Candidly Catherine | More could be done to achieve a sustainable campus

In the spirit of the recently-passed Earth Week, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect upon how we are keeping "green" and sustainable on campus.  After all, this is a global initiative that is only growing bigger.  It seems like our small campus could easily contribute in a small way to this issue.  However, I cannot help but look around St. Joe's campus and see a whole lot of waste.

Of course, there are the majority of students who walk around with their eco-friendly water bottles.  Unfortunately, I am under the impression that they just have them because, let's face it, some of them are pretty darn trendy.  We also have those bins throughout campus that help us separate our litter, glass, plastic, and paper.  But how many people really take the time to separate the garbage that they have in their hands when they are in a hurry between classes?  We also have different clubs on campus that help spread the word such as G.R.E.E.N. C.O.W. and the newly-created Sustainability Club. 

Other than the handful of students who are passionate about environmental issues and are advocating for these issues within our campus, how much does the average student really care?  More important than that though, how much do the larger groups and organizations on campus really care?

As an RA on campus, I receive about 50 to 100 fliers a month in my mailbox that I am expected to post on my floor.  All of these fliers are about different activities and events going on here or within the greater Philadelphia community.  Fliers are posted by different organizations throughout the entire campus.  Walls of Bellarmine and Barbelin are covered, stairwells in Mandeville have hundreds of announcements and listings.  But who really even looks at those? 

The fliers have become, for the most part, unnecessary.  Many of us receive the exact same announcements via Facebook, email, and on the St. Joe's Web site on a daily basis.  Instead of just relying on the eco-friendly electronic ways of keeping people up to date, we waste countless sheets of paper that probably will not even be recycled once it is has served its purpose and is taken down. 

The entire point of sustainability on this campus is seeing how we can reduce our own carbon footprint as a university community.  Yet, it seems like the simplest things are not being done to help this.  Just look at Public Safety, for example. They have multiple patrol cars that drive around, but they are going from Barbelin to McShain or from 54th and City Avenue to Cardinal Avenue.  Do they really need to be driving around to patrol those areas that have a very short distance from each other?

Of course, there are initiatives that are being done throughout campus on a much smaller scale that some people probably have not even noticed.  For instance, the improvements made to Campion to be greener, such as having recyclable containers, and going "tray-less" to save on water. 

However, Philadelphia as a whole has parts that are extremely progressive when it comes to being green and sustainable.  Look at Northern Liberties in Philadelphia, for example. This area is known for the initiatives it has taken to be eco-friendly and sustainable.  Many of the apartment complexes run on solar energy, and are very green buildings.  There are recycling bins everywhere outside, which is a rarity when walking across the St. Joe's campus or down City Avenue. 

While it is understandable that some of the sustainability initiatives will be hindered during a recession, and especially at a time when the school is struggling for basics, there seem to be simple things that can be done to make our campus more progressive.  This should not be an issue that is just focused on during Earth Week or after we see something on the Discovery Channel that makes us think out of the box, but something that we are consistently striving to improve on our campus and in our communities.
 

Catherine Migel is a junior opinions writer and sociology major.. She can be reached at thehawk@sju.edu.