Students for Environmental Concerns hit the ground running from the very start of this semester. Meetings resumed the first week of classes, and everyone got right down to business by setting some goals for the current projects this semester: Weatherization, Beyond Coal, Composting, Native Planting, and Earth Week Planning.
On Saturday, January 28th, SECS members united with other groups once again at the annual Y Prom. The night can be summed up in a few words: great food (enough to feed an army), great music (including hits by the *NSYNC and other nostalgia-inspiring groups), and great times (obviously).
The Beyond Coal Campaign has been especially busy this semester, continuing the hard work that the Sierra Club representatives inspired last semester. The project held a meeting and maintained communication with Michael Bass, the Deputy Comptroller. The group is focusing on holding the campus accountable for its commitment to end coal dependence, as well as making the University a transparent and responsible investor. SECS has helped push the plastic bag fee proposal that is currently in progress. Angela Adams, the Champaign Recycling Coordinator, has been working on this proposal for the City Council. During a meeting held to discuss the different aspects of the proposal with Angela as a guest speaker, members debated whether a ban or a fee is preferable, and whether paper bags should be included. Stay tuned for future developments with this proposal.
We were honored in February to host Eric Snodgrass, Professor of Atmospheric Science. Professor Snodgrass led a talk on the fundamentals of climate change, and why it should remain an important issue for all of us.
The Native Planting group has been hard at work, working with Red Bison (above) to work on starter plants at the greenhouse and having other planting workdays.
It’s always important to have some fun after all the hard work put into projects and workdays! After the Y group fair at the beginning of the semester, a bunch of SECS members headed over to the ice rink for some “chill time.” And in the beginning of February, members trekked out to Savoy for a fun day at Skateland. Though the theme of the SECS social life seems to be skating thus far, expect a large variety of opportunities to hang with the SECS crew in the coming weeks.
Get excited for a trip out to St. Louis coming up, and make sure you head over to our meetings every Wednesday at 6:30 at the YMCA!
-Tamara Liu
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