Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, (858) 534-7404

UCSD STUDENT FOUNDATION TO PRESENT GIFT OF WORK TABLES
TO PREUSS SCHOOL STUDENTS ON THE UC SAN DIEGO CAMPUS JUNE 1

From Current College Scholars to Future College Scholars is the message on the plaques of 11 tables that will be given by the students at the University of California, San Diego to the students of Preuss School, the nation's first charter school created by a university and dedicated to educating underserved students.

The tables will be presented at a dedication, cake cutting and sharing, and assembling party at 11:45 a.m. June 1 at the Preuss School on the UCSD campus. Among speakers and attendees at the dedication will be Preuss School principal Doris Alvarez, UC San Diego Foundation trustee Arthur Brody, UCSD Student Foundation president Ping Yeh, and UCSD Associated Students president Doc Khaleghi.

Alvarez said the school is delighted to have the much-needed work/picnic tables: "The tables will enable tutors who work outside with Preuss School students one-on-one to have a hard surface writing area, which we now lack. Additionally, they will be used as lunch tables, as the school has lacked these since it opened last fall."

Following the dedication, more than 100 students, including those from the UCSD Student Foundation, the Associated Students, the five UCSD colleges, the Chancellor's Organization of Allied Students (COAST), and UCSD athletic teams, will assemble the tables. At least 40 Preuss School student leaders will be assisting with table-assembling.

The 11 tables are made of steel grating coated in hard plastic, sturdy and durable. They are dark brown to complement the Preuss School architecture. In addition to the quote, From Current College Scholars to Future College Scholars, inscribed on each table will be: Donated by The Students of UCSD, the UCSD Alumni Association, Arthur Brody; Facilitated by The UCSD Student Foundation.

The tables are being purchased with funds raised by the Change for Change event sponsored by the UCSD Student Foundation during winter quarter.

"Change for Change was a competition among the five UCSD colleges to see which one could raise the most through donations of change," said UCSD Student Foundation president Ping Yeh, a graduate student research assistant in UCSD's Center for Magnetic Recording Research and a native of Mountain View, Calif. "The idea is to show that when everyone comes together, with no matter how much or how little they can give, we can make a change. Thurgood Marshall College won the competition this year. We hope to make this an annual event."

Change for Change raised $7,700 from the student donations and matching donations from the Alumni Association and UCSD trustee Brody.

The purpose of the sponsoring UCSD Student Foundation is to introduce students to philanthropic enterprises and concepts and the workings of educational foundations. It is in its second year at UCSD and Change for Change was its first major campus philanthropic event.

This is the first year the Preuss School is housed in its new $13 million campus facilities. In the fall, 2001, the school's enrollment will be 516 sixth through 10th grade students. Its mission is to prepare low income and educationally underserved students for admission to and graduation from a university.

For further information on the June 1 dedication and table-assembling contact Ping Yeh at (858) 534-5854 or yyeh@ucsd.edu.