Sanders, Marykate Walczak, Lauren Banicki. Not Pictured: Selena Negron . — The Xavierite
Everyone wants a happy and healthy earth, regardless of their stance on climate change. On campus, it seems almost impossible that we can achieve a green initiative to help keep SXU’s environment healthy and alive.
However, I sat down with current students Marykate Walczak, Amanda Serrano, and Janessa Mendez to talk about the University’s current environment plans and how we can improve as a college campus to become eco-friendlier.
These students and others (pictured) are currently doing a project for a class, and when asked what their purpose was Walczak stated, “Our project is about climate change and how we can bring certain policies to the campus and to the world to help the environment. Our dedication was towards critical concerns as a Sisters of Mercy school, and how that shapes our values on campus. We want Saint Xavier to exemplify these eco-friendly values.”
Some of their ideas for new policies on campus to enact change include, but are not limited to:
1. Placing a recycling bin wherever there is a garbage bin
2. Bringing more awareness to littering
3. Start a community garden where fresh fruits and vegetables can be used as a cheaper meal option in the SXU diner
4. Have recyclable take-out boxes and reusable silverware in the diner
5. Have unused food from the diner be used as compost for a garden
Currently, the biggest environmental shift happening on campus is the green space to be built in the place of Regina Hall and other halls being LEED certified. However, this is not enough to make Saint Xavier a cleaner and more environment-friendly campus. Currently, there are no plans set to make SXU an environmentally friendly campus, or a green campus.
This angers some students as it feels as though the university does not care about the future of our planet’s health. As Janessa Mendez stated, “Saint Xavier feels very passionate about where we, the students, come from, so why don’t they care about our future?”
I couldn’t agree more with this statement. SXU prides itself on the diversity and past of its student body, so why do they not care about our future as the planet we live on is currently dying due to the lack of respect humanity gives to it.
Of course, this is a small scale, community-wide environment initiative, but we cannot let the size of Saint Xavier stop us from making a bigger difference in the world.
When asked what students could do on an individual level, Serrano stated, “Students can educate themselves on what can be recycled and how certain things need to be handled differently, like straws. Most importantly, we need to stop littering on campus and be more conscious about the decisions we make.”
It’s important that we as individuals also work towards making this planet cleaner, healthier, and brighter for future generations. Marykate left us with great ideas, such as starting a gardening club and an SXU Community garden.
If you or someone you know would be interested in joining, please email Marykate Walczak at walczak.m01@ mymail.sxu.edu.
Until then, we must work to better our planet, better our campus, and start cleaning up years of neglect for a beautiful tomorrow.
Emily Rubino
Opinions Editor