Students can donate money for senior gift to benefit university
For the second year in a row, the senior gift is staging a come back after a 15-year hiatus in the closet of forgotten traditions.
A new tradition of scrapping old customs has emerged at Utah State University, from yearbooks to the Homecoming dance, said Blaire Saunders, a senior majoring in public relations, but the senior gift is one that is being revamped to fit the lifestyles of the students. Saunders is the student representative in charge of the senior gift committee.
In past years, the senior class would leave behind a walkway, such as the class of 1987, which left a walkway between the old Merrill library and the Eccles Conference Center, or some other tangible gift.
The first gift, given in 1909, was an ‘A’ on one side of Old Main tower. Now it’s on all four sides and lights up at night.
Last spring was the first year students could give a gift in 15 years. Instead of giving something solid, the senior gift will be a donation of $20.06-a reflection of their graduation year-and will be used to support departments or scholarships at USU.
In exchange for their donation, students will be able to have the names of their three biggest supporters in college printed in the graduation ceremony program.
Students can choose to thank family, friends, professors, mentors or employers.
Students who are interested can make their donation online or drop it off in Old Main Room 106 or at a senior gift booth on campus during gift drives, Saunders said. Students can specify where they want the money used, i.e. the business department or the scholarship fund.
“It goes back to updating traditions,” Saunders said. “A bench or a painting is nice to look at, but when you give money, it can help in education.”
Lee Roderick, director of the USU Annual Fund, which asks alumni for donations to support the school, said rather than buying something like a clock that will stay behind and not do much good, seniors can support the students who follow in their footsteps.
“Students at USU are more in need of scholarships than students at most campuses,” Roderick said. He said 80 percent of students don’t receive financial support from home and 70 percent work at least part- time.
“It keeps them from having educational opportunities,” he said.
Roderick said that many of the scholarships students survive on come from alumni and private donations. The Utah Legislature is not providing any funding for USU scholarships, Saunders said.
“We’re not getting any money for scholarships,” she said. “It’s a big, fat zero.”
Even though the school depends so much on its alumni for support, only 11 percent of USU’s alumni gave since 2002, according to a report issued by USU comparing the university to top schools in the United States and Utah.
In comparison, 23 percent of Brigham Young University’s alumni donated, though USU tied with the University of Utah at 11 percent.
The national average for alumni donations is 17 percent.
Private giving is the other major source of income for USU scholarships. According to the report, the school received $26.7 million through private donations in 2004.
Cali Scanlon, a senior majoring in liberal arts, said she “hadn’t really heard anything about the senior gift,” but thinks she would like to donate and remain involved with USU after graduation.
Roderick said he thinks the level of alumni involvement has been going up. Starting in February, another fundraising campaign will begin among the faculty and staff.
“We’re asking everybody to give something,” Roderick said, not just students and alumni.
-ella@cc.usu.edu