Class gifts are a proud tradition at RPI, just as they are at any campus. Past gifts include the ’86 Field, the ’78 footbridge, and the ’90 Clubhouse Pub in the Union. Now that I am a senior, I am proud to say that my class is finally joining this tradition. Congratulations, fellow members of the Class of 2006. We have donated…a shrubbery.
It has already been planted around the Class of 2005’s fountain behind the Commons, so you can go see our shrubbery whenever you want. To be fair, it is not quite done yet. We will also be donating a couple benches, according to Class President Brandon Smith. I am sure by the time it is finished, it will be a very nice shrubbery, maybe even with a little white fence.
Now, you might be asking yourself, “What?!” and I assure you that you are not alone. Every member of my class that I have talked to is incredulous at the thought of donating a shrubbery, and bristles when they realize they were never asked. Of course, if you talk to Smith about it, he will pine over how he sent multiple e-mails asking for suggestions, and no one would help him, but you will not find records of these e-mails anywhere.
Class projects should be something useful to the campus and something permanent that leaves our mark. Adding to this burden is the fact that we are a milestone class, RPI’s 200th. We should donate something that stands out among class gifts. A shrubbery, even a nice one, is the poorest of choices. I am disappointed and a little angry that a couple bushes surrounding a nicer gift are the way my class will be remembered by others.
Some would say I do not have a right to complain without offering suggestions, and while I might say that this is not entirely my burden since there are well over 1,000 people in our class, a friend and I thought about it for a couple minutes and came up with some ideas. A new scoreboard for the football field, some better shelters for the shuttle system, a new student parking lot, and a roof for the DCC-JEC bridge were some of the practical ideas, but we had a better one.
Many have pointed out that our campus lacks any sort of art other than the tree of death. We could leverage this and our historic status to donate a mural that tells the history of the school for the wall along the JEC walkway. If that is too liberal-artsy, though, we could leave out the painting part and build a gallery with the same purpose in the Folsom Library or foyer of Sage Labs.
All this is almost moot, however, because our class’ money has already been squandered on the shrubbery project. Future class councils need to remember that class gifts are donations to the campus that reflect the entire class, not just a couple of résumé-builders. A class council has no right to decide a class’ gift entirely on its own. No matter how apathetic a class may seem, a couple short e-mails are requisite for this kind of project.
If the class officers want to admit their mistake and organize a fundraiser for a gift the whole class will respect, then maybe they can save the day, but I am not holding my breath. Hopefully, our class can give something more legitimate in the future.
