The Kent Interhall Council has many events planned this fall semester to increase sustainability awareness across campus.

The Director of Community Development for Kent Interhall Council, Shaine Price, is a sophomore at Kent State working for more sustainable recognition on campus to better help the environment.

“My big events to plan are the ‘Recycle Palooza,’ ‘Race to Zero Waste’ and ‘Earth Month,’” Price said. “I just do my part to promote sustainability and give my general body as many volunteer opportunities as possible.”

The “Recycle Palooza” takes place on Jan. 31 to promote better care for recycling, while “Race to Zero Waste” is a national and campus-wide recycling competition that lasts the entire month of February. 

“Earth Month is one of the most known events on campus and takes up the entire month of April. It is dedicated to promoting sustainability and the environment,” Price said.

Recycling is not the only thing she believes is important for sustainability.

“Conserving light energy is another important factor to help environmentally,” Price said.

“‘Do it in the Dark’ is another conservation effort that will be happening during the month of November,” she said. “It promotes saving energy around campus, because we need to decrease our carbon footprint.”

“Mindful Miles” will take place on Sept. 22, which is a one-mile walk around campus to promote mindful thinking. She and KIC members will be running a booth to promote sustainability to inspire the reduction of carbon footprint.

“With the struggles that our earth is facing today, the Kent Interhall Council is putting as much effort as possible into improving our ecosystem and to spreading awareness across campus,” Price said.

“Landfills are getting too full and we are running out of space,” Price said. “It is causing something I call ‘garbage tea,’ where the water from rain runs through our garbage and creates a garbage slop, which is very damaging to the environment and our oceans.

“Although, this can not be just an individual problem that we try to improve. These environmental problems can only be solved if we work together as a community,” she said. 

“We have to share this planet with everything,” Price said. “It is not just ours, we are not separate from nature, we are nature. We are supposed to be working in harmony, so we need to work together to preserve this planet.”

Ella Katona is a reporter. Contact her at ekatona@kent.edu.