By Dane Chronister
Reporter
The Baylor Sustainability Committee will hold its first sustainability reception to discuss accomplishments of the committee and future recycling initiatives at 6 p.m. on April 20 in the Barfield Drawing Room of the Bill Daniels Student Union Center.
After hosting a farmers market for the last three semesters, the committee has decided to take a new path this year.
Sustainability, according to a study done by a group of scientists at Michigan Technological University, is defined as meeting the needs of today while preserving the needs for future generations.
The committee plans on holding the reception in order to make Baylor’s students and staff more aware of the effect they have on the environment, said Clear Lake senior Madeline Gladu, a member of the committee.
Gladu said the reception is an important step in getting awareness out to the community.
“The plan is to present what we have been doing, like recycling, and we want to show our progress and get the word out that the sustainability department exists,” Gladu said. “Our initiative this year, and specifically this semester, was to get the word out that we are trying harder and harder to get recycling and conservation to be more prevalent on campus.”
Smith Getterman, assistant director of sustainability and special projects, explained the premise of the reception and touched base on his position in the committee regarding the upcoming event.
“This is totally student-driven and who the Baylor Sustainability Board invites is up to them. This is one of the functions of the student body board and I am here to help them, but this event is their baby,” Getterman said.
Getterman said Aramark and Campus Kitchen at Baylor University will be present at the event in order to discuss their own research in sustainability as well.
The Sustainability Committee is in charge of other projects on campus as well, such as the Earth Day Initiative and Move-In Day, where the committee helps sort and dispose of trash and recycling.
“It’s an event to encourage people to participate and be a little more knowledgeable about their campus when they help recycle,” Getterman said.
