By Taylor Paraboschi
“Thinking green” was on the University’s mind this past week during a three-day-long Earth Day celebration, in which students were encouraged to think about how their actions affected the environment.
“Education is a great place to start,” said president of the Progressive Students Union and the main organizer of the Earth Day celebration, Isabelle Goodman. Goodman, a junior sociology major, is an intern at the Center for Civic Engagement and worked with it when planning the celebration.
“The environment has an effect on everyone,” Goodman explained, adding that preserving the environment is not the “wishy-washy” topic everyone thinks it is.
“This is our generations’ issue, and we need to say that we aren’t going to do this any more,” said Goodman. “People need to realize that the Earth isn’t as sustainable as they think it is.”
“Maybe the indigenous people had it right,” she continued. “Live in tandem with the Earth.”
When asked why the Earth Day celebration was a three-day-long event, Goodman replied that “it just seemed to make sense,” and that she wanted to get people to start to think about environmental issues all week.
Throughout the three-day celebration, discussion panels were held which debated various green topics including green jobs, climate change and environmental justice. On the third day faculty and students alike were treated to an hour-and-a-half-long festival on the Memorial Quad, which included food, music, free t-shirts and various arts and crafts.
People who attended the festival also had the opportunity to chat with various local “green” organizations such as New York Natural Farming and Sustainable Long Island, and they could sign up to volunteer and do their part to help the environment.
“I’m glad that the school makes a lot of effort to promote green thinking on earth day,” said freshman Gisele Liakos. “Not a lot of people are aware of what we are doing to our planet.”
Professor Irene Plonczak who works in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching attested to the importance of environmental education.
“Young people are the future,” said Plonczak, who set up various experiments and informational posters at the festival. She added that it is important for students to learn about the environment and the damage that has been done to it. “We need to protect the environment to survive.”
Goodman agreed, adding that environmental issues are just the “hippy trend” that everyone thinks they are, adding that fighting for the environment is not just an excuse to wear peace signs and dance. “Our generation of ‘hippies’ are not just hippies,” she said. “They are smart and good organizers.”
As for looking ahead to next year’s celebration, Goodman is looking toward the technical aspect of environmental issues. “We are looking into having real solar panels that people can look at.” Goodman said that she wanted the celebration to be more science-based. “I want people to understand the technology behind environmental changes.”
(Giuseppina Tumminello)
(Viruet)
(Antnonacci)