As the year comes to a close, there is a buzzword among the senior class—bittersweet.
Many are anticipating graduation and their next step in life, but are sad that this means leaving the place they have called home and the people they have called family for the past four years.
With a purpose to recognize and celebrate the senior class and their accomplishments, Augustana has planned a weekend of events, scheduled to be held May 20-22.
When the schedule of events for graduation weekend was posted, there was initial controversy surrounding the annual Senior Celebration, set to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. In years past, the event had been free for seniors to attend. This year, ticket prices were originally set at $30 per attendee.
On Wednesday, the Augustana Alumni Office announced that the Augustana Student Association (ASA) and the Augustana Alumni Association have donated money to the Senior Celebration to help offset the cost of the dinner for graduating seniors. Student tickets are now available for $10, and the deadline for purchasing tickets has been extended to Monday, May 10. Parent and family tickets will still be sold for $30.
''Due to budget constraints, it would not have been possible to hold this caliber of an event this year without ticketing it,'' Director of Alumni Relations Mary Toso said. ''We have been able to reduce the ticket price for graduates to $10, and I hope this will make the event affordable for students. This is a really special event, and we want as many of our seniors to be able to participate as possible.''
Senior Nick Seliski said he still will not attend the event, even with the price reduction.
''I think it's a rip off,'' Seliski said. ''$30 was too much, and I think even $10 is too much. It'd be better if it was free, like it used to be.''
The program will consist of a dinner, entertainment by the Augustana Mallet Ensemble, the presentation of the Last Lecture by the ASA Faculty Award recipient, a send-off message from President Rob Oliver and a toast to the class of 2010 by the Alumni Council president.
Despite this being the first year seniors face a fee for this event, senior Marie Halvorson plans to attend the Senior Celebration. ''The value of my time and relationships made here at Augustana College are worth the money spent to have one last fun-filled night of being an undergraduate,'' Halvorson said.
Regardless of the cost for the Senior Celebration, senior David Missal said that the school does a good job of recognizing the graduating class. ''I feel that Augie does a great job of celebrating the seniors for all of their achievements,'' Missal said.
Before the change in ticket price, 140 tickets had been sold for the Senior Celebration.
''My hope is that many, many more seniors will now choose to participate,'' Toso said. ''I would love to have a group of 300 in attendance to celebrate with.''
In addition to the Senior Celebration, Toso also encourages seniors to attend a reception for the graduating class that will be held at 7 p.m. on Thusday, May 20, at the president's house.
''This is the class of 2010's free event, and it will be a really special party for them,'' Toso said.
Senior Alison Broadwell is looking forward to attending the school's events and being able to celebrate her last few days at Augustana with her classmates.
''I don't think every college has the wonderful community that Augie provides,'' Broadwell said. ''I feel that this is what we are celebrating, as well as our academic and personal accomplishments.''
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