OUR VIEW: Senior gift should benefit students
Years down the road when a student looks up at the sign near the 400 North pedestrian tunnel and sees “Provided by the generosity of Class of 2008,” he or she probably won’t think much about it.
Basically, this year’s senior gift will be the boxer shorts or tank tops of campus philanthropy – useful, but not too showy or impressive. We’re not saying there’s anything wrong with just being useful. Being the ones who gave boxer shorts is better than being the ones to give the gaudy snowman sweater or macrame owl wall hanger.
Useful is better than corny or weird any day. And the sign will be useful. Identifying the boundaries of campus helps students know where to ditch their beer bottles, put out their cigarettes and get in that collegiate mindset before stepping foot on campus.
But for a minimum of $20.08 – which is just plain witty, props for being clever and we bet the class of 2000 is glad they saved the eight cents – we should be able to get something that really makes a lasting impact on campus. Going along with the sign theme, maybe a Las-Vegas-style neon monstrosity. Adapt the scantily Vegas cowgirl with the movable leg to the Cache Valley ethic – some rubber boots and three layers of winter clothing. It doesn’t matter, as long as you could see the thing from space.
Although a neon sign isn’t probably the right thing to leave if the Class of 2008 wants to leave a lasting impression, maybe making a bigger impact with the senior gift isn’t a bad idea.
Like we said, the sign is an adequate, useful gift – boxers – but we’d like to see something done that will better serve students.
How about putting that money toward improving the rarely used and nearly dilapidated amphitheater? With moderate funding, the amphitheater could be a great place to have more shows on campus. That would be something we could be proud to slap a Class of 2008 stamp on.
What about dumping the money into upgrading some of the computer labs on campus? Improving technology and software at labs on campus would be an impressive gift.
There used to be a movies shown in the TSC Auditorium. We could bring that back.
How about a fry sauce statue to go with the fry one by the BNR building? That would make sense, right?
Whatever the senior gift, we want it to really add to the quality of student life. A sign doesn’t do much to advance that cause, though it does serve a useful purpose, as USU is practically unmarked from that approach. So while we can keep hoping for a bigger, more student-friendly senior gift, the sign will have to be the rallying point, though we hope the extra eight cents doesn’t break the bank.