By WC Senior Andrey Perez
Washington College should approach itself as a failing business, and changes must be made for its recovery. The school needs to decide between two simple options: decrease costs or make genuine efforts to radically increase revenue, meaning, grow the student body. It is evident from the actions of the leadership in the last 4 years that they have settled with reducing costs. One would think that the school would consider investing in departments and activities that would offer a return on investment, such as athletics and business-driven alumni events. Washington College has one of the most talented and successful alumni populations, with many located in the Baltimore-D.C. area. Shouldn’t the school make efforts to create opportunities and events that encourage more alumni involvement and increase the chance of donations? Why not launch year-round public fundraising campaigns to fund an athlete-only gym, which would enhance the quality and quantity of athletic teams? These seem like fundamental priorities that should be obvious.
While it’s true that liberal arts schools have struggled to maintain enrollment since COVID-19, other schools like Swarthmore and Ursinus College have kept their enrollment steady for the last five years. Why don’t we look at what those schools have done and adopt similar strategies? A good place to start would be comparing the social media presence of our school with those of similar institutions. The lack of quality content on the school’s Instagram posts and ads is embarrassing. Moreover, there are no efforts to make athletics more engaging or their facilities more attractive.
What saddens me is that there is potential for this school to return to its former greatness, for sports teams to succeed and for weekends to be something to look forward to. I want to clarify that this school’s faculty and staff are extremely qualified, and this school has been very good to me, but its progress is hindered by an out-of-touch and directionless administration. It is a reality that when you see great financial benefits from the College, you will also see blame coming your way when things go wrong under your watch. I hope there is a strategy for making this College the staple of liberal arts education that it was in the 80s and 90s.