The Students for Sustainable Action club, or SSA, has become an increasingly influential part of West Chester University. They plan to hold a number of upcoming events and activities for the WCU community to engage in sustainable practices and learn more about improving our impact on the earth.
SSA plans to hold an upcoming “Plastic-Free Day at WCU” for students to learn about the essentiality of sustainability in our community. Essentially, the event hopes it will make students realize how much plastic waste we produce daily and consider learning more about how individuals can incorporate sustainable practices into their lives.
The day of the event, SSA will have booths set up in Sykes, where they will have informative flyers about their club, information about sustainability and its effect upon the environment, as well as reusable products to be given away as prizes. Students who attend the booth are encouraged to take a product and incorporate it into their daily habits as a replacement of single-use plastics.
SSA will be giving away a variety of different prizes, which will include reusable straws, bamboo utensils, flower, vegetable and fruit seeds, and more.
The booth will also have representatives from the club present to talk about the club’s activities, goals as well as how to easily help the environment.
“We would love if everyone would take a photo of them using their sustainable item that they have chosen for the day, tag us and tell us why they chose that item,” said President of SSA, junior Nicole Caruso, hoping that the action will spread awareness of the event around campus.
Caruso, involved in SSA since her freshman year, has developed an immense appreciation for the club and its goals. Over the years, her involvement has changed her perspective on her environmental impact and has allowed her to see how little changes in your life can benefit the environment in so many ways.
“[Sustainability] is truly quite a flexible means of expression for care of the environment. To lower your electricity usage, to grow tomatoes in your garden, to pick up trash around your neighborhood, are all diverse ways in which one can act sustainably,” she says.
Beyond the Plastic-Free Day, SSA has high hopes for future actions to engage in environmental sustainability. The organization performs regular street cleanups in the surrounding neighborhoods around campus and is also involved in maintenance of the North campus gardens.
In the future, SSA hopes to eventually hold a “Pop-Up Thrift,” where gently used clothing will be sold on campus for low prices over the period of a few days. Although the club still needs time to plan and organize the event, it is a goal that they are consistently working towards and hoping to accomplish in the spring semester.
Students for Sustainable Action’s Plastic-Free Day will occur on Nov. 19 and 23, with times to be decided upon in the near future. For more information on definitive times and how to get involved, the club posts regularly on Ramconnect about their upcoming events.
“We hope it will serve as a stepping-stone for those who are new to such ideas of green and eco-friendly living. We are hoping that this day will help everyone get a feel for how incredible it can be when just a single person can truly make a difference,” said Caruso.
Olivia Schlinkman is a first-year Psychology major. OS969352@wcupa.edu