Seniors Make Their Mark

The University of Cincinnati’s senior class raised more than $13,000 for their parting gift to the university.

The Student Development Council and Red & Black Society hosted a dunking booth and sold commemorative T-shirts on McMicken Commons 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, June 3, to raise money for the historical marker to be placed outside of McMicken Hall.

The marker will be placed outside McMicken facing Clifton Avenue; construction is scheduled to be in place by the beginning of next school year.

Because of the historical significance of McMicken Hall, the first building to be built on UC’s campus, the senior class officers said they wanted to add to the history of the university by donating the historical marker, said Samantha Hutzel, a fourth-year operations management and international business student and a member of the Student Development Committee.

The 2008 graduating class established the initiative of challenging future senior classes to “Make Your Mark” by raising money. The 2009 senior class aimed to raise $10,000 and, by 1 p.m., had raised $13,000. The excess money will go toward the Student Development Council’s Go Greek Fund.

The overcast weather during the dunking booth program may have discouraged many people from participating. The weather began to brighten up and Robert Cardosi, associate director of annual giving, said, “mother nature is finally cooperating,” only several minutes before it began to drizzle.

The cost to dunk someone was $1 and many people said it was a dollar well spent.

Marketing student and senior class President Ashlee Carlisle, and Senior electronic media student and homecoming queen, Sonya Mueller, both volunteered to be dunked Wednesday afternoon and to show their support.

Another volunteer for the dunking tank, Terrance McGuire, a senior mechanical and nuclear engineering student and homecoming king, said although the water was chilly, it was even colder while sitting and soaking on the dunking board.

The Student Development Council and the Red & Black Society also raised money by selling senior class T-shirts. If people made a contribution of $20.09, they would receive a T-shirt. This donation will go toward building the historical marker.