Staff Editorial | Senior, sophomore class gifts complement each other well

The class gift is a campus tradition which gives the graduating class a chance to give back to Vassar in one final way before they head off to the rest of their lives. In the last few years, the sophomore class has joined the senior class in giving a significant gift toward improving one specific aspect of student life.

In past years, some students have perceived several class gifts as ill-advised or unnecessary. Many students took issue with the Class of 2005’s gift to the College: the expansion of the wireless network in the library, which some thought (including this newspaper) was a job not for the senior class, but for Vassar’s Computing and Information Services. Others took issue with the Class of 2007’s gift of replacing the bell on top of Main Building, questioning its usefulness in enriching College experience.

This year, however, most students have warmly received the announced sophomore and senior class gifts. The Miscellany News would like to express its pleasure with this year’s selection of gifts that enhance students’ on-campus social experience as well as their off-campus pursuits.

The Class of 2006 gift puts forth plans to renovate the Mug, restoring much of the original design and creating a new social space. The current plan hopes to recast the Mug as a more diverse campus hot spot, open day and night. An improved Mug would do well towards providing Vassar students with more spaces to congregate and socialize, especially since convenient spots off campus are few and far between.

The Class of 2008 gift fulfills a vastly different, yet equally important, student need. By creating an internship grant, students who otherwise could not afford to work at unpaid summer internships can now do so without as great financial struggle. Vassar places great emphasis on its fieldwork and internship programs, regarding them as key learning and work experiences. Since most of these summer opportunities are unpaid and are located in expensive cities, this fund would go a long way towards providing substantial support towards the students who receive it.

Though The Miscellany News is pleased with both gifts independently, we especially appreciate the ways the gifts will contribute to different aspects of students’ lives. While the two classes’ gift committees generally do not consult each other before choosing a gift, it seems they should now on. Clearly, two complementary gifts are better than two gifts that have nothing to do with each other.

Although the College’s primary focus is academics, it also strives to create well-rounded young adults. With these class gifts, we as students are shaping the college experiences of our peers and future generations of Vassar students.

In order for these proposed gifts to become reality, students must take an active role in raising the necessary funds: both the sophomore and senior class gifts require a certain percentage of class participation in order for the matching funds to be donated.

With the appropriate philanthropy and support, class gifts can go a long way to shaping the academic and social environment of Vassar. It is of the utmost importance for future classes to carefully consider their gifts, for it will be their legacy to the College.