by Nicholas Zotos | staff writer
April 28, 2022
Taking full advantage of the sun last Friday, students crowded Academic Walk to celebrate Earth Day and to participate in events honoring our planet.
“We are here to celebrate our annual Earth Day event called Waste is Wack. The activities were hosted by Evergreen Environmental Club. The whole point of the festivities is to promote sustainability and awareness about the state of our planet,” said Rebecca Ulinski, Evergreen executive board member and sophomore psychology major.
There were many activities promoting ways to reduce waste on-campus including an organic body scrub station, tote bag painting, and even Earth Day trivia. Each activity was unique and offered an immersive way for students to participate in creating a more conservation friendly environment.
“The body scrub station promotes the elimination of excess waste from non-organic beauty products. Most people do not realize how much self-care products hurt our environment,” said Victoria Kapfer, a junior secondary English Education major. “The other events like the tote bags are a fun way to help reduce plastic, and the trivia educates others about waste and sustainability.”
The annual Waste is Wack celebration boasted approximately 30 volunteers with over 200 students participating throughout the day. Multiple clubs were involved including Painter’s Society, Kappa Delta Epsilon (KDE), a professional educational fraternity and the hosting club Evergreen.
In attendance also was Duquesne’s Center for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) with a clothing swap drive that encouraged students to donate old clothes instead of just throwing them away, according to Brianna Marks, a master’s student in the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences. Students were motivated to participate with the drive at the Waste is Wack event with a raffle for Hydro Flasks.
“By donating clothes we aim to promote sustainability and recycling. All the clothes we gather will be given to St. Vincent de Paul charity here in Pittsburgh,” Marks said..
Anyone looking to promote sustainability or get more involved on campus regarding conservation is encouraged to join Evergreen Environmental Club. The club is open to all majors and engages in many conservation friendly and educational events throughout the semester. Evergreen is partnering with Duquesne groundskeepers staff to plant trees Saturday, April 30, at 1 p.m. on campus. Community members interested in participating can contact evergreenduq@gmail.com for more information.
“I think today was a success. Students look happy and enjoy the activities. I always like celebrating Earth Day because it reminds me of all the world has to offer,” Ulinski said.
