In response to a recent letter, the truth about Hampshire College is that its students (and faculty and staff) are its true wealth, but not the source of wealth.
Far from catering to the elite, the college offers financial aid to 60 percent or more of its students. To compare the tuition costs with those of a state-funded university is truly beside the point, and compared to area private colleges, the $50 million endowment is small.
By suddenly eliminating an entire entering class, admissions and development officers, and threatening layoff and cutbacks in services, the administration under its former president (Miriam Nelson resigned April 5) engaged in a brutal (and bizarre) attempt at demolition. This has mobilized national attention and concern, as well as substantial pledges toward preserving the college in its present form.
Hampshire attracts adventurous souls to its ranks, willing to work as hard or harder than most to define and realize goals. If a recent decline in enrollment produced a shortfall, it was not the first time. Despite the ill-advised spending of a previous administration, the college has not had an operating debt or failed to meet fiscal obligations.
If there is a future for Hampshire as it now exists (and I hope there is), I also hope that area residents will elect to attend the many free public lectures, performances, and exhibitions on offer, in order to assess its excellence and worth.
Judith Mann
Belchertown
The author is a professor emerita who taught at Hampshire College from 1986-2009.