Advisory board announces senior gift


By
 in ,

The Senior Gift Advisory Board has announced that this year’s senior gift will be a solar thermal energy system for the Lyon Center Pool.

The solar thermal energy system, chosen by popular vote, will replace the pool’s current heating system with boilers that burn natural gas, according to a previous Daily Trojan article. Seniors began voting Feb. 23.

In an e-mail announcing the decision, members of the Senior Gift Advisory Board said the gift is one of few funding initiatives focused on improving sustainability on campus.

The money that the senior class donates toward the gift will be given to the USC Sustainability Office to  facilitate the construction of the heating system; USC will contribute over $250,000. The project will start in summer 2010, according to the senior gift website.

To get seniors to contribute to the gift, the advisory board has launched a fundraising campaign. The campaign started March 23 with an advisory board “meet and greet” at 21 Choices. Seniors received a coupon in the e-mail for a free topping at 21 Choices to help the fundraising effort.

The Senior Gift Advisory Board is hoping for a slight increase in participation than last year. According to the previous Daily Trojan article, last year’s senior class participation was 85.2 percent. This year the board hopes to reach 86 percent.

Seniors can individually donate money towards the gift online.