In just a short time, another senior class will be saying goodbye to Ohio State. Though they might be leaving the school they have grown to love during the past four, five or maybe six years, they have a chance to leave a lasting legacy as well.
The Student Campaign Advisory Board is asking graduating seniors to donate $20.06 in celebration of their commencement year, according to the Give To OSU Web site. This year’s class gift will go toward replacing the benches on the Oval. The project was voted for by undergraduate students in conjunction with homecoming, said Jenna Magro, the Student Campaign coordinator.
Students who wish to donate to another area of the university, like their college, can do so and still be recognized as giving to the class gift, Magro said. She said the goal is to raise $30,000, which amounts to about 1,600 students.
“It’s really important (to give) for a number of reasons,” Magro said. “The biggest reason is it enhances the experience for future students. It creates a memory for the university.”
Jessie Maehling, Student Campaign chairperson, said their main focus is graduating seniors, but they want to make all undergraduates aware of the importance of giving back to the university. The Student Campaign will be holding a cookout on the Thursday of May Week to get that awareness out.
The glass gift is not something new to OSU. It has been around since 1891, when on the eve of graduation, students planted five elm trees on the Oval, according to the Web site. Other gifts have included the Orton Hall chimes from 1906 to 1914, the long walk on the Oval in 2004 and the beautification of Mirror Lake last year.
There are three main ways that donations are elicited from students, Magro said. OSU Calling notifies students the quarter they are graduating and asks for a gift. The other two include sending out e-mails and asking students directly.
Some students are a little hesitant to give more money to the university. Amy Trivisonno, a senior in political science graduating this spring, said she is not likely to give to the class gift when they come calling.
“OSU owes me money,” Trivisonno said. “I’ve paid out-of-state tuition for four years even though I’ve lived in Ohio those four years. I’m bitter.”
Although some students might reject them, Maehling believes in the cause.
“You can come back and say, ‘I gave to that. I had a hand in that,'” Maehling said.
