post was begging for a response, so I'll have to give you one:

Just click on a person's username and then you will see an option that will allow you to ignore them.

Why thank you Cyrock! You are now officially on my ignore list. Have a nice life!!!

 

[Bdodger2]

This shows Rutgers with an endowment of $919 Million at the end of Fiscal 2014.
By the time RU announced completion of the $1B fundraising campaign, I believe we were getting pretty close to to the $1 Billion mark on the total endowment, so this number has continued to grow pretty rapidly.

Unfortunately, to place our situation in some context, the other day Harvard received a donation of 400 million dollars. A single donation that is roughly 40% of our entire endowment.

 

[Scarlet Pride]

Unfortunately, to place our situation in some context, the other day Harvard received a donation of 400 million dollars. A single donation that is roughly 40% of our entire endowment.

What context is that? In terms of fundraising Harvard and Rutgers are so out of context for comparison. And that isn't a slight against Rutgers. That donation says nothing about Rutgers fundraising or endowment.

 

[Scarlet16E]

Unfortunately, to place our situation in some context, the other day Harvard received a donation of 400 million dollars. A single donation that is roughly 40% of our entire endowment.

Really?
That says much about Harvard, but has no relationship or context for Rutgers or almost every other school on this list.