 "Photo: Image courtesy of Ed Pittman")
Sports, academics and philanthropy will combine tonight at 6:30 p.m., as Vassar’s students and faculty members face off in a game of basketball. The proceeds from this first-ever Faculty-Student Basketball Game will benefit the Class of 2010 Senior Class Gift, an endowed scholarship fund to support Vassar’s need-blind financial aid policy.
The Senior Class Gift Committee hopes to raise $2,000 from ticket sales and $1,500 in private donations, according to Vassar Student Association (VSA) Vice President for Operations Brian Farkas ’10, who also co-chairs the Senior Class Gift Committee.
These proceeds will go towards the Committee’s ultimate goal of $15,000. “Last year at this time,” said Farkas, “the senior class only raised $250, but we’ve almost reached $9,000.”
According to Farkas, the event was first conceived of as a way to reunite the members of the Vassar community following the financially difficult—and oftentimes emotionally taxing—semester that the College and its peers faced this fall. “Because of the budget cuts,” Farkas noted, “we felt a strong impact on our sense of community.”
As a way of reuniting members of the community, VSA leadership and College administrators imagined an event with “the President of the College sitting next to a student, sitting next to a worker, sitting next to a tenured professor, all in the same room cheering for the College,” said Farkas. Basketball emerged quickly as a way to achieve that.
Beyond uniting the College and raising money for the Senior Class Gift, the Faculty-Student Basketball Game aims to be the largest sporting event in Vassar’s history. An estimated 1,000 spectators will attend the game, and those who purchase the $2 tickets will receive a pre-game dinner. “Food always seems to be a good way to attract a crowd at Vassar,” wrote Dean of the College Christopher Roellke in an e-mailed statement to The Miscellany News. Roellke, whose game-name is “Roellks,” will be one of the 18 players on the faculty team.
The food provided for the event was funded by the VSA and the Office of the Dean of the College, as well as from donations from local vendors. Attendees will be able to sample the cuisine of Julie’s, Twisted Soul, Pizza Baccio’s and Campus Dining.
In addition, the Vassar Women’s Chorus will be singing the national anthem and the Vassar Fight Song to start the game. FlyPeople will also be performaing two dances at halftime. Roellke summarized the entertainment in his e-mail: “Two words: extravaganza, baby!”
The main attraction, however, will be the basketball game. The outcome of the match is far from predictable as experience competes with youth. “I tried to get a collection of faculty members that students would have had class with,” said Farkas, aiming to recruit as many highly visible professors as possible.
Men and women’s rugby Head Coach and coach of the faculty team Tony Brown, boasted a strong offense for the faculty team, writing in an e-mailed statement, “At guard [Professor of History] Robert Brigham will run the offense much akin to Steve Nash with support from women’s basketball [Head] Coach Candice Brown and men’s basketball [Head] Coach Del Harris. There are plenty of NBA teams who can’t boast a trio this strong! Dean Roellke will look to dominate the boards and with great outside shooting provided by a host of faculty players coming off the bench; it’s going to be a long night for the students.”
Still, the student team is not to be underestimated, as their roster includes varsity basketball player Devon Luongo ’11, VSA President Caitlin Ly ’10, VSA Vice President for Student Life Elizabeth Anderson ’11, former varsity basketball player Emma Carmichael ’10 and a host of other familiar faces.
The VSA ordered custom uniforms for the players—with the faculty sporting maroon uniforms and the students clothed in grey-gold, because it was cheaper than pure grey—representing the Vassar school colors of rose and grey.
All of the funds raised at the event will go towards the Class of 2010 Senior Class Gift. The initial value of the gift will be maintained, while money earned will finance Vassar scholarships. “Vassar was here before we were born and will be here after we die,” said Farkas. “Giving to an endowment means that you’re really looking into the future because the dollars that you give will grow and continue to support educational access at Vassar for hundreds of years.”
The pre-game dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Athletics and Fitness Center.
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