By Olivia Belote

Who’s your sugar daddy? Who’s your sugar momma? Before you call out Hugh Hefner for buying all his bunnies new …um…ears… please know that we already have an answer for you: THE ANNUAL FUND! That’s right. The Annual Fund (AF) raises a ton of funds to keep you crazy kids in school! To be more precise, last year the AF raised a whopping $3,408,338.00. This heap of lettuce goes straight to paying for your glorious education: it pays your favorite profs, it pays for your scholarships, it pays for Steve Murray’s insane domain, it pays the heating bills in the coldest and nasties months. In conclusion, it pays for everything on campus! So, say it loud, say it proud, “I have a sugar daddy/momma/androgynous financially generous friend!”

The AF wants to do one thing, and that is to keep handing out dough like a financially conscious P.Diddy, forming the next hippity-hoppity star. Yet, one critical point we have yet to mention is that the AF is composed of donations made by the Mac community of parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the college, like you!

This year, the Senior Class Gift Committee has put our brains together, with the help of Develoment staff Paul Odegaard and Anthony Begon, to formulate a seriously great plan.

Professors. We love our professors. Everyone has had a professor change their life. This year, our Senior Class Gift will be allocated to the Annual Fund, in honor of individual professors that have made the greatest impact on you. Whether they expanded your mind, gave you an A, or cancelled class because it was -98 degrees outside. You can finally brown your nose in a proper, mediated, socially accepted manner!

Your mission, oh bountiful seniors, is to reach 60% participation in this endeavor of giving. That means, that pretty much everyone you know should donate to honor a professor. “Careful you must be when sensing the future, young padawan[s]. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side.” We cannot be remiss about this participation rate, because only last year the Senior Class Gift had a 42% participation rate from the Class of 2010. Thus, we must be strong in both the ways of the force and the courage in our hearts if we are to accomplish this task together! The record high for senior participation in a class gift is 54%.

If you are interested in joining us, the Senior Class Gift Committee meets at 9 a.m. every Thursday morning in the Annual Fund office, on the main floor of the Lampert Building. Celebrate Macalester and your favorite professors by participating in the Senior Class Gift!