OUR choice

I have never seen a toilet with flushing directions. It has always been plain and simple: when you are done with your business, you push the knob downward and the waste magically spins it's way out of sight. But I have learned there is a more efficient, yet complicated way of using the toilet: you push up for number one and down for number two (if you catch my drift).  It wasn't until I came to Elon University that my entire outlook on the simplest daily tasks was changed. Our showers are solar paneled (so let's just say we don't take showers on rainy days), the buses run on grease from the food in the cafeterias, and there are more recycling bins on campus than regular garbage cans. It is safe to say we, the Elon community, are on our way to making the environment a cleaner, more resourceful place to live.

However, as students we don't have much of a choice on the matter. Our only means of transportation is the bio bus, unless you have a car on campus but come on, we are college students. We have bills to pay. We are practically forced to recycle since the blue trash bins are basically the only ones on campus. The temperature of the water we use for showers is controlled by the sun. We don't have a say when it comes to environmental choices, but I am glad because it has made me become more aware of the ways I can help the environment on a daily basis.

So, instead of the every day "greener" choices the school brings upon us, the "greener day(s)" group from our college Global Relations class will set out on an adventure to find other ways to be environmentally friendly. The seven of us will take the next six weeks to alter our routines and make Elon, North Carolina even more greener than it already is. And the best part of it is that it will be OUR choice, not the schools. I hope this gives us the feeling of empowerment. We will show the school how little they are actually doing when you look at the bigger picture.