Grads get gifts ranging from tuna fish to Toyotas


By Natasha Bhuyan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

A trip to Aruba, a Toyota Prius and a can of tuna - although they sound like prizes on "The Price Is Right," they're actually a taste of the unusual gifts graduates are getting this year.

Mia McDonald, a creative writing senior, said her parents will be giving her a green Toyota Prius, a gas/electric hybrid car.

"My dad figured I'll be impoverished the rest of my life since I'm a creative writing major," she said. "But it's nice knowing I'll have a reliable car 30 years from now when I have no money."

Lara Foresman, a marketing senior, said her friends will be forfeiting graduation gifts in lieu of wedding presents as she is getting married to Tim Compton, an accounting and finance senior, July 3 in Michigan.

Foresman said they will be getting martini sets, china, crystal and a desk at graduation. In addition, Compton's father is giving the couple a trip to the island of Aruba.

Parents are also the primary gift givers for Jennifer Morris, an agriculture and resource economics senior, who said she will be receiving a truck because she is the first person in her family to graduate from college.

"I'm not giving anything. I expect the gifts," Morris said.

Bhavika Patel, a pre-pharmacy freshman, said the perfect graduation gift for anyone is alcohol because graduates "like to party afterwards."

But Shaun Mitsky, a communication senior, said he is in no position to be buying gifts, as he is concerned about his future financial situation.

"I think the perfect gift would be a job," he said with a laugh.

Jason Taing, a psychology junior, said he engraved his friend's initials on a cigarette case "just for the hell of it."

In keeping with a controversial UA tradition, Anh Ho, a pre-business junior, will be giving his senior friends tortillas to toss at graduation. But, to add personal flavor, Ho said he will also be distributing beans and Taco Bell sauce.

Julie Keehn, a psychology freshman, said she bought three cans of Chicken of the Sea tuna for her roommate's brother, who asked for 12.

Jessica Weinberg, an anthropology and linguistics graduate student and member of the Alliance for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, ordered bottles of organic olive oil from Palestine for her friends, while Adam Baldus, an undeclared freshman, got his sister tickets to a Broadway show.

Kristan Leech, a pre-physiological sciences sophomore, said she will be getting graduates money because it is the most useful and practical choice.

"I think it is what people really want anyways but are too shy to ask for," she said.