Earth Day marks the anniversary of the 1970s modern environmental movement, bringing together over 193 countries each year.
Since 2022, Columbia’s Student Government Association has continued this tradition by hosting “Earth Day Clean Up” to encourage the Columbia community to beautify the streets of the South Loop.
Over 40 students, staff and community members attended the event on Friday, April 24, equipped with gloves, trash bags and recycling bins.
“We’re all really active people, so we were excited to participate and go outside to clean up,” said Paola Escudero, a junior film and television major and a member of Mi Gente Renegades, Columbia’s Latin dance team.
Escudero said she’s been participating in school wide cleanups since elementary school.
“We would help clean up the area so it was pretty, and I think that’s amazing,” said Escudero, who attended the event with fellow dancer Kameron Murray, a junior English major.
As a film and television major, Escudero said those early experiences shaped how she now thinks about environmental impact within her own discipline.
“I realized how much is used in sets and how much waste is produced from it,” Escudero said. “I also find that a lot of that waste is reused.”
As an English major, Murray said generative AI has influenced how he thinks about sustainability.
“Lately, I’ve been more conscious of the effects that certain things have on the environment,” Murray said. “I think being conscious of what we put out in the world is really important and what we take from it.”
SGA President Jenna Davis has been a part of SGA for all four years the organization has hosted the event.
“Columbia facilities and I kind of have it down to a science,” said Davis, a senior fine arts major.
This year’s event has been in the works since last year. SGA and facilities partnered to arrange vendors to provide the necessary equipment for clean up.
“I think this event is so successful because it brings together not only students, but staff and administration,” Davis said.
Jade Flournoy, a sophomore illustration major, participated as a member of Columbia’s Renegades Volleyball team.
“I started to realize how much damage we’re doing to the earth,” Flournoy said. “In a few more years it’ll be irreversible.”
Staff members also joined the cleanup, including Jason Coleman, lead maintenance technician, and Jennifer Sauzer, head of access service and assessment at the Library.
“I came just to make the community a little cleaner, you know?” Coleman said.
Sauzer said it’s important to back student organizations, especially when the group advocates for a better community.
“Supporting SGA’s initiative is excellent,” Sauzer said. “How could you not support it?”
Copy edited by Katie Peters
