It’s a strange world where a University goes to war against some of its most loyal, dedicated and generous alumni, but there have been many bizarre elements about Wesleyan’s anti-fraternity campaign. As Jeff Gray outlined in a recent Wespeaks, Wesleyan has achieved the hat trick in closing all three fraternities this year even though no current fraternity member has been charged with or even accused of any offense.

The administration may have felt that its arbitrary and high-handed treatment of the University’s fraternities and the many loyal alumni who love them would be consequence-free but it now seems that the chickens are coming home to roost.

The results from the most recent Wesleyan Annual Fund campaign have been, frankly, dismal. By the University’s own admission, year-over-year class participation has fallen to the low-40%-to-high-30% range. Even in a time of growing strength in the national economy, the number of givers has fallen by almost 500. Over time the decline in contributions will affect the University’s ability to provide scholarships, improve diversity, and support new programs that rely on Wesleyan’s robust financial health.

How many of these donors withheld their contributions out of disgust with the way Wesleyan has treated the fraternities is hard to tell, but clearly hundreds of alumni are unhappy with the University about something.

This decline will have consequences even beyond the University’s immediate bottom line. Alumni participation is one of the variables used in the school’s US News & World Report ranking, which cannot fall further without compromising the University’s ability to attract top-notch students. (Some of the other NESCAC schools report participation rates of more than 60% for their annual giving.)

The decline in giving will also have a negative impact on the University’s endowment, the management of which has proven to be extremely unimpressive in recent years, especially compared to the Wesleyan’s peer schools.

The administration may have thought it was clever in decreeing that fraternities could remain on campus and then setting conditions that none could meet, but the alumni have seen through that and voted with their pocketbooks.

Scott Karsten is a member of the Class of 1974.