By Kaila Snyder, Staff Writer
Susquehanna students are celebrating Earth Month with a friendly energy efficiency competition in senior housing, amongst other sustainable events concerning food, waste and community involvement.
In the past, Susquehanna has hosted Earth Week events, but this year Susquehanna has chosen to expand Earth Week to Earth Month, to allow for more participation in the Earth appreciation festivities.
Sophomores Ashlynn Searer and Kylie Scullion are special events leads in the Office of Sustainability, and are main organizers of Earth Month.
“SU will have a wide array of activities that highlight how dependent we are on the Earth and how we can better take care of it,” Sustainability Coordinator Derek Martin stated. “While still in the planning phase, we will have events that will appeal to everyone. We are creating a series of short plays about sustainability at SU, that are written by a playwright who visited campus and SU students will act them out.”
One of the current on-campus initiatives that Susquehanna is fostering is the energy saving competition between the blocks of 18th street commons.
Earlier this month, 18th street residents were asked to participate in the competition to see who can “save the most energy” by the end of the month.
Sparking some friendly competitor energy, some students are taking the contest seriously.
Senior Katie Grim talked about what sort of steps her and her suitemates were taking to conserve energy.
“We’ve have been unplugging appliances and chargers when we are done using them and keeping overhead lights off unless we absolutely need them,” Grim said. “We’re also trying to minimize the use of other appliances like our space heater, fans, TV, hair dryers, etc.”
“When we found out about the competition, we were all very excited to participate. It’s a really fun and interactive way for students to learn to live more sustainably and become aware of potentially wasteful habits,” Grim continued.
Aside from energy conservation, Earth Month also hopes to focus on waste, food sustainability and getting the campus involved with the community, according to Martin.
Martin mentioned events like a zero-waste meal and a plant forward lunch in Evert Dining Hall as well as a zero-waste panel where people trying to minimize their waste production can have a discussion.
“We also want to provide hands-on opportunities so we will be hosting a DIY Sustainability Maker’s Event, volunteer opportunities at the campus garden, and a chance to help clean up the community. We also want to highlight the power of the sun with a solar party on [Degenstein] Lawn that will use solar power to provide all the power we need to have a good time.”
With Susquehanna taking on more measures of energy conservation, it is safe to assume that events such as these will continue to become a more prominent element in campus culture.
In terms of student involvement when it comes to Earth Month events, Martin stated: “I’d like to see as many students attend the Earth Month events as possible. More than anything though, I hope the wide variety of activities being offered during Earth Month will bring students together who may not ordinarily connect with one another.”
“I hope students leave these events being inspired and better aware of environmental issues and what we can do to help to live more sustainably,” Martin continued.