Though the senior class gift is not a consistent tradition in Houghton’s 132-year history, gifts to the college from previous classes are still recognizable and well-loved landmarks on campus today. The Luckey clock and bell system, the bridge between Rothenbuhler Hall and the Randall townhouses, the Rock – all of these were donated by a graduating class. On Wednesday, April 22, the Class of 2015 planted their gift, a Christmas tree, beside the Campus Center, intending that it, too, will enhance the Houghton experience for future students.
The history of senior class gifts at Houghton has slowly evolved over the years. Houghton’s first president, Dr. James S. Luckey, began the practice by asking graduating students to pledge a sum to give to the college within their first ten years of graduating. The Class of 1925 used their pledge money for the first class gift on record: the memorial outside Fancher marking the birthplace of Willard J. Houghton. Not every class that followed gave a gift, but several classes continued with practical gifts, such as hymnals (Class of ’37), clocks (Class of ’42), and campus benches (Class of ’48). By the 1990s, the tradition had changed so that class cabinets gave money from their budget surpluses rather than pledges. The system reverted back to pledges and donations in 2009, when Dan Noyes, Executive Director of Alumni Relations, and a group of students decided it was preferable for classes to use their budgets entirely for class activities. Now, cabinets encourage their classes to donate the amount of their class year; for example, the class of 2009 donated $20.09, and so on.
The process classes undertake to choose their gift has also changed. While previous senior class cabinet members made the final decision among themselves and the Alumni Relations Office, their role has shifted. Now, the group solicits ideas from their own class members, and collects practical options from which the entire senior class selects by voting.
“We want the class to feel like this is their gift,” said Noyes. “This process creates a good experience for everybody, and we get things we wouldn’t have even thought of, like this tree.”
The idea for the Christmas tree originated at the end of last semester in a conversation between Senior Class Cabinet President, Luke Lauer, and Director of Student Programs, Greg Bish. The idea further developed for Lauer in a conversation with a fellow class member, who mentioned that Christmas decorations were lacking. The class cabinet, currently composed of President Lauer, Social Chair Katie Szwejbka, and Treasurer Nathan Sircy, figured that a Christmas tree would fill this need as a focal point to be decorated for the Christmas season, while also acting as a landmark they could visit during reunions.
In February, the senior class voted for the Christmas tree and its decorations as their official class gift, and the cabinet proceeded to secure a location. With help from Grounds Supervisor Dennis Eerdman and Director of Community Relations Phyllis Gaerte, the cabinet chose a spot outside of the Campus Center, close enough to an electric outlet so that the tree can be lit at Christmas time. The tree, a ten-foot white fir, was planted Wednesday, Earth Day 2015.
The cabinet envisions future students leading a tradition associated with the tree. “What that looks like exactly, we’re not totally sure, but our goal is to make it some sort of class tradition for the seniors, because the seniors don’t really have a formal tradition,” said Lauer.
Szwejbka added, “I think there’s a lot of potential for this to be not just something the college takes care of, but something that the student body interacts with. I’d actually compare it to the Rock. The college could paint the Rock every couple weeks, but students take that initiative and they have fun with it. I’d love to see the tree function in the same way.”