Students take “Enhancement” to new levels
At a school like W&L, students often have big ideas for their summer plans. With Mr. Johnson’s generous donation of 100 million dollars in 2009, these plans have been able to come to life. Past projects have included feeding starving children in underprivileged countries, introducing young girls to STEM fields, and creating nation-wide water-safety standards.
Recently, the boundaries of those funds have been tested to their limits. The Radish interviewed a group of applicants who were accused of trying to misuse these resources for various personal needs. These students argue that the term “enhancement” is too broad, and even misleading.
The first comment comes from a junior with a fraternity affiliation, stating, “I personally wanted to use the funds to fix up the hill houses. I thought it would really benefit the entire community. Like, enhance the houses a little, maybe some more stable floors and some toilet paper. The girls would love that. It’d be like a Habitat for Humanity spin-off.”
Our next comment is from a current sophomore whose dreams had just recently been crushed. “When I heard enhancement, I thought of all of the possibilities the money could be used for. A nose job, a couple tattoos, even a BBL, those things are expensive. Then, I was told those weren’t ‘legitimate uses’ of the money. I told them the Kardashians would beg to differ. This is why we have no famous hot alumni, they’re all just judges or something.”
Finally, we heard from a student who returned from a family trip to Africa. “I thought mine was a good one, but apparently enhancing the C-School with rare taxidermy didn’t go over well. I guess elephants aren’t ‘part of the aesthetic.’”
Reinstating the fund is of utmost priority, but will the scholarship committee need to widen their scope of funds-worthy ideas, or will the student body need to adjust their propositions? Only time will tell.
-AGG ‘26
The Radish 