Last night the Class of 2002 kicked off their Senior Class Campaign by gathering Alumni Class Officers, senior leaders and President Hunter R. Rawlings III to promote this year’s senior class gift.
Seniors from various Cornell groups met with the Campaign directors to begin the celebration of class unity and fundraising that the Senior Class Campaign will embody.
The Class of 2002, like most of the recent classes, has decided to donate an undergraduate scholarship as its gift to Cornell. Senior gifts of the past were sometimes physical additions to the campus, but this year’s senior class officers have agreed that a scholarship is more needed and would benefit more students in the long run.
Khary Barnes ’02, co-President of the 2002 Alumni Class Officers, pointed out that “50 percent of our student population depends on financial aid to be here,” making scholarships vital to undergraduate enrollment.
According to Rawlings, “Cornell raises approximately $68 million a year to ensure that students from all backgrounds can attend this University to find instruction in any study.”
“As high as tuition may be, it would be higher without alumni giving,” said Kim McKenzi ’94, director of the Young Alumni Program.
The logistics of the scholarship — who will receive it, how they will be chosen and exactly how much money they will receive have yet to be determined — but the 2002 Senior Class Campaign seems to have everything else planned, according to Barnes.
“In honor of our graduating year, we are asking seniors to donate $20.02,” said Co-President Tracy Zuckerman ’02. Part of the donations will cover class dues, with $10.02 going toward the senior class gift.
However, “Participation is our primary goal,” Zuckerman noted.
The Campaign hopes to get half of the senior class to participate in fundraising, by donating as much or as little as they like and to any Cornell organization they choose.
“The goal is 50 percent participation. We want to get people to feel good about giving back to Cornell with this scholarship. Fifty years from now, someone will still be receiving it, so we will be giving something that will be a gift for a lifetime,” Zuckerman said.
With this contribution, “The Class of 2002 will give a scholarship in perpetuity to needy and deserving Cornell students for as long as the University stands,” Barnes said.
Seniors can expect to receive information in the mail over the next few weeks as the Alumni Class Officers attempt to get the word out about the senior class gift. Barnes emphasized, however, that most of the Campaign activities will be in the spring.
“Our focus is on participation and fun, so we’re going to try some new and different things to enjoy our last few months of surrealism,” said Barnes.
Archived article by Adrianne Kroepsch