Rose goes green for Earth Day

Tuesday, April 22 marked the United States’ Earth Day celebration. Rose-Hulman honored Earth Day with a number of activities hosted by the Rose-Hulman Sustainability Team. The event was sponsored by Aramark Dining Services, Pepsi Cola Refreshment Services, Wal-Mart, Papa John’s Pizza, and Sign Express.

The Sustainability Team was formed by Rose-Hulman Facility Operations in February of 2007, and strides were made to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the Office of Facilities of the Institute. Over the past year, the Sustainability Team has held several events and implemented various environmentally friendly initiatives, such as green cleaning and installing touchless soap and paper towel dispensers in all of the administrative and academic buildings.

For Earth Day, the Sustainability Team hosted several events. These events included a clothing drive, the collection of electronic waste (e-waste), a plastic bag collection contest, and “Earth Hour.” The Sustainability Team set up information stations in both the Union lobby and the Moench commons. The clothing gathered was donated to the local Lighthouse Mission. The waste was recycled by Recycle Force, Inc. The plastic bag collection contest is an ongoing contest between the residence halls, sororities, and fraternities. The contest will end on May 5, and the winning group will win a pizza party. Sustainability Team Coordinator Tuesday Strong stated, “We chose to focus on recycling as part of our Earth Day activities to further promote awareness about how and when to recycle on campus.” Julie Lunsford, another Sustainability Team member and Earth Day organizer, added, “We also felt having a clothing drive was a way to promote community and highlight the social justice component of sustainability.”

Many students on campus feel strongly about sustainability and feel that the Sustainability Team’s endeavors on campus have positively impacted campus. Senior civil engineering major Jonathan Fone stated, “Sustainability is a multidisciplinary solution for all engineers trying to solve problems for the present and the future. With the current food and oil crisis, engineers need to search for sustainable solutions and evaluate life cycle and environmental cost for their designs, knowing their decisions will affect a global market.” Senior mechanical engineering major and Sustainability Club President Jared Moore added, “I have been very impressed with our faculty, particularly our Facilities team, for their effort toward a sustainable campus. This isn’t just about sustaining the environment; it’s about sustaining our school economically. All three presidential candidates favor a cap and trade system; that means high prices for coal fired electricity. As we expand and renovate our campus in the next decade, I’m thrilled that we have an administration that will look to make our campus more efficient and environmental.”