A Cultural Mind change

What's up Elon?

As we saw in my fellow musketeer's entry, Elon has made a lot of effort into becoming "a green campus." The university has created sustainable buildings, a respectable recycling program, a green mode of transportation, among other things. Of course, these efforts are commendable, and should be given the upmost respect. Elon, as a matter of fact, is regarded as one of the greenest schools in the country but, are we doing enough? Are we taking these efforts to their maximum capabilities and actually pushing the limit to hold true to our green name? More importantly, are we ready for this cultural mind change?

During my freshman year at Elon I have taken notice of a lot of the university's actions that seem to contradict Elon's green mania. During my hunger filled visits to Octagon, particularly Pangeos, a place famous for its delicious salads, wraps, pastas, and long lines. I have noticed that many times, the food is served in styrofoam boxes. i was shocked the first time that my pasta was served in styrofoam, and even thought of eating lunch somewhere else in order to save the planet of one less non-biodegradable piece of trash. But of course, I as many other green-hearted students experienced that day, listened to our stomach's cries, ignored our knowledge on the issue, and took the box anyways. I repeated this experience about six more times, and ignored the fact that I knew that what I was doing was not correct.

Another popular issue that was brought up by a Smith-Jackson survey a couple of weeks ago was a smoking ban on Elon's campus. Many students agree that Elon should be a smoke-free place because of health concerns, not only for the smoker, but for others as well. Others say that cigarette buts are littering the campus, especially in the areas that are designated smoking places, taking away part of the aesthetic beauty that Elon is famous for. As a smoker myself, I was outraged when I heard of this plan to prohibit smoking on campus. Where are my rights? Yes, smoking is obviously bad for the body, yet it is a personal choice. Just as what you eat is a personal choice. Is Elon going to ban fast food from campus because it causes obesity? Of course not! Why? Because it produces money for the campus. As a smoker, my opinion is the same. As long as I can have my cigarettes, I don't care about the consequences in my body or the environment.

It is here that the problem lies. Commodity, and personal gain are both things that are getting in the way of exerting our green capabilities to the maximum. When Pangeos runs out of its plastic containers where they usually place food, they turn to styrofoam, a cheap yet deadly substitute. As long as there is a short term solution to the problem ,the consequences can be solved later. This mentality is what will prevent the world from addressing environmental problems effectively.  We keep pushing the problem back ,waiting until the future hoping that some magical technology will save us from our own destruction, yet we fail to realize that technologies are what are causing the problems in the first place! Are we going to solve the problem with the perpetrator? Sounds promising....

Truth be told, we are all, including myself,  hypocrites for having this mentality. The damage that I create by smoking my cigarette does not stop me from smoking it. The severe consequences that Elon is creating by using styrofoam is not going to stop them from saving some money. This needs to change, if we are truly serious of making a change not only for the Earth's sake, but for ourselves as well. It is only until we are able to stop thinking about ourselves, and start thinking of the greater good, that some real progress for the environment can be achieved.

Peace,
Fiona Alfaro