Senior Charbel Barakat was selected by the officers of the Class of 2002 as the class Gift Chair at a meeting yesterday. According to Barakat, the committee has "two major functions. the first is to select among the suggestions the most feasible but also the most interesting. the second function, which I think is the most important, is to fundraise."
The committee will solicit gift ideas from the class and by the beginning of next semester a referendum will be held, allowing members of the class to choose from among four gift options, Barakat said. "The actual power lies with the class because they will decide what gift is given," he added, stressing that the committee's purpose is mainly to coordinate the selection process.
The number of members on the committee varies, according to Barakat, based on how many applicants express an interest in participating. Applicants are still being accepted.
Fundraising, which will occupy much of second semester, will be organized in concert with the office of Annual Giving, which Barakat says will allow the committee to use its phone banks and other resources: "As eager as I am to help, my expertise is limited, or rather, their's is much more significant."
Despite this assistance, Barakat hopes to "try this year to emphasize the role of seniors in recruiting among their peers." Details of the fundraising process will be clarified further once the gift is decided on. Ideas so far include a student/faculty talent show, a suggestion made by Wendy Brody, wife of University President William Brody.
The Senior Class Gift has not always been without controversy. Two years ago, the Class of 2000 broke with the tradition of donating a physical improvement to the school, instead choosing to endow a "Millennium Cruz," a social event to be held every year.
The choice sparked a petition to change it, and the gift was eventually submitted to a vote, in which the class chose instead to endow a "Millennium Week" of events to be held every year.
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