Seniors debate the purpose of the Students for Students fund: Should it be based on participation or amount raised? Graphic by Sesame Gaetsaloe/The Choate News
This year, fundraising for the Senior Class Gift Campaign, which asks members of the current senior class to donate money as a gift to the School, ran from February 5 to February 14. The campaign, given the name Pay it Forward 2020, was organized by Ms. Sheldon Keegan, Assistant Director of the Annual Fund, and the Choate Philanthropy Council, a group of 15 seniors appointed by the School.
Since 2014, the Senior Class Gift has been one source of donations to the Students for Students fund, which was created in the 1980s to support students who need assistance with extracurricular costs. The money that Students for Students receives from sixth-formers will support current fifth-formers next year, when they themselves are seniors. More than 85% of the Class of 2020 donated to the campaign, a decrease from the Class of 2019’s participation rate of 97%.
During the campaign, some members of the senior class questioned the campaign’s purpose and its participation-based philosophy of donating. Sixth-formers were encouraged to donate any amount to fund, no matter how small, as long as they did, in fact, donate. The goal was to achieve a 100% rate of participation.
Some sixth-formers saw that approach as detrimental to school spirit, largely because they were criticized by their classmates after declining to donate. Some students reported being labeled as “ungrateful.”
“I think that the fund is an important step in showing that students want to help their fellow students with any extra expenses they may have,” Abraham Goodman ’20 said. But, he added, “the focus [became] tearing down our fellow students instead of coming together to help the next class.”
Luis Romero ’20 agreed. “The fund has the potential to be a super helpful fund that can support younger students,” he said. “However, the way that it was advertised achieved the complete opposite. There was too much emphasis on class participation and not enough about the importance of actually donating.”
Romero said that some students donated in the name of others who consciously chose not to contribute. To Romero, this exemplified a perversion of the campaign’s purpose.
“There are many factors that go into whether or not someone wants to donate, not just if they believe in the fund or not,” Goodman said. “They simply might not have enough money to give, or maybe want to give the money directly to someone they know needs it.”
He continued, “And even if the reason for someone not donating is because they dislike the fund, that is their own opinion. I am not going to try to force a student to donate to something they do not support.”
Ms. Keegan said that her office instructed members of the Philanthropy Council to emphasize to their classmates the importance of participation over the amount of dollars donated. She also told them to readily accept no for an answer.
According to Anjali Mangla ’20, a member of the Council, the students trying to persuade their peers to donate were not officially affiliated with the campaign. “Interestingly enough, I don’t think the people pressuring students to donate were even on the Council, which is why I was confused as to why it escalated,” she said.
To many sixth-formers the campaign is critically important. Laura Solano-Florez ’20, a member of the Philanthropy Council, said, “It helps financially-burdened rising seniors remove financial difficulties in their senior year.” These costs can include team items, weekend trips sponsored by the Student Activities Center, and Last Hurrah tickets.
“I think that this fundraiser is an important tradition with the intention of bringing the senior class together. Choate seniors put a lot of work into the Philanthropy Council, and it is important to support your peers,” said Solano-Florez.
Raine Williams ’20, another member of the Philanthropy Council, agreed. “It’s just to help others,” she said, “so even a little amount can make a difference. It’s better than not donating at all.”
Many other students have stood up in defense of the fund and agree that class participation should be emphasized in order to promote a sense of unity. To them, this spirit exceeds the value of the actual money raised.
“It is the intention, and not the value of the money, that is most important,” Solano-Florez explained.
Williams added, “This fund is not just about donating for participation. It’s about donating as a community effort to give to those in need. It’s to show unity as a class.”
In the end, Solano-Florez says she is “very proud of our form for being able to reach around 85% participation.”
