Senior Gift Committee To Continue Collecting

The Senior Gift Committee has started a second round of campaigning to collect money from the Class of '94 in an attempt to achieve a record level of participation.

The "Second Wind" effort aims to meet the committee's ambitious goal of 80 percent participation. Though the Second Wind, which will last until this weekend, committee members hope to surpass the record set in 1982 when 79 percent of the class took part in the effort, Co-Chair Samantha A. Ettus '94 said yesterday.

The Campaign, which began in February, was originally scheduled to end in March, said Sherwin Y. Chen '94, Adams House Co-Chair of the Senior Class gift Committee.

But the committee decided to extend the effort into April in an attempt to "get the highest participation of any Senior Class," Chen said.

Last year, 57 percent of the senior class participated in giving a record $40,000, Ettus said.

This year, however, the "goal is participation rather than a dollar amount," she said.

Ettus stressed that the money raised by the committee is an important part of Harvard's operating budget.

She also said that giving to the Senior Gift helps get soon-to-be alumni into a beneficial habit of contributing to their alma mater.

"Almost 40 percent of the Harvard College budget is funded by gifts," she said.

Students choose whether their money will go toward financial aid or into an unrestricted fund which the College uses for everything from faculty salaries to the cereal in the dining halls, Ettus said.

Kirkland House has achieved the highest participation rate on campus, with 75 percent of residents responding.