Should people support higher-education institutions like Harvard University with billion-dollar endowments?

Randy Cohen, author of The Ethicist column in The New York Times Magazine, says donors should split their giving.

Given the wealth disparity between Harvard and other colleges, particularly ones that primarily serve poor and minority students, Mr. Cohen recommends that Americans who are inclined to make a contribution to Harvard should give half of their donation to it and the rest to less well-off institutions.

“We’ll experiment with the proportions to find the sweet spot that aids the most students while discouraging the fewest donors,” he writes. “This reform need not be written into law. It should be accepted voluntarily by every donor and embraced by every university with a substantial endowment and a concern for an egalitarian society.”

Several readers disagreed in comments posted on the magazine’s Web site.

One of them, who said he or she was a Harvard senior, said The Ethicist’s suggestion would hurt Harvard’s ability to provide financial aid to low- or moderate-income students.

Another commenter made a more libertarian argument: “It makes no sense to regulate how private individuals interact with private educational entities.”

What do you think?