Welcome to the first edition of the Quad’s Green Column. As “green” awareness has been increasing over recent years, it is important that we understand the environmental issues and concerns present on our campus. We also must learn what we as students can do to address these issues. Through this column, I hope to educate you on important issues and serve as a guide towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle. There are a number of issues on campus that we already face, and more are sure to come. Recycling has always been a concern on campus and still remains a big problem today. We must be educated on what can and can’t be recycled and how the entire recycling process works if we want to reduce our waste both on and off campus.
Parking is also a big concern for students, faculty, and staff members. While we may not be able to solve this problem entirely, one way to help is to reduce our automobile use. More and more students are driving to campus when they don’t need to. It only takes 12 minutes to walk anywhere on campus and even less time on a bike. Our university has plenty of sidewalks and bike racks, let’s use them.
We also need to address the excessive use of water on campus. We need to start taking shorter showers and reduce our water use overall, whether it be turning the faucet off when we brush our teeth or carrying a water bottle around instead of purchasing bottled water.
Also, as more and more buildings are being renovated it is important to be aware of the negative environmental effects that can arise. We as students can help to implement the use of recycled materials and using more eco-friendly practices during the construction process. Most students aren’t even aware of such concerns, but with this column we hope to change this.
These are just a few of the problems we need to address. There is much more that we need to take care of on and off campus.
The student body can be a very powerful force when they want change, and when partnered with the staff and administration we can achieve even more together.
We encourage you to take more notice to what you see on campus and how these things affect the environment. Please write to us and let us know your thoughts, comments, and questions on environmental issues on campus! You can write the president of E.A.R.T.H. club, Andrew Barrett, at AB665276@wcupa.edu. E.A.RT.H., WCU’s environmental club also has a Facebook group “W.C.U. EARTH”, so be sure to check it out! If you would like to attend E.A.R.T.H. meetings, they take place weekly Wednesday nights at 7 PM, right outside the front of Sykes. Hopefully, through teamwork and perseverance we can help improve the sustainability of our campus.
Pat Gardner is a West Chester University Student. He can be reached at PG606954@wcupa.edu.