The senior class will host senior night on Wednesday starting at 9 p.m. in the Graduate Lounge.
The 21-plus event will reveal the gift from the class of 2010 to the University of Massachusetts, which students had the opportunity to vote on from Oct. 26 until yesterday in the lobbies of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library and Marcus Hall. As of press time, the Senior Campaign Committee said it received some 1,700 votes.
Senior night will feature beer, music and free Class of 2010 t-shirts for the first 100 seniors who arrive.
There will be a raffle with the chance to win a UMass sweatshirt, and students will also have the opportunity to share their fondest memory of their time at the University for the class of 2010 video diary.
The three options for the class gift include a potential multimedia and music center at the library, which the Campaign’s website describes as “designed to foster collaboration,” and a “state-of-the-art multimedia facility.” The proposed center would be complete with workstations and production studios where students, faculty and staff will be able to create websites with multimedia components, including animation, videos and graphics to enhance projects, create their own soundtracks and borrow multimedia equipment, among other things.
The center will be located on the north side of the third floor of the library, and, if the class chooses to support the center, will be adorned with a plaque commemorating the class of 2010’s contribution.
Another option is a proposed class of 2010 study abroad scholarship. The International Programs Office has agreed to match whatever amount the class of 2010 would provide for a study abroad scholarship that, according to the Campaign’s site, would pay for round-trip airfare or awards of between $1,000 and $2,000 that would cover the difference between studying abroad and paying tuition and fees at UMass for a semester.
A third option is a Revolving Green Fund. The fund would help finance energy conservation and reduction initiatives around campus over time. The fund would be created by an initial stipend, and then a committee of students, faculty and staff would be chosen to oversee the fund and determine what projects will benefit from it. The fund aims to reduce the school’s overall expenditures through finding ways to lower energy expenses and, through those savings, finance more projects.
The savings produced by projects within the fund will continue to be put back into the green fund until the initial investment in the fund is repaid, allowing the fund to continue to grow and produce more savings.
The Senior Campaign Committee started in 1917. According to the Campaign’s mission statement, it began “as a way for graduating students to say thank you for the experiences and opportunities that UMass Amherst provided them, by presenting a gift to the University.”
According to Stephanie Flaherty, head of the Senior Campaign Committee, this year’s goal is for the class to pledge $40,000 towards whichever package it chooses. The class of 2009 pledged more than $37,000 to its gift, a juice bar and lounge in the new Recreation Center.
Sam Butterfield can be reached at [email protected]
