lxxxii
2.7.08
published on 02/01/07
Class of 2007 announces gift of solar panels
Amanda Melillo 
Editor in Chief
The Class of 2007 will be hosting a kickoff party Friday, Feb. 2 to announce its selection of solar panels as the Senior Class Gift. Hudson Valley Clean Energy will be supplying several panels that altogether will be roughly the size of Ferry House’s roof.
The panels will be a 6-kilowatt photovoltaic system, a simple system that directly converts sunlight into electricity. The total gift costs around $30,000, and the Senior Class Gift co-chairs Kelly Peterman and Emily Cogswell are hoping for a 65 percent participation rate among the graduating class, which would be the highest participation in recent history if they achieve their goal.
Students submitted class gift ideas through the Development Office Web site. “A lot of ideas [submitted] were for sustainable additions to the College—there were ideas for building a bigger recycling system, or for more green in the landscape,” said Peterman. “We got the feeling that sustainability was something that people were interested in, and we also wanted to give a gift that was a grand gesture.”
One idea behind solar panels was that it could plant the seed for the College to invest more in alternative energy. “When we saw solar panels, it immediately jumped out at us. We thought that maybe if we did a modest system, this could spark alum interest. We saw it as a challenge to the College,” Peterman stated.
At a cost of $30,000, this would come to about $5 per watt. New York state offers incentives including tax exemptions to encourage residents to use renewable energy, which would reduce the overall cost of energy that will come from the solar panels.
The senior class typically raises approximately $10,000 towards their gifts, and this amount is matched by an alumni or donor. The name of the donor for the 2007 Class Gift has not yet been disclosed.
The kickoff party will be on Feb. 2 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Aula. The Senior Class Council will be providing Vassar devils for dessert, a champagne toast, and a performance by a jazz band.
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Alumnae/i posters are strongly encouraged to include their class year with their name. The maximum length for comments is approximately 100 words; longer responses should be submitted as letters to the editor to misc@vassar.edu. More information about our letters policy can be found on our Policies page.
