Dear President Dr. Tiefenthaler,
As proud Colorado College students and alumni, we are disappointed to see our institution’s president standing with millionaire CEOs instead of with the majority of Colorado College students, faculty, and staff who belong to America’s middle class.
Over 40 percent of us received need-based financial aid during our time at Colorado College and most of that is federal money. We lived in a city that relies heavily on federal money, from the salaries of our servicemen and women to the firefighters who saved so many houses this past summer. We are thankful to our representatives, including Colorado College alumnus Rep. Diana DeGette, whose leadership was crucial in securing money to support Colorado Springs during our time of need.
Our nation invests heavily in our college and our community, and we are the return on that investment – CC grads are the young, educated workforce that Colorado needs to keep our economy growing. We don’t understand why, by signing the “Fix The Debt” letter last week, you would put the weight of our great college behind a plan that sets a hard cap on all government spending, which could lead to massive cuts in education dollars. The Colorado College community relies on those dollars, whether in the form of financial aid for our students, health care for our aging parents, wildfire relief funds, or the safety net for the least fortunate members of our city. As someone who specialized in “labor economics and economics of the family,” you should know this as well as anybody.
Not only are you our president; you are also a professor of economics. How can you put your name on a proposal to enact “tax reform that lowers rates, raises revenues”? That’s not a serious fiscal remedy, that’s a campaign slogan.
We understand why the CEOs of Colorado’s largest corporations support this plan – they will make huge profits if Fix The Debt’s policy suggestions are adopted. You, however, are not a CEO. You are not responsible to shareholders, but to the students, staff, and faculty of Colorado College.
We urge you to put our needs ahead of corporate profits, and work with these business leaders to show them that paying their fair share benefits all of us. One of Colorado College’s core values is “encourage engagement and social responsibility at local, national, and global levels.” Please engage with your colleagues on this council and encourage socially responsible policies that will help us all.
Signed,
Chloe Benson ’09
Lizzy Stephan ’11
Ashley Mayo ’12
Ben Quam ’12
Meg Seward ’11
Alexis Johnson ’11
Gary Sorcher ’11
Britt Van ’11
Matthew Valeta ’12
Natalie Dupille ’13
Jayne Reynolds ’12
Britt Landis ’11
Rachel Hedlund ’12
Ellie Smith ’11
Pat Knecht ’13
Grace Stallings ’13
Zane Bridgers ’13
Nat Stein ’15
Alec Arellano ’11
Sam Smith ’13
“We lived in a city that relies heavily on federal money…”
Sounds like a pretty shitty city.