• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

To the class of 2003, prospects of convenient communication after graduation have a greater appeal than images of UCLA students sipping wine in Ackerman Union.

This year, seniors who are on the verge of graduation voted to make lifetime e-mail service for UCLA students the official class gift of 2003.

Other potential gifts on the ballot included funding for an on-campus pub in Ackerman Union, a library for UCLA Child Care Services and preservation for old books at the UCLA library.

The e-mail service – the only gift on the ballot which would still benefit students even after graduation – will enable Bruins to retain their current UCLA e-mail address after commencement.

The current system terminates the e-mail addresses after graduation.

Fourth-year psychology student Katherine Gallagher, who is part of the UCLA Fund’s Class of 2003 Gift Volunteer Committee, is happy with the class’s decision to have a lifetime e-mail system.

“The e-mail and the pub were the two competing class gifts,” she said. “But the e-mail is going to be very useful in the future for future Bruins. ... It’s going to help people stay connected.”

The UCLA Fund is the official organization that oversees the senior class gift project, a responsibility which includes everything from narrowing down senior suggestions to creating a volunteer committee.

The volunteer committee helped promote class gift voting by tabling at various senior events, including ice cream and In-n-Out parties.

Gallagher is also pleased with the vast amount of seniors who voted for the gift this year. According to the UCLA Fund, this year’s participation of over 3,000 seniors was record-breaking.

The sky-high number of seniors who participated in the class gift decision is also significant because it means that one of the committee’s goals – senior awareness – was met, Gallagher said.

“Considering how big our school is, those numbers are amazing. I’m actually very proud,” she said.

Gift options were determined by input from the senior class, the volunteer committee and the university, according to the UCLA Fund.

The pool of possible gift ideas was then condensed onto the ballot based on the number of seniors who suggested the same idea and the feasibility of the implementation, according to the UCLA Fund.

On April 1, the UCLA Fund and the volunteer committee finalized the ballot, and the actual voting for the potential class gift began online.

Reactions to the final class gift decision varies among the UCLA student community. Fourth-year political science student Connie Nguyen said she would have voted for funding the pub instead of the e-mail service.

“It seems like a good place to relax on campus,” she said. “The e-mail sounds interesting, too, but we’re talking about the college demography here: e-mail and alcohol – let’s be realistic here,” she said.

Though the majority of seniors may be pleased with the lifetime e-mail system, the selection comes at a cost to some of the other potential gifts on the ballot.

The UCLA Child Care Center was dependent on class gift funds to launch the family library, which would provide books on child development, said Gay Macdonald, executive director of UCLA Child Care Services.

“We were really hoping this would be the beginning – the seed money – for the project,” Macdonald said.

Though the center will not be receiving class gift funds this year, Macdonald is still hopeful that funding for the project could show up next year – through one means or another.

“Since they have the e-mail system now, I’ll just e-mail them to ask if they want to make donations to contribute to the family library,” Macdonald said.

To the UCLA Fund, the next item on the agenda is actually getting senior donations to support the gift.

Though the Fund is hoping to raise $30,000 to pay for the e-mail system, senior participation is once again the main focus. The UCLA Fund suggests a $20.03 donation from each senior to commemorate the year.