It turns out that jokes about the economic crisis and the increased financial needs of students just aren’t funny when they appear in a fund-raising letter from your alma mater.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert may make snarking about current events look easy, but Framingham State College learned a painful lesson in misguided humor when it attempted to make light of the tanking economy and credit crunch in a recent appeal for donations from 6,000 younger alumni who had not previously given to the college.

“With the recent economic downturn and loan crisis, it has become even more important for Framingham State College to receive your support. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” the letter reads. It goes on to say: “No matter the amount, every gift counts. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah …”

All told, the letter featured 137 “blah”s.

Young alumni told The MetroWest Daily News, a local newspaper, that they were insulted by the letter. “It just doesn’t seem like something from a legitimate university,” one 2003 graduate said.

Christopher Hendry, Framingham State’s vice president for college advancement, wrote a letter of apology that called the blah-blah-blah solicitation a “misguided and embarrassing attempt to connect with alumni in a different way.”

The original letter wasn’t a complete failure, however. According to the newspaper, about 40 alumni who received it donated a total of about $2,000. —Kathryn Masterson