Every Thursday night, the oh-so-classy Last Resort is filled to the brim with Wake Forest students of all classes. This Thursday, night, however, Last Resort was a more exclusive scene in honor of Senior Bar Night, sponsored by the 1834 Student Giving Campaign, one of the most active campus organizations.
The 1834 Student Campaign exists to increase awareness among the student body about the importance of giving back to Wake Forest University. Alumni donations sustain a large portion of the school’s scholarship money, and the demand for funds is growing. Currently, 40% of Wake students receive some kind of financial aid, and this aid comes from donations given to the campaign.
“The goal is to foster an initiative among students to continue to give back after they’re gone,” said senior class representative for the campaign Conley Crimminis.
So, in honor of the class of 2013 (and to spread awareness, of course) the campaign threw a private party at Last Resort from 9:00 P.M.-2:00 A.M. There was a $10 cover for the night, and though this may seem steep, all money went directly to the campaign and towards the Senior Bar Night held in the spring. So, once you give once, you’re set for the second party! Even better news? Seniors were given two free drink tickets with their donation. There was also a Greek challenge for the night, in which the Greek organization with the most people at Last Resort before 11:30 P.M. received $350 towards their next Last Resort function.
“We want to inform students why alumni giving is so important and start the process now, but we also want them to understand that it’s going towards other people to ensure that they have the same great experience that we had while at Wake,” said senior campaign representative Sarah Crosier. “For us, it’s less about how much the campaign itself is raising, but about the percentage of students who are
actually giving.”
But the campaign doesn’t just do things for the seniors. Throughout the year, the campaign holds different events for each class with free food, like BBQs and fiestas for sophomores and juniors. You may have recently smelled the delicious Biscuitville breakfast on the quad and thought, best day ever, free food!…
Well, yes, but it’s all from the campaign.
The attitude we want to create is that if it feels like we as students are giving, the school will give back to us, in the form of free events, free food, things like that,” explained Sarah.
So, yes, we could look at Senior Bar Night and Breakfast on the Quad as just an easy way to get free food and free drinks, but in fact, it’s so much more than that. They give, so that we give.
These are the best four years of our lives, and with one small donation, we can make it possible for some other future collegiette to have the same life-changing experience at Wake Forest University.
If you are interested in donating, you can always donate online in either cash or deacon dollars at http://giving.wfu.edu/1834-student-campaign/ .