I was asked to post the rest of the article from the Spring 1971 edition of At Cooper Union entitled “Excerpts from the Trustees’ Statements…”
I decided to include the two pages following their statement which recorded early furor over the issue of selling Green Camp. (Please see the attachment)
My brief response:
Clearly the issue of tuition is nearly half a century old and we are currently at a turning point in the schools history. Vast economic reform will and must take place.
Our role in this reform is to be those saving the school. It is clear that left unchecked the administration of the school will tear out it’s greatest foundation: our merit-based, full tuition scholarship policy. The Cooper Union exists not only to educate us on the subjects of engineering art and architecture, it also teaches us to give back through our work and our wealth. By revoking the inspirational tuition policy future students will not understand their role as independent and creative thinkers, makers and givers in the world.
We must not kid ourselves, if we, (students, alumni and faculty), don not find a proper resolution tuition will be instituted. Just as Green Camp was sold a few years after this article was written tuition could be charged a few years after our movement.
We cannot stop working towards a righteous and realistic solution to the schools future finances. I believe it is clear to all of us: the school’s administration over the course of the institutions history has not nor will be progressive enough to save our school.
I believe we must embrace our understanding of Peter Cooper’s philanthropy and his ideals while projecting our own. We need to show the great philanthropists of our epoch that the alumni, students and future students are not a group of greedy academics who take our tuition policy for granted. We must show those who can actually assist us that we as students and alumni have been motivated to do good in our work because of the ideals of The Cooper Union.
Only then can we save this great institution.
-Lou Lipson, Arch 2013
archlou@gmail.com