Financial impact of a pro-choice club

Recently, there has been much debate surrounding efforts to convince CSB+SJU administrators to officially recognize a reproductive freedom club on our campuses.

As someone who cares deeply about the ability of our institutions to offer a liberal arts education, I have serious concerns about the collateral damage that could be inflicted on certain academic departments if the institutions decide to authorize the recognition of such a club on our campuses.

To preface these concerns, I think it is important for people to understand how institutions like CSB+SJU are funded. While much funding comes from tuition paid by students like us, a large amount also comes from donations given by alumni, members of the Common Boards of Trustees and other parties. Even though many donors have given generously to CSB+SJU over the years, the inescapable truth is that colleges across the country are facing declining enrollment and increasing financial difficulties. As a result, many are having to undertake prioritization processes; these processes often result in the elimination of majors, minors and even entire departments that aren’t financially sustainable.

CSB+SJU are in the midst of such the Academic Prioritization Plan (APP) process right now, and as many as seventeen departments (including music) could be affected in some way. Many of you know that I study organ here at SJU. While I am not an organ performance major, I know for a fact that the organ and liturgical music department only has three undergraduate majors. With enrollment that low, it goes without saying that it would be tantalizingly easy for university officials to justify eliminating the organ performance and liturgical music majors.

That said, our graduate and non-major enrollment does provide some breathing room; it may be enough to convince university officials to retain the option of offering organ lessons on a non-major basis. However, our relatively small enrollment means that the liturgical music and organ department could be vulnerable to complete elimination if funding from students and donations were to fall significantly below the levels taken into account during the prioritization process.

This brings me to the issue of donors and the abortion debate. As Catholic institutions, CSB+SJU have a responsibility to project an image of supporting and upholding Catholic social teaching (CST); this includes refusing to recognize or endorse views that are at odds with said teachings. While our campus ministry organizations and institutions do try to uphold CST in numerous ways, the Catholic Church’s unequivocal stance against abortion means that many faithful Catholics prioritize the issue of abortion and overlook all other aspects of CST when considering “how Catholic” a college is.

If CSB+SJU were to recognize the existence of a campus club that explicitly advocates for free access to abortion, my fear is that many faithful Catholics would view the decision to do so as an endorsement of the practice. At the very least, such recognition would be viewed as a failure to put down the club’s views and correct those promoting it.

As a result, faithful Catholics with the financial means to donate generously would likely be less inclined to do so, something that is perfectly justified in the eyes of many Catholics. As someone who knows a thing or two about university finances, I can almost guarantee that affording official recognition to a reproductive freedom club will cause at least a couple members of the Common Boards of Trustees to resign in protest.

Many donate large amounts annually to our institutions. If they were to leave the boards, they would also likely stop donating. Were they to stop donating after the Academic Prioritization Program prioritization process had been completed, CSB+SJU could stand to lose tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in operational funding that potentially wouldn’t have been accounted for when administrators were finalizing the changes to be made for the Academic Prioritization Plan process.

And that doesn’t even take into account lost donations from alumni, Catholic organizations or the Diocese of St. Cloud. If CSB+SJU were to take a significant financial hit because of lost donations over the decision to recognize a reproductive freedom club, additional spending cuts on top of those imposed by the Academic Prioritization Plan process might be necessary.

The spending that administrators would understandably examine first would be that which goes toward the smallest academic programs. This means that even if by some miracle of God the organ performance and liturgical music majors survive prioritization, the small size of the organ department means that we could potentially be first on the chopping block if further cuts needed to be made.

The organ department is my entire reason for being here, even though I’m a political science major. There are thousands of colleges with excellent political science departments, but the organ department is what drew me here. If the organ performance and/or liturgical music majors were to be eliminated, the organ department would be reduced to a shadow of its former self because it would be much more difficult to maintain our robust series of events on campus.

But worse than that, if the organ department were to be eliminated altogether, my whole reason for being here would be thrown out the window. I might have to go somewhere else. I don’t want that to happen, because there is so much about this place that I love. I’m not asking for those supporting the club’s proposed recognition to back down from fighting for recognition and fighting for reproductive freedom.

I just want them to think about the effects that gaining official club recognition might have on the willingness of faithful Catholics with deep pockets to donate to our institutions. There are students here who have stayed out of the public abortion debate and who have unusual and rare interests they get to pursue at CSB+SJU. They have done nothing to provoke either side of the debate, but the blow of cuts will fall hardest on them if CSB+SJU lose wealthy donors due to the recognition of a reproductive freedom club.

They will have to sacrifice the ability to pursue their unusual passions here, and their student experience will be negatively affected as a result. It will be a sad day if the CSB and SJU organ department—my entire reason for being here—gets reduced in size or eliminated as part of the Academic Prioritization process.

But it will be a tragedy for the Catholic Church if it must be eliminated, post-prioritization, due to lost donations and financial difficulties caused by our institutions’ willingness to recognize a reproductive freedom club. For that reason, it is with great reluctance that I must oppose the prospect of a reproductive freedom club being recognized at CSB+SJU.