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Second opinion donation question (spoilers i guess)

posted 8 years ago by CrbCrtx
7 replies | jump to latest

the Dean of Columbia University asks for a $50,000 donation from Carmela and when she tells tony, he says something like 'those gangsters are holding her hostage'. My question is, I guess - what happens if Carmela doesn't pay ? How would Meadow be affected by this? Would the dean make it harder for her to get good grades in school or even throw her out of the school? Make it harder for her to get good recommendations for her further schooling? How is she a hostage considering that she's already enrolled? That dean was so sleazy, reminded me of one of those guys who try to get you to invest money in some shady sounding scheme by promising you the moon. And why the hell didn't Tony take that dean for a ride? He beat the hell out of an assemblyman with no repercussions (legal or otherwise) whatsoever. He should have sent Sil to talk to him :D

[–] NewbombTurk182 8 years ago

The dean showed Carmela a picture of the planned student center and said that if she gave $50,000 she would have her name engraved on a wall.

[–] CrbCrtx 8 years ago

Yeah I know that was the incentive for Carmela to pay, but I was wondering what would happen to Meadow if Carmela refused to pay.Tony implied that she's held 'hostage' by the Dean and I wondered what that means.

[–] sandman81 8 years ago

If I'm not mistake this was in Season 2, when Meadow was still in high school and hadn't picked a school yet. And it was the Dean from Georgetown. Carmela really wanted Meadow to get in there, but schools like that have very tough admission standards and consider more things than just grades. A large donation from a family would probably give most students a major bump up the list. I'm guessing they didn't make the donation, and Meadow didn't go to school there.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] insomniacmovie 8 years ago

I don't think that there would have been any repercussions, because I'm sure that universities get turned down for donations all the time (I have the number stored from my alma mater, and don't answer the phone anymore....I'm proud of my university, and want to help them out, but cash is a little tight right now, and they'll have to get by without my $100 this year).

As far as bigger donors go, appealing to their ego is usually how they harpoon whales. Having your name engraved on a plaque or a sidewalk appeals to a lot of people who have more money than common sense. Interestingly, there was an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry and Ted Danson both funded two additional wings of a hospital,but Ted got more props for doing so anonymously, and Larry tried to get his name taken off.

Ironically, someone like Tony should have been jumping at the chance to make a legitimate donation to legitimize his business, and cheat on his taxes. Maybe he knew that's how they got Al Capone.

[–] CrbCrtx 8 years ago

Ironically, someone like Tony should have been jumping at the chance to make a legitimate donation to legitimize his business, and cheat on his taxes. Maybe he knew that's how they got Al Capone.

Yeah, It's interesting how Tony was so averse to any kind of fame whatsoever. Even people in his city didn't always know who he was. Which I thought was weird because his picture is often in the paper. Maybe that's why he didn't want his name out there in any way. Anyway, I guess when he said ' those pricks are holding her hostage' , he was just talking smack or he was talking out of his prejudices. It always struck me as an odd thing to say. Maybe tony always expected the worst from people, like aj said once.

[–] Sandman81 (1501) 3 years ago

Tony had some old-school mentality when it came to drawing attention to himself. Just like the previous generations, Tony didn't like it when guys did things that would draw extra attention to themselves (like Chris working on movies). Aside from the big house and nice cars Tony didn't spend money in ways that drew attention, and I have a feeling Carmella pressured him into those things. His "consultant" job would cover those. But now not only would he have to justify paying for his daughter to go to Georgetown, but he would have to justify making such a large donation, and he would definitely claim it on his tax forms.