Sam Tezak
Life Editor
It’s the second week of block eight and by god, I am surprised that I am here. Three and a half weeks ago, a Bon Appétit employee kindly reminded me that my GoldCard had dwindled down to one last meal. For the equivalent of a block I’ve successfully subsisted off of eight cents and the generosity of friends and strangers.
I can list an array of excuses as to why I’ve resorted to mooching towards the end of the year, but I’ll save you the time because my excuses are not my central focus. As we jumped off into block eight last week, we found ourselves dancing on Yampa to some of our school’s talented student bands while gorging on roasted pig. This week we’ve been able to stand in an ungodly long line to spend our Classy Wednesday having a blast at Psychedelic Bowling. In our midst, Blues n’ Shoes will be celebrating its 10th anniversary, Llamapalooza will happen the next week, followed by the much anticipated “Island Party.” And all of this is wonderful, if not exhilarating, amongst a whole multitude of useless adjectives that cannot quite express the awesomeness that is blooming around us. What struck me the most was one word in particular: consumption.
Our school endorses groups such as Food Rescue, it supports the CC Farm, we’ve even included a LEED-certified building in some of the latest campus construction, as well as fostering numerous student groups committed to divesting from fossil fuels, and students living in spaces such as the Synergy House, which recently opened up a greenhouse. This is all well and fine, admirable in many cases, but it’s important to be cognizant of the hypocrisy that sometimes permeates the ‘CC bubble.’
Of course it’s difficult for me to speak on this issue because as I said, I knowingly wasted away substantial amounts of meal plan early on in the semester. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, I know that I’ve indulged in countless other wasteful ways. With topics as broad as wastefulness, we don’t have much of a choice but to be cafeteria conservationists.
The coming week and a half holds numerous events that we may participate in, and we can participate not just by going, but by doing small things to ensure a positive campus. Such examples include picking up your trash and belongings at Blues n’ Shoes and Llamapalooza. Sure, year after year we have a loader scrape up the remaining couches in front of Cutler following Llamapalooza. Before that though, the Llamapalooza Committee and maintenance scour the grounds picking up miscellaneous items and trash to be disposed of—participate in picking your waste before you leave the show! This practice can be applied to any event at school.
Other thoughts: don’t light up your joints or cigarettes at these festivals. The purpose for the police presence is to keep the community safe, and it’s undoubtedly wasting their time to escort students out when they could be more attentive for other issues. That being said, they will do it.
There are various little things we can do, that many of us already do, and that we can honor this school by applying to our own lives. I’m certainly not the greatest example—I won’t pretend that’s the case—but it’s crucial to remain cognizant of our surroundings and show the love that we speak of for one another and our place. Next time you see some litter of yours at Blues n’ Shoes, some garb leftover at Llama, or some guy curled up, shivering in a corner of Worner because he doesn’t have any more meal plan, reach out and help out.
The Catalyst
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