Alumnot

I just got a phonecall from the Purdue Alumni Center (I presume that's what **4-9259 matches up with) that went like this:

1- "Hello, Ryan ... [insert one of the worst attempts to say my last name I've ever heard]?"
2- She asked me if my permanent address was still what it is.
3- She asked if I wanted Purdue Alumni letters to go to my IUPUI e-mail account. I said, "No, send them to my Purdue one."
4- She asked if I had a student alumni e-mail account yet.
5- I told her I'd held off because I still had my Purdue e-mail as a student.
6- She asked if I wanted to upgrade.
7- I told her, "No, I'm still a student at Purdue."
8- She asked why I was in their records system.
9- I explained I had graduated from Purdue as an undergrad, but that I was still at Purdue in the capacity of a graduate student via IUSM's relationship with Purdue University.
10- She laughed (sounded pretty embarassed, dunno why) and told me, "I'm sorry, we shouldn't have called you."

I thought that last bit was pretty funny. Shouldn't have called? I don't see why not -- I am an alumnus, even if I'm also still at Purdue as a (graduate) student (and am really an IUSM medical student). But it was then that I remembered how she'd sounded like a telemarketer at the very beginning of the phonecall and how I could have sworn I had heard other phones and people talking busily in the background ...

... she was trying to get some cash out of me! lol For those who might be confused, Purdue gets over 50% of its money from alumni donations. When I say "its money," I mean everything -- scholarships, fees, everything. The state of Indiana cut back funding and they account for less than 20% of the school's income now iirc. But yeah, 51% I believe is the precise figure the Exponent (Purdue's student newspaper) quoted recently for how much money comes out of alumni's pockets. And here's the funny part -- they have a strict policy against trying to get money out of current students. The moment you graduate, BAM, you're on their telemarketing radar. But so long as you're still a student, they don't harass you. That was what she meant by "Oh, we really shouldn't have called you." Because they don't expect me to donate when I'm still paying my way through school.

But what's funny about it is the timing: they call me on March 2, approximately 10 months after I graduated. They basically decided, "We'll give him 10 months to find a job, settle in, start paying the bills, and then call him and ask for some of his disposable income." lol