With a board consisting of Professor Wanda Knapik, the Student Government Association and members of the ecology club, Seton Hall will be hosting the first campus-wide celebration of Earth Day: ECO-fest.
Andriana Fragola, a junior, is the president of the ecology club and is a self-described tofu-eating-hippy who wears flip-flops. There is no shock about the amount of passion Fragola has for the environment, but now she has made it her goal to spread that passion to the Seton Hall campus.
ECO-fest will take place on Earth Day, April 22, on the Green. Over the school year the ecology club has made many connections with other clubs and organizations on campus in hopes of networking to combine resources so ECO-fest can be a successful, thriving event.
Joy Nuzzi, a senior, has helped in creating, planning and coordinating the event.
“This is the first year so many different organizations have gotten together and had the same passion to raise awareness of the green actions SHU does,” said Nuzzi.
In the past year there has been much confusion over SHU’s recycling protocol.
This event is meant to assure members of the SHU community that Seton Hall does recycle and awareness needs to be spread- it’s as easy as throwing something out.
The recent SHUcycle campaign is focused on promoting recycling at Seton Hall and getting the message that the campus does recycle.
Fragola explained that ECO-fest has the same goal.
“We hope to promote awareness of ecological issues and assist people to feel a deep respect for our Earth,” said Fragola.
You don’t have to fit the description of “tofu-eating-hippy” to attend and enjoy ECO-fest.
In fact, you don’t need to fit any description. ECO-fest is open to all Seton Hall community members and South Orange residents.
“The point of this event is to promote environmental awareness and if we can get that message out to anyone possible on campus that would make the event a success,” said Fragola. “If we can make Seton Hall residents and commuters more understanding of conservation, it will not only make Seton Hall a greener campus, but the homes of those commuters more eco-friendly as well. “
The event will have food trucks, yoga, planting seeds in the Campus Garden, mini carnival-type games which offer prizes, as well as information from many different clubs detailing how to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
While Nuzzi is most excited for yoga, she explained the point of these events is to show that taking care of and appreciating Earth is fun and open to all people.
“Everyone can be green, even in ways that are easier or cheaper than they think,” said Nuzzi. “Our goal was to make this a SHU-wide event, so we looked at what commuters, residents and faculty would be interested in and how it can most directly apply to them.”
The campus wide collaboration is exciting on many fronts. SGA President, Timothy Hoffman, helped organize the event.
“I am really excited to see this hard work and collaboration among various parts of the campus community and that helping the environment in an exciting way like this should really motivate everyone on campus to improve their habits,” he said.
The importance of education and learning is emphasized through the campus wide ECOfest.
“By having a large festival solely based on environmentalism, it enables students to become informed about issues that they may never have heard of in a way that is interactive, exciting and fun,” said Fragola.
“Promoting an education on this sort of lifestyle and Earth appreciation – especially in young college students – is the way to make change,” she added.
Siobhan McGirl can be reached at siobhan.mcgirl@student.shu.edu.
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