The senior class of 2011 voted to improve the outdoor seating area at the Hub for their senior class gift.

Since the first gift, a flag pole on Central Campus with a boulder marker engraved “Class of 1876,” the senior class gift is an annual tradition at Iowa State.

Class gifts of the past included tangible objects such as the Victory Bell in front of Jack Trice Stadium, the Forker Building tennis courts and intangible gifts such as scholarships.

The senior class gift is chosen from a selection of projects to benefit Iowa State, said Sarah Johnson, program manager of the ISU Foundation.

Facilities Planning and Management presented several projects to the Senior Class Council and the ISU Foundation to choose the three potential senior class gifts.

The winning senior class gift will create more seating space outside the Hub and renovate the existing outdoor seating. The inside seating was recently renovated and the goal for the senior class gift was to provide permanent benches and tables consistent with the other seating areas throughout campus.

The projected total cost of this senior class gift is $19,000.

“We generally aim to raise $20,000,” Johnson said.

The ISU Foundation student fundraisers call ISU seniors to get them involved with the senior class gift, and the average gift this year is expected to be $58. That was also the average gift last year when the senior class gift cost $19,414.14.

Johnson said the project is speculated to be completed by next year.

The other two options seniors voted on were also campus improvement projects. The Memorial Union Landscape improvements would have replaced steel posts and the brick paving north of the parking ramp at the Memorial Union. The third project was the West Campus Streetscape which would have improved the pedestrian safety and created a more attractive campus entry at the west entrance of Union Drive.

The Hub outdoor seating project won the vote “by a landslide,” said Johnson. Approximately 63 percent of voters chose the Hub outdoor seating project, while approximately 27 percent of voters chose the West Campus Streetscape, and 9 percent of voters chose the Memorial Union landscape improvements.

Holly Preston, senior in interdisciplinary studies, said she was unable to vote March 25, when voting closed.

“I think the safety for pedestrians is more practical,” Preston said.

When asked if she would be getting involved, Preston said she would not be able to contribute, but she would have liked to get involved.