The 2024 Senior Class Committee has hosted several fundraising initiatives to reduce the cost of senior week festivities. So far, those initiatives have consisted of a fundraiser at Jake and Joe’s in Waltham, MA and a Pub Night in Arnow Campus Center.
The committee is made of five senior students, including Class President Mekenzie Barbosa, Isabelle Babcock, Emily Lifson, Madison Nerich and Alisa Xhabija, as well as Director of Student Activities and Class Committee Advisor Thomas Morgan.
The committee plays a pivotal role in fostering a sense of community. Through a variety of engaging initiatives and events, the committee brings students together, and helps create bonds that extend beyond the classroom. “It’s important to build a sense of Lasell pride and the Lasell community as a whole,” Morgan said. “We want to make sure that you build lasting memories and you know, have these positive experiences together as you head off into the world.”
The Jake and Joe’s fundraiser was held at the restaurant’s Waltham location on Nov. 2. The event was open to the entire Lasell community, and 20% of each party’s bill went to the senior class.
“Everyone had fun, the food was great the drinks were amazing, the vibe was amazing, last year I know they did it at Margs [Margaritas Mexican Restaurant], and this year I feel like it was kind of better because we had more options and a bigger space as well, so it didn’t feel like we were all on top of each other the whole time,” Nerich said.
On Nov. 16, the committee provided a similar experience on campus with a Pub Night in the Arnow Campus Center. This event was for people 21 and over, and allowed students to purchase drink tickets and enjoy each other’s company over food and music. According to Barbosa, the idea for this event came from students, who expressed interest in having a bar on campus.
“These are things people really do enjoy on campus for like a large amount of residents and it's kind of been a lack at Lasell. Campus should be 21 plus in some regions because other than that kids are just going out to Boston and we should make it more welcoming on campus as well, to the point where you don't have to go out,” Barbosa said.
The main goal for the committee is to raise money to make senior week more affordable for the class. In past years, students have had to pay around $350, which is the goal for this year’s committee as well according to Barbosa. However, beyond fundraising opportunities, Barbosa expressed the social opportunity these events provide for the senior class.
“Yeah, so our goals are really to, like, make the best financial decisions for everybody for senior week. We want to keep the price down. But also, we want to make everything fun and exciting for everyone, things that everybody's going to enjoy. I mean, we are a class who underwent COVID, and so our class is very separated. Our freshman year we couldn't even leave the dorm and hang out with each other really. So it's about getting everybody excited about senior week and getting everybody to hang out again and just make these relationships. This is kind of like our last semester really to make those relationships before we all graduate,” Barbosa said.
Some of the planned senior week events are a boat cruise and casino night, while the committee is still planning the rest of the week. They also intend on continuing to fundraise with events on and off campus, including an event at Ward 4, though there are no dates solidified for these initiatives.