Senior gift to benefit libraries

By the time students graduate from UNC, most will have spent countless hours cramming for exams, sneaking naps or taking snack breaks in one of the 22 libraries on campus.

Now, members of the senior class are looking to improve that experience for future students.

Senior class officers announced Friday at the senior class talent show that the class will endorse the UNC Libraries as the beneficiary of senior class gifts.

The voluntary donations will come from seniors and will enter the larger University Libraries endowment.

Senior Class President Meggie Staffiera, who helped select the recipient of the funding, said she thinks UNC Libraries are an appropriate choice for the endorsement.

“It’s a sanctuary of study sessions,” she said. “But at the same time you can break away from that and there are raves and occasional streaking.”

The decision to select the Libraries came after several meetings between elected senior class officials and Meg Petersen, the annual fund officer for the Office of University Development.

But a variety of seniors outside of student government voiced their opinions in the decision-making process, Staffiera said.

Several seniors said they thought the idea was a good one.

“It’s kind of like giving a gift certificate because you don’t know what else to give,” said senior Keith Gordon.

Lauren Teegarden, senior class fundraising committee chairwoman, said she hoped the gift would have a far-reaching impact on the University.

 “It’s probably the only place that every single student uses,” Teegarden said. “Everybody has a story to tell about the library.”

Library representatives said they are thrilled about the decision.

“It was a lovely surprise to us that they picked us,” said Judith Panitch, director of library communications.

“This is really the kind of gift that really multiplies itself over time, and that’s really exciting.”

Six previous senior classes since 1941 have designated the Libraries as their gift recipient, most recently the class of 2003, Panitch said.

Past gifts helped purchase a variety of resources, from computers and furniture to research tools such as encyclopedias.

“Our goal is to beat the participation rate from last year, which was 42 percent,” Teegarden said.

“You’ve been at Carolina for four years. Hopefully you’ve really loved it, and this is your chance to give back to future students.”



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.