Gifts from bygone years
Presentations
withstand
test of time
On an old oak tree near Villard
Hall, a tarnished plaque is one
of the only hints to today’s
University students that the
University had a class of 1900
The tree is one of two oaks
commemorated by the Class of
1900 that has stood observing
campus life since the birth of the
University in 1876
Now in a little-traveled part of
campus, aged by the elements
and half-overgrown by the tree,
the plaque testifies to the end of
a period when graduating
classes left their mark on cam
pus by planting a tree.
Some classes have added a
sense of humor as well as prac
ticality with their gifts After
seeing two trees from a previous
class wither and die, the smart
seniors of 1893 got a 4'/?-foot
rectangular block of basalt from
nearby Skinner Butte, planted it
by the northeast corner of Vil
lard and "pronounced it a tree."
says University Archivist Keith
Richards
The monolith is among the 68
gifts donated to the University
by graduating classes since
1878. a practice that ended in
1968, only a few years before
class officers were voted out of
existence by the student body
The first senior class gift,
donated by the four students
from the Class of 1878. was an
English Laurel tree and $100 to
help build the Art Museum
The University received 21
trees from graduating classes
before 1900 when other gifts
became fashionable
"I don’t think people recog
nized the historical value of the
trees." Richards says
Other gifts have also lost their
significance over the years In
1910, seniors donated a stone
bench which was placed
outside the east entrance of
Fenton Hall Only seniors were
allowed to sit on the bench, a
tradition passed down by up
perclassmen in no uncertain
terms
"Thou shalt not rest thy foul
haunches upon the Senior
Bench, " read an edicf left by the
Class of 1916 sitting in the
courtyard between the EMU and
Leighton Hall
But those were the days when
freshmen had to wear beanies
and were also warned not to
bother the coeds
Some gifts have withstood the
test of time The gates at Howe
Field have outlived many of the
donors from 1919, as well as the
*VV;
The class of 1900 left two oak trees — one with a plaque attached —
as a gift to the University.
baseball team that used the
field
Construction of the EMU was
helped along with a $67 000 gift
from the Class of 1929, and the
recently-restored EMU carillon
was a joint gift from the classes
of 1943 and 1953
Graduates have also left a
legacy of cash Last year 209
University students received
more than $14,000 in loans from
endowments and grants left by
graduating classes, according
to Larry Tergesen of the
University Business Affairs Of
fice There is another fund of
almost $20,000 available for the
descendants of the Class of
1896, which donated the mon
ey It was not used last year,
Tergesen said
The gift tradition is now being
revived The Student University
Relations Council, a student
public relations group under the
auspices of the University Rela
tions office, is sponsoring a plan
in which graduating seniors
pledge an annual contribution
for three years, beginning in
1983
Project head Matthew Scher
merhorn said he hopes half of
this year's senior class will con
tribute to the fund, raising more
than S56.000 The money would
be put into an endowment fund
for the library to use for books
and programs
To date, 25 seniors have
pledged S800 to the fund
The endowment fund concept
will continue next year, with
SURC asking members of the
Class of 1983 to contribute
towards a gift not yet selected
Secluded in another quiet
corner of campus, by Robinson
Theater, a dome-shaped iron
sculpture rests, rusted by the
long years of exposure to
Oregon rain It is the last tes
tament of the final graduating
class from the Normal, or two
year teacher program, cut by
the Legislature The Class of
1885 left the sculpture as a
memorial
With the Legislature again in a
cutting craze, we may soon see
more mute memorials to once
thriving programs.
By Phil Lemman
Photos by Bob Baker
VINO'S
SPRGHEVVI
1PIZZA
a
i .*
__> ^
V . V
342-8111
TINO’S
• Full dinner menu
• 23 varieties of Pizzas
• Whole wheat and
white crust
• Pizzas to go
-cooked and uncooked
15th and Willamette
Open every day
Mon-Fri 11-1 00 am
Sat 5-1:00 am
Sun 5-11 00 pm
_ V
VALENTINE’S DAY
Send a Balloon Bouquet No Better II 'ay to v/y / l.oie V <>u
Sweet Heart Bouquets attached to
<? Coffee Mugs
9 Chocolates
Wine Baskets
Yes we have special / ••)
Heart Shaped ORDER
Balloons too!
€ xfi ‘irw
726-4992
I rrc Drfcvm: Eugene-Springfield
1
EXPRESS YOURSELF!
FLOWERS SPEAK
THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE
AND RAINYDAY
SAYS IT BEST...
For the fine/t in flower/,
plant/ and gift/
RAiriYDAY CACTU/
m Pf apl n tuotnf octoon 9A< a
MATH & SCIENCE
MAJORS
We’ll pay you over $17,000 a year while
you earn an alternate B.S. degree in
Electrical or Aeronautical Engineering.
Tuition and other expenses are also paid.
You’ll be commissioned an Air Force
Lieutenant following completion of Of
ficers Training School. We ll send you to
one of the best engineering schools in the
country to earn your second degree.
From there, many challenging and excit
ing engineering assignments await you.
For more information or a no obligation
appointment contact: Tom Tucker at
687-6786
A great way of life.