Bryant embraces efforts to recycle, cut wastes

Throughout the year, students conducted class projects and formed groups dedicated to raising awareness of “going green.”

For Dhara Shah ’12 (Lincoln, RI), every day is Earth Day. She feels guilty if she is not doing all she can do to recycle or embrace the “green” movement. She will go out of her way to recycle a piece of paper and always makes sure to remove the cap from a plastic bottle before dropping it into one of the designated bins on campus.

“It is very important to me that the University go green because it is my home away from home,” she says. “The Bryant community is a caring and tight-knit one. If we all band together on this important issue of sustainability we can greatly reduce our carbon footprint and change our world. ”

To spread her message, Shah dedicated her efforts as a Student Senator in promoting RecycleMania, a nationwide contest for colleges and universities that measures who can reduce, reuse, and recycle the most campus wastes. This year marked Bryant’s first year in the competition and was part of the work of the Student Senate’s “Go Green” Committee. (Learn more about RecycleMania.)

During the 10-week competition period that ended earlier this month, Bryant collected more than 40,000 pounds of recyclables.

“My favorite part of being involved in this committee was working with other people in the Bryant community who share the same passion I do about recycling and conserving resources,” says Shah.

Another of the most ardent “go green” supporters on the Student Senate is someone Shah knows well – her sister Ami Shah ’12 (Lincoln, RI), who is co-chair of the Senate’s “Go Green” committee.

“As an institution of higher learning, Bryant must prepare students to be responsible leaders in a global community,” says Ami Shah. “That concept starts with taking care of ourselves and our earth to sustain a better tomorrow.”

Small changes make a big difference

A group in Management 200 (Management Principles and Practices) dedicated their semester-long service learning project to educating the Bryant community about the benefits of recycling.

The group organized “Go Green Day,” which helped kick off Bryant’s commemoration of Raise Your Voice Week. The event in the Rotunda brought together groups such as the Student Senate, Students in Free Enterprise, and the Center for Student Involvement’s Community Service Office. A new organization, the Emerging Green Leaders, also participated.

The groups sponsored demonstrations and games and shared tips about recycling.

“I hope that through this project, Bryant students realized the impact that they can have by joining and embracing the “green” movement,” says Brittany Glenn ’11 (Easthampton, MA), a Management 200 student.

“Bryant students are taught to be leaders, and going green is just one more way to lead and make a positive impact on our future,” adds Olivia O’Donnell-Knowles ’11 (York, ME), who is also participated in the Management 200 project.

Celebrating Earth Day

Bryant will celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday with a lecture by Mark Pagani, associate professor of geology and geophysics at Yale University, and a leading expert on atmospheric CO2 and its impact on global climate changes. The event, which is sponsored by the U.S.-China Institute, begins at 5 p.m. in the Stepan Grand Hall of the George E. Bello Center for Information and Technology. It is free and open to the public.