Lucye Rafferty/The Hoya With the opening of the Southwest Quadrangle, Canal Road will become one of the main entrances to campus. It will be adorned by an engraved sign donated by the class of ’03.
Over 50 percent of the class of 2003 has donated to the Senior Class Gift Committee, according to a recent press release by committee co-chairs Sapna Vir (MSB ’03) and Tim Sullivan (COL ’03). This marks a jump of over 35 percent since March 7, and the committee is now two-thirds of the way to its goal of 75 percent participation, which would be a five percent increase over the class of 2002’s record-setting 70 percent. Sullivan is a staff writer for THE HOYA.
Vir estimates that the committee has raised about $15,500.The majority of the money collected will go toward a “Welcome to Georgetown” sign on the Canal Road entrance. The committee believes that “when the Southwest Quadrangle opens in the fall, the Canal Road entrance will be the primary entrance to the university. The university is about to undergo major changes in its campus layout, and with your support, our class can leave its mark on the `new Georgetown,'” according to the committee Web site. Vir said the university is also trying to make a left turn from Canal Road into the back of the university, making the entrance more accessible, and a need for a “new front gates” at this entrance.
The senior class voted on several possible gifts, including the conversion of the grassy area across from the Reiss building into a gathering place or putting the university seal in Red Square.
The committee, which consists of nearly 40 seniors, is currently working with the university architect to determine the type of sign. Although they had considered some sort of arch, the logistics were too complicated, and at present the planners believe that the sign will be on a low, gray, stone wall at the back entrance to the university, but may change as they do not yet have a final budget. Vir estimates that the sign will “hopefully be up by the end of next year.”
However, not all of the money raised will finance the sign. Seniors have the option of earmarking their donations for financial aid, sports programs or specific clubs, depending on their preference.
“This way people can give back whatever way they choose. No matter what there must be something that seniors enjoy here,” Vir said.
Donating to financial aid has always been an option for seniors, but donating to specific groups has only become an option in the past few years.
Those who have donated a minimum of $10 thus far have been able to participate in several seniors-only events, including a barbeque at the Observatory before Easter Break, a night at Sole on the waterfront earlier in the semester and a special reception last night in Riggs Library, hosted by University President John J. DeGioia.
Additionally, a donation of $20.03 gets seniors a free shirt, above $35 gets them a T-shirt and mug and $100 or more gets them a one-year membership in Presidential Counselor Associates, a group that holds various networking events for alumni.
“The incentives to give this year are significant,” Vir said, “particularly the PCA, which gives students the opportunity to network with other young alumni once they graduate.”
Those who have not yet donated can do so in Red Square until the end of the school year. The rain site is in the Leavey Center.
