Conn’s Campaign Creates Boundaries Rather Than Defying Them

Photo courtesy of Connecticut College

Anyone who has perused the Connecticut College website recently may have noticed the new “Defy Boundaries” button at the top of the screen, which leads to an interactive page centered around the Defy Boundaries campaign. Viewers are met with Conn’s “message to the status quo” in bold white letters: “We’re planning to upend you.” This somewhat aggressive message is just the beginning; Conn’s new marketing strategy is full of bold, assertive, and borderline hostile rhetoric. Scroll down to read, “Our founding was an act of defiance in the name of possibility. We’ve been at it ever since, doing things our own way. And doing them better.” This alludes to the fact that Conn was founded to provide women in Connecticut with a prestigious higher education after Wesleyan University stopped admitting women. The sharp line, “And doing them better,” might be an insult toward Wesleyan, or other colleges in general. Either way, it implies a sense of hierarchy and evokes overcompetitiveness. Throughout the website, Conn uses vague language to exploit alumni and parents’ lack of awareness about the College’s real issues and persuade them to donate.

The all-caps line “BECAUSE WE’RE CONN,” an aggressive answer to a question that has not been asked, appears several times on the new Defy Boundaries page. Realistically, it should be preceded by “Why do we prioritize fundraising for non-essential areas of the College over the wellbeing of our students?” or “Why do we lack financial transparency?” The website claims that Conn’s priorities are “removing barriers, challenging assumptions, and refusing limitations.” This hazy language hides the College’s true priorities reflected in the College’s actions. Students would like to see Conn prioritize the Division of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, residential facilities, dining services, and overall accessibility on campus. However, the Defy Boundaries website is aimed toward potential donors, which typically excludes current Conn students. This vague list of values may be enough to convince Conn alumni and parents to donate since they are not as acutely aware of the disconnect between Conn’s rhetoric and its actions.

The website then includes sections dedicated to major aspects of the College. “Athletics” is first, followed by “Career Preparation,” “Financial Strength,” “Student Life,” and lastly, “Teaching and Learning.” First and foremost, colleges are educational institutions. If this is true, then why is “Teaching and Learning” last? Athletics is intentionally first because Conn knows that many athletes reflect on their college experience fondly due to their heightened sense of camaraderie and school spirit, increasing their likelihood of donating. Conn has already heavily funded its athletic program, a division of the College which, arguably, is not in as desperate need as other areas in the wake of recent protests concerning a desperate lack of DIEI funding. Interestingly, on the website menu, “Teaching and Learning” is first rather than last, making it easy to navigate to.

“Shatter expectations. Don’t mess with a Camel,” the athletics page states. The campaign goals include expanding the athletic center, “recruit[ing], support[ing] and retain[ing] the finest coaches,” and providing more funding for “equipment, team travel, recruiting and more.” Colleges (and sports) are inevitably competitive; Conn is a business that aims to outperform its competitors. “We see the scoreboard, and we see how much everything that helps Camels win matters,” the website reads. This line implicitly compares the act of donation with a competitive game in order to convince former Conn athletes, or parents of Conn athletes, to donate.

After athletics comes the “Career Preparation” section. Conn is proud of its Hale Center for Career Development (named after multimillion donors Karen and Rob Hale). The page’s title reads “Rethink everything.” This is an unfitting slogan for a career program. The website falsely states that 3,000 dollars is “available to students who, having completed the career course, are seeking career-related internships or research opportunities,” ignoring the other necessary steps to even apply for the funds. Many students do not even bother completing all of the steps (ACEs) because they are tedious and students would rather dedicate energy to finding jobs.

Its next page, “Financial Strength,” boasts that the average student debt burden of the Class of 2021 is 22,740 dollars. Is that a number to be proud of? The College transitions from boasting its $3,000 stipend to each student while simultaneously trapping students with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Part of the Hale family’s 30-million dollar donation to Conn was directed to the Hale Scholarship Initiative. “When fully realized, the Hale Initiative will add $20 million to the endowment for scholarship and financial aid, significantly advancing the College’s commitment to access and attracting the nation’s top students, including BIPOC and first-generation students, as well as those from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds,” the website reads. Generous scholarship packages may be a way to attract students of all backgrounds, but Conn does not do enough to support students once they arrive on campus. And if those prospective students learned the reality of Conn’s deceit, they would turn away. In reality, the government determines how much financial aid students qualify for, and Conn’s Office of Admissions gives out merit scholarships (the highest scholarship does not even cover half of Conn’s yearly tuition). The statement that Conn meets 100% of a student’s demonstrated need is misleading because the FAFSA really determines how much a student “needs” (the aid is often insufficient).

The “Student Life” section of the website emphasizes the importance of learning outside of the classroom and “impassioned debates.” Conn may be using protest rhetoric in their campaign to attract more donors. At the bottom of every page, the quote “Every gift of every size helps Conn tear down another barrier” appears. The notions of removing barriers, challenging the status quo, and “Defying Boundaries” are prominent on the new website. Conn’s marketing team could be leaning into this rhetoric to appear radical and gain credibility for their campaign.

23% of the Class of 2025 are domestic students of color. This is not a statistic of pride. According to the U.S. News & World Report 2022-2023 list of “Liberal Arts Colleges Ranked by Ethnic Diversity,” Conn holds the lowest diversity index of all the NESCACs. While Conn makes efforts to increase diversity, many may not even consider a school with BIPOC students making up less than a quarter of the student population.

The renovation of Crozier-Williams is first on the list of campaign goals under “Student Life.” While the project is exciting, it is not as essential as the renovation of Harris Refectory, which has been postponed due to the Cro project. The Harris employees express frustration, as they struggle to meet the needs of the masses of hungry students every day with underperforming equipment and a subpar work environment. Unsurprisingly, “Dining Hall and Student Residences” is at the bottom of the campaign goals list. “It is easy to take for granted the lasting impact that shared experiences over meals and in residence halls can have on students,” the blurb reads. Conn admits that they do not prioritize dining and residences in their campaign; they attempt to appeal to the emotions and nostalgia of donors who likely have no desire to give to these essential elements of daily campus life. The “Teaching and Learning” page claims, “93 percent of incoming students are drawn to Conn because of the Connections curriculum” with no indication of where the statistic comes from.

Concerns about financial transparency are rising. The Defy Boundaries website’s list of donation options is misleading. On the “Give” page, the first area of support to which people can donate is the “Area of Greatest Need.” Who determines the “Area of Greatest Need”? Certainly not Conn students, faculty, or staff. In November of 2021, The College Voice surveyed students for their “Areas of Greatest Need” and found that housing, counseling, sexual violence prevention, and food were the most common responses. Ironically, residential and dining services are not even on the list of areas to which people can donate; the broad “Student Life” category is the closest. To donate to those vital services, one has to select “Other” and type in the area themselves. This could partly explain why money is going toward non-essential areas, like building a new entrance sign, while those in desperate need are neglected. Athletics is one of the main areas to which people can donate, yet arts are nowhere on the list.

While Conn’s new marketing scheme may be effective in collecting donations, it fails to persuade donors to give to the true areas of greatest need. The Defy Boundaries campaign makes it easy to give to Conn’s performative sources of pride and almost impossible to give to students’ desperate needs.