Author: Claire Bourne
The Senior Class Gift Committee, now in its 21st year at Middlebury College, has compiled a list of three potential gifts among which the Class of 2002 will select one in online voting to begin next week.
According to Co-Chair Kristie Gonzalez '02, the options include a thesis carrel in the new Library and Technology Center and an unspecified scholarship. An American with Disabilities Act (ADA) appropriations fund aimed at making the campus more handicapped-accessible is the third alternative.
The fund would have special significance for this year's graduates given that two members of the Class of 2002, Katie Samson '02.5 and Sarah LeFeber '02, have acquired physical disabilities during their time at the College. Donating money to make facilities on campus universally accessible, Gonzalez explained, would be "something personal to represent our class."
"We want to present a plan people are going to be excited about," said Brian Ferry '02, a member of the Senior Class Gift Committee. "We want to give something back to the school after four years."
ADA Coordinator Elizabeth Christensen commented, "There are lots of different things the senior class could give to the College. This gift is especially meaningful because this has been an enormous issue in two senior class members' lives."
Although Samson commended the College for its effort to facilitate her mobility around campus, she asserted that every academic building "should be made accessible." If selected as the senior gift, the money raised would finance the installation of a lift in the Natatorium, universal doors at Bicentennial Hall and Twilight Hall and ramps at the entrances of all academic interest houses and at the entry-way to Forest Hall, which houses the Dean of Student Affairs Office.
"Facilities Management has done tremendous things [to make the campus more accessible]," Christensen pointed out. "However, there is always room for more."
Gonzalez said she was "appalled" at how difficult it was for her friend Samson to enter certain buildings, particularly those with social spaces such as Pearsons Hall. Ferry noted also that uneven and cracked sidewalks posed problems for those with mobility impairments.
Ferry said that, if the Class of 2002 endorsed the idea of creating a fund, the committee would search for an alumnus or a parent to match student donations. Once enough money was raised, the committee would then establish an endowment fund to which members of the extended Middlebury community could donate long after this year's senior class has graduated. In this way, said Samson, the gift would have both short-term and long-term effects on the College.
Because physically disabled students are more likely to attend Middlebury's summer Language Schools as opposed to semester- or year-long programs, the proposed improvements would benefit a greater cross-section of the community. A more handicapped-accessible campus, Gonzalez said, would also make it easier for physically disabled visitors and parents to access College facilities.
Most importantly, Gonzalez noted, the senior class' endorsement of this fund would demonstrate Middlebury's awareness of the issue.
"It's nice to know that the class has this type of interest," Samson said. "[Members of the Class of 2002] will leave knowing that they are already aware of the situation and will carry on this awareness in their day to day lives."
ADA Fund Awaits Class of 2002 Endorsement
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