My senior year has been tainted with evil and the present reality of war. Things that I might have felt were very important before are not nearly as pressing now. The idea of giving money to a senior class gift -- whether it be a marquee, a scholarship or a fish tank -- seems trite, when many are suffering not only in our own nation, but all over the world from this unthinkable act of terrorism.
As if some seniors could already care less, after Sept. 11, many feel even less compelled to participate in the selection of the senior class gift, myself included.
While gift committee officials say that it is too late to select a gift option, it's not too late to do the right thing. Our senior year of college will forever be in terms of before and after Sept. 11. Once again, what seemed appropriate before Sept. 11, including the proposed gift ideas, doesn't hold the same level of symbolism it did before. Ben Singer, senior class president, has said the events of Sept. 11 serve as a further plea to seniors to vote for the Unsung Founders memorial as a way to remember past and present heroes.
While I believe in the power of such a memorial, it's simply just not the right time.
I also understand that there are plans under way to plant a tree honoring those alumni that died, but a tree is not enough to symbolize the tragedy's effects on our University community, nor is it something to which we can contribute.
But neither of those things change the fact that voting starts today and that there is no better time than the present.
The senior class gift is a chance for us to give back and contribute to something we really believe in. Other classes' gifts are present around campus and have become as much a part of Carolina as Silent Sam and the Old Well.
The UNC alumni, friends and family who died, the volunteers and disaster relief workers from our area and the events that unfolded on our campus after that day are now a part of our University's history, our hearts and our minds.
Seniors, please recognize this. I feel uncomfortable about being part of a class that doesn't feel like it is compelled to dedicate its gift to those who were lost and those who aided the relief effort from both University and our community.
