By Rachel Keefe
Staff Writer
Go green. You hear the phrase everyday on commercials, at the store or in the news. For some, its just a new trend but for others, its a serious matter concerning the well being of humanity and the earth. Recently, Marywood University has committed to “go green”; placing recycling bins around campus, using new energy saving light bulbs and getting rid of plastic bags at the ever-congested bookstore. Besides “going green,” Marywood prides itself on the quality of its students in their volunteer efforts. These efforts, along with their quest to “go green,” have been shown in the acts of the Pugwash environmental club both on and off campus.
Last year, a new event titled “Hallo-Green” swept the campus student body and surrounding neighborhoods by storm. Club members from all the science clubs and students just interested in the cause gathered in a wide array of costumes to trick or treat for canned goods and hard to recycle items in the neighborhoods surrounding the Marywood campus. The amount of items collected was incredible and given directly to Campus Ministry to donate to people in need.
This year, the event will again take place with the hopes of being both bigger and better than last year. “Hallo-Green is becoming a really big event on campus, people want to get involved. It’s a lot of fun and helps others at the same time,” said Tasha Manning, secretary for the Pugwash environmental club. With the help of Annette Fisher’s University 100 class, flyers will again be distributed to roughly 350 homes around the University. Pugwash will be directing the event with help from the Biology Club, the American Chemical Society and now the University of Scranton’s environmental club, as well. After hearing of the success of the event last year, the University of Scranton’s environmental club asked to get involved, possibly having a drop-off point on their campus for people on that side of the city to leave their hard-to-recycle items such as eyeglasses, old phones, radios, etc. “You know the event is getting to be a big deal when other schools are asking to get involved,” said Pugwash member and public relations representative Tyler Willey.
Besides “Hallo-Green,” the Pugwash environmental club has been slowly making itself known on campus holding multiple events like Earth Hour, in which students unplug their electronics and play glow in the dark ultimate Frisbee for an hour; CITO events, with club members and geocachers to clean up local trashed areas, and multiple outdoor appreciation events, such as camping at Hickory Run State Park or hiking the Gravity Railroad Trail in Dunmore. All of these events have contributed in some way or another to help spread the green message but none quite with the intensity of “Hallo-Green.” Hopefully, with the help of the student body and surrounding neighborhoods, this year’s “Hallo-Green” event will both surpass last year’s and set a standard for years to come.