By Marie Haaland

Staff Writer

In celebration of Earth Day, the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) hosted a festival during common hour on Wednesday, April 20 on Calkins Quad. A multitude of clubs set up tables with different activities at each, and a microphone was set up for student performances.

The celebration is an annual tradition at Hofstra that started when the CCE was established in 2007. “I think it went fabulously, the sun showed up just as we ordered,” Aashish Kumar, associate professor and co-director of the CCE, said. “The student clubs really make this event worthwhile … and I think most of the energy created by the student performances becomes a centerpiece.”

For the first time since the celebration started, the entire event was solar-powered.

Most clubs that participated had an activity along with the information at their table. The Rock Climbing Club, for example, was giving out painted rocks, the International Club would write your name in three different languages, the Buddhism Club was doing henna artwork and the Geology Club let people make a fossil out of clay.

The club Students for a Greener Hofstra was also in attendance. “This is my fourth year seeing the Earth Day festival. It has always been like this; we share a good time and we raise awareness,” Tsz Hin Tang, the president of the club, said. “People should know more about what’s going on. The world is dying, plastic bags are everywhere, fish are dying because of us, and so we want students’ ideas so we can try to make a change on campus.” Tang, a senior finance and management double major, said.

Tang is also an international student from Hong Kong, who says that people back home recognize the threat of climate change and pollution. One step that has been taken to prevent it from worsening is charging extra for plastic bags at grocery stores, encouraging people to bring reusable bags. This idea has been implemented in some U.S. states and counties, but it’s relatively rare.

Hofstra’s Sustainability Studies Club also had a table at the Quad, as did the Green Party Club. The Green Party Club was handing out flyers explaining their 10 key values. They also had several glass jars labeled with different issues, such as gender equality and Black Lives Matter, and students put marbles into the jars of issues they support.

Besides Hofstra clubs, there were also representatives in attendance from the Food and Water Watch, as well as the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives. At their table, the Food and Water Watch had a petition for students to sign to ban fracking on federal land. “We’re a national organization and we have a Long Island chapter,” Paul Auerbach, a member pf the organization, said. “We’re for various causes that are beneficial for the environment.” In addition to banning fracking, the group opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and supports labeling foods as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

There was also a group of students from Hempstead High School, including sophomore Kashay Robinson. “[My favorite table was the] henna table,” she said. “I like [the event], it’s different; I’ve never been to something like this.”

In addition to all of the informational tables and activities set up, there were also student performances. A few sang or played guitar, read poetry and one student had a flea circus. The event ended with a performance from Hofstra’s Bhangra dance group.