You might be surprised what colleges do with your donated money. For example, the author of Rufus McCoy and Profiteers in the Ivory Tower commented on a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education: "State Supreme Court Upholds UConn's Right to Keep Donor List Secret." The truth is universities spend fortunes-donors' money-in the courts to keep some names of donors secret.

Politicians and business leaders aren't about to change this exception to the open records law, because they created it, and they, too, drink heartily from the hundreds of millions of state taxpayer dollars that flow annually to all state universities.

Here's how it works: Politicians' and ally business-leader's gambit is to make a donation to University Gifts and Endowments "unrestricted funds"-the "booze account"-in exchange for selling their goods and services to State University. A kickback scheme-done with a handshake. State University's public announcement, the only part done in the open, declares the ally business leader the "competent low-bidder" to provide goods and services to State University. The ally business-leader donor gets the contract, which includes charging a premium for his goods and services. Administrators get cash from the "booze account" to do with as they please. Everybody in-the-know is happy.

Confidentiality is essential. No outsider can access donor names, if the donor chooses to be anonymous. In the glossy University Gifts and Endowments pubic relations brochures, ally business-leader donors are listed as anonymous. Over 98% of the donors are listed by name-normal people are proud of their donations-2% are anonymous. They, most of the 2%, do the sweetheart deals with State University. The public relations administrators argue that some donors would not make contributions if their names were made public.

Half-truths are the mother's milk of administrators. Some, a very few donors, don't want their names made public to avoid being pestered by every charity in existence. The majority of anonymous donors are State University business-leaders. Secrecy. It's for your own good.

Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, would only make you unhappy.