An unsustainable legacy
By: Andrew Barnhill
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Opinions
I discuss it on every tour I give. I mention it to nearly everyone I talk to about Furman. But I do not think it should necessarily be reflected in the senior class gift. Sustainability - Furman's new calling card to the world - has entered the conversations of many seniors over the past few weeks, after we were instructed that it would serve as the channel through which all potential gifts must be filtered.
This week, the senior class voted. Our class agents have done a great job developing a list, but our final options are not all that inviting. The final three were a bike maintenance program, a ReRev system for the PAC and more lake revitalization money.
We should indeed pay tribute to our efforts at becoming more sustainable -we owe it to Dr. Shi and the trailblazers who have led the way. But there are other venues and other means by which to do it. Our operating budget and our strategic plan are already full of such ways. The class gift should be a visible, tangible recognition of our Furman experience that stands across time and beyond trends, that draws one back to memories of our 700 classmates who began the journey together on September 2006.
The Class of 2010 has made significant impact on our community and our world. We have been a major influence on the Furman experience, having shaped ideas and traditions that are now a part of the Furman culture. Our love for our school could be symbolized in many different ways, so I remain unconvinced that class gifts should necessarily reflect the university's strategic goals - the gift should reflect the spirit and will of our class.
Sustainability was a major theme of our Furman tenure. But is that what we, as a class, want to leave as a token of our journey? Senior class gifts have the ability to evoke memories, to unite individuals and to bring forth change. Will another contribution to an already well-funded priority do that? If our gift is meant to support the strategic plan of our university, then why not set up a perpetuating scholarship for future students? That, it seems, would be a far greater need with a far greater impact than saving few dollars on the electric bill.
This week, the senior class voted. Our class agents have done a great job developing a list, but our final options are not all that inviting. The final three were a bike maintenance program, a ReRev system for the PAC and more lake revitalization money.
We should indeed pay tribute to our efforts at becoming more sustainable -we owe it to Dr. Shi and the trailblazers who have led the way. But there are other venues and other means by which to do it. Our operating budget and our strategic plan are already full of such ways. The class gift should be a visible, tangible recognition of our Furman experience that stands across time and beyond trends, that draws one back to memories of our 700 classmates who began the journey together on September 2006.
The Class of 2010 has made significant impact on our community and our world. We have been a major influence on the Furman experience, having shaped ideas and traditions that are now a part of the Furman culture. Our love for our school could be symbolized in many different ways, so I remain unconvinced that class gifts should necessarily reflect the university's strategic goals - the gift should reflect the spirit and will of our class.
Sustainability was a major theme of our Furman tenure. But is that what we, as a class, want to leave as a token of our journey? Senior class gifts have the ability to evoke memories, to unite individuals and to bring forth change. Will another contribution to an already well-funded priority do that? If our gift is meant to support the strategic plan of our university, then why not set up a perpetuating scholarship for future students? That, it seems, would be a far greater need with a far greater impact than saving few dollars on the electric bill.