[Admittedly it’s] not an economically rational act for me to give my few shekels to mighty, multibillionaire Yale. It would be far more rational for me to keep them myself or to give them to smaller charities. But not all decisions are rational. …

There are ties that are more than rational, more than sensible. They are the mystic chords of memory to which Lincoln referred. …I'll keep giving to Yale, and with a full heart... Not everything is about reason.

[Yale was] rigorous, mean-spirited and cold. I hated it. I got severe anxiety. I was wildly mistreated for anxiety symptoms at the Yale infirmary and got severe drug reactions. Then I got colitis and lost about 30 pounds in about six weeks. I was a wreck.

But some alumni, especially those who have pursued careers in public service, have echoed the message of Stein's first column, as they said they have been reluctant to give to Yale knowing that their money could have a greater impact on other institutions.

Emily Sachs '83, financial officer for a nonprofit organization in New York, said that while she has given to Yale in the past, she does not believe her philanthropy is meaningful for the University.

"When I look back at what paltry few bucks I have given and what they can do for the University, they can do more elsewhere," she said.

Sachs said she would be more likely to give larger sums to Yale if the University kept her better informed about where donated proceeds and funds are specifically used.

…Jennifer Hansell '86, the executive director of the North East Community Center in Millerton, N.Y., said she has had mixed feelings about donating to her alma mater, especially since she took over as the head of an organization dependent on donations.

"I've always debated in my mind [whether] I should give to Yale or not," she said. "But I feel now that my money is better given to other places. Yale is never going to care that much about the pennies I give."

Hansell said that though she maintains this general attitude about alumni giving, she does give to specific Yale groups she cares about, such as Dwight Hall and the Maya Lin Women's Fund. She said she would rather give her money to shelters for battered women or to community centers than to Ivy League institutions.

"I give my money to small local organizations instead," she said. "Places like Harvard and Yale can live forever on their endowments. That's probably not totally true, but it certainly feels that way."

Yet no sooner had the gift to the school of music been announced than The Yale Daily News published a series of articles in which students questioned whether so much money for music was warranted at a time of great need around the world, including the parts of northern Pakistan and Kashmir recently devastated by a major earthquake. The donors "could have given $20 million to the school of music," one student was quoted as saying, "and still helped a lot of students with their tuition while giving $80 million to other causes."