Clark will celebrate its 75th anniversary with the Diamond Jubilee. The celebration will be 75 events throughout the 2008-2009 school year.
    Planning committee member Vanessa Watkins said that the first event will kick off on Oct. 1. The committee is currently in its planning stage for this event. Watkins said that they’re also in the planning stage for funding, marketing and logistical type of work pertaining to events.
    Watkins said that the funding for the Diamond Jubilee comes strictly from donations that the committee has collected since November 2008. The committee plans on raising $150,000 out of donations from alumni and local businesses. Vice President of Development Ara Serjoie said that the total sum of money will be used for all the events by the planning committee.
    Serjoie said that the theme is “preserving the past, honoring the present, and embracing the future.”
    The kick off event for the Diamond Jubilee will be four straight days of celebration that equals up to 75 hours. Serjoie said the first event will be celebrating Clark’s birthday, starting on Oct. 1. He said the event will include singing “Happy Birthday" with a birthday cake in the student center. Serjoie said that the chime tower will play “Happy Birthday.” In the evening there will be a lighting ceremony at the chime tower.
    The third event will be a Rock the Vote rally on Oct. 2. Carrie Weikel-Delaplane, director of Student Life and Multicultural affairs said that Rock the Vote’s main focus is to energize students to vote. Weikel-Delaplane said that Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey will be at the event and can register students to vote on campus.
    “I’m really excited about the Rock the Vote rally,” Weikel-Delaplane said. “It will be a party to get people fired up.”
    The last event will be the Accreditation Appreciation Luncheon for Clark faculty, staff, and committee members "who work hard to make sure that Clark will always be accredited," Serjoie said.
    “It‘s (Diamond Jubilee) going to show case the college and the community," Serjoie said. “It’s a win win situation.”
    The Diamond Jubilee will put on the Fourth Annual Kalani Rodrigues Memorial Scholarship Walk/Run. Serjoie said the starting point will begin at Clark and will loop through down town Vancouver to the historical hidden house where Clark started. The fee for attending this particular event will cost $35. Funds raised will go to the scholarship that will be available to athletes.
    The rest of the events remain in the planning process, Serjoie said. Some of the events will be planned as the year continues. He said that some of ASCC events might become a part of the Diamond Jubilee if they choose to be involved with the event. Serjoie said that most of the events will be planned by the Diamond Jubilee planning committee.
    “It’s all about the students,” Serjoie said. “No entity has impacted the community like Clark.”