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Appalachian senior gift returns after decade-long hiatus |
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Tuesday, 07 November 2006 |
by JULIA HARR
News Reporter
Appalachian State University has not seen a gift from its senior classes in a decade, but that is about to change.
For the first time in 10 years, the senior class will present a donation to the university.
“We would like to bridge the gap between being a student and being an
alumni,” Assistant Director of Appalachian Funding and higher education
graduate student J. Ethan Dodson said.
Dodson heads a committee of four members that will solicit donations from the senior class and their parents.
The committee would like to see seniors give back because they want to, not because they feel obligated to.
One tactic that will possibly be used is a “parking ticket” promotion.
The idea is to donate the amount of one parking ticket, which is $30.
The committee also hopes either the university or a well-known alumnus will contribute to the fund as well.
“I believe funds in the past have been matched; I would like to see that again.” Dodson said.
Money was raised for previous gifts by method of multi-year pledging.
Seniors would promise to give $10 the first year after graduation, $20
the next year, and so on until they had contributed $150 to the
university.
All of the money raised during the early ‘90s was donated toward the building of a new library.
The old library consistently ranked at the bottom in evaluations and
desperately needed to be updated; the classes managed to raise more
than $30,000 for the cause, Dodson said.
“[The senior gift] will benefit Appalachian in a lot of ways,” Dodson
said. “Participation of alumni is one thing U.S. News and World Report
takes into consideration. This would boost our ranking.”
The committee has not yet decided what the gift for 2007 will be, but they do have a few ideas.
One thought is to give a donation to the Appalachian Access program, a need-based scholarship fund.
Another idea is to start a senior class scholarship fund.
“I think it would be nice to spruce up parks around campus like Jimmy
Smith [Park],” Jameson M. Marks, a senior political science major,
said. “Maybe putting a gazebo there would make it a place people would
want to go study or hang out.”
While some seniors are still unaware there is a senior gift this year, many back the idea of one.
“I like the idea in general of giving to the community,” Marks said.
“This is our chance to restart a tradition and leave our mark on
Appalachian.”
The senior gift committee meets Sundays at 8 p.m. in Belk Library & Information Commons and is open to new members.
“This is a very exciting program that will recognize seniors with what
they have accomplished and what they will accomplish,” Dodson said.
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