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From: sanjiv@hoss.unl.edu (Sanjiv K. Bhatia)
Newsgroups: comp.org.ieee,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Is ACM broke?
Keywords: ACM, renewal
Message-ID: <1990Oct08.164554.19047@hoss.unl.edu>
Date: 8 Oct 90 16:45:54 GMT
References: <1990Oct7.205143.27609@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>
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In article <1990Oct7.205143.27609@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> newman@frith.msu.edu (Tim Newman) writes:
>
>I just got my ACM membership renewal form and noticed they have
>decided that all us members will be making a donation for a
>TV program they are co-sponsoring.
>
>This strikes me as a desperate measure to raise cash, so I would
>like to find out why the ACM has resorted to it.  The only 
>explanation I can think of is that they volunteered to support
>the program without really having the financial resources to
>do so.

You are right about this one.  I crossed the amount of donation and sent in
just the regular fee.  I was actually surprised as I am a student and I did not
think they expected donations from students, because of the small amount of
money we survive on :-(.

>I don't understand why they didn't make a special appeal to
>their members for donations (either in a separate mailing or via a
>second form with a check-off box included in the membership renewal
>materials) instead of this desperate attempt to add a surtax on the 
>annual dues.

Should we start a movement to write letters to ACM to disapprove this step?

>Also, should we expect this sort of behavior to become a yearly
>event for the ACM?

Hope not.  I'll cancel my membership if they force me to pay this *donation*.

>Looking forward to comments.
>Tim Newman

Sanjiv
--
Sanjiv K. Bhatia				Department of Computer Science
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