Earlier this year, news reports about Mt. St. Mary's President Simon Newman's controversial Freshmen retention program surfaced. The Mountain Echo reported that President Newman had developed a plan to cull freshmen who, based on a survey, were determined to be at-risk for dropping out. Since the initial report came out, several versions of the story have been floating around. President Newman's supporters have said that the retention program was misrepresented, while faculty and student reporters involved with breaking the story have stood behind their claims.

As alumni, we are concerned about the direction our school is heading. But above all, we are concerned about the students currently attending MSM. We have created this fundraiser to raise money for a donation to the Mount that will be earmarked to help Learning Services hire tutors and provide other support to struggling students.