On Tuesday, April 22, Shades of Gray, in cooperation with several other campus and Starkville-based groups, sponsored an Earth Day Celebration on the Mississippi State University campus. The event, the largest regarding Earth Day in several years on campus, involved several organizations that participated to raise awareness for the environment and other issues.
Dr. Eve Mullen, assistant professor in the department of philosophy and religion and co-adviser to Shades of Gray, praised the event, saying, “The Earth Day activities were a huge success. It was good to have a communal activity where the campus and community were able to join together for a good cause.”
Shades of Gray, a new campus organization based on promoting awareness of global issues and taking action at the local level, served as the head organizer for the event. According to its web site, the club serves as a forum for students to address humanitarian, international and environmental issues while encouraging students to voluntarily take action in causes following informed debates.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., several groups from Starkville and the MSU campus set up and ran several information tables and activities on the Drill Field. Shades of Gray had a table selling canvas bags made of cotton that could be reused for shopping, with the purpose of reducing the use of disposable paper and plastic grocery bags. The bags sold for $5 and were able to be decorated and painted at their activities table.
According to Kara Gold, a senior in English and founder of Shades of Gray, several other campus clubs were invited to cooperate in participating in Earth Day activities and hosting information booths as well. Organizations that were present included the Sierra Club, Friends of Mississippi Public Lands, Small Town Center, Sustainable Starkville Alliance, Students for a Free Tibet, Campus Outreach, R.E.O., Starkville Recycles, Operation Crossroads and the Wiccan/Pagan Student Alliance.
These organizations offered information and several activities as well. Some examples of activities held included the Green Party, which had a veggie burger cookout while also selling organic apples and fruit juices. The Sierra Club gave away free T-shirts and hats to help raise awareness of the Starkville area chapter’s efforts to promote local environmental issues, such as the effects of hog farms in the Golden Triangle and government changes being made to the Clean Water Act. The Starkville Electric Co. had a table that handed out sunglasses and pinwheels in support of the TVA’s Power Switch Program, while Campus Outreach offered free kite and Frisbee rentals for students.
According to Gold, fundraising activities on campus from the efforts of the organizations managed to raise over $200 for community organizations such as Starkville Recycles and the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.
“We built a coalition with many organizations and it was inspiring to see everyone come together for a good cause,” Gold said.
At 3:30 p.m. there was a tree-planting ceremony on University Drive across from the Hunter Henry Alumni Center, where students planted a red maple tree. The tree was planted along with a copper plate bearing the words, “Earth Day 2003.”
Raine Watson, a member of Shades of Gray, said the tree will work as an important symbol. “I think that the tree will bring beauty and shade to campus and serve as an everlasting reminder of the importance of preserving the environment. I’m also glad that there was such a good reception for so many new things on campus, and feel that this will have a positive outlook for the campus as a whole.”
In addition to the planting of the tree, a campus-wide litter pick-up also took place at 4:30 p.m., with many students volunteering to pick up trash throughout campus.
Following the trash pickup, a benefit concert featuring the band Young Agent Jones was held behind Roxie’s from 9 p.m. to midnight. The band’s CD’s were sold for $10, while $3 donations were requested for the concert with part of the proceeds going towards charity. According to Gold, the concert was attended by about 50 people and raised about $85 dollars in donations for several Starkville organizations, including the Humane Society, R.E.O and Starkville Recyclers.
Dr. Hannah Britton, one of two faculty advisors of Shades of Gray, said there were several benefits for MSU as a result of the Earth Day activities.
“I was thrilled to see so many students working on such a positive event,” said Britton. “Earth Day is one day everyone can come together – no matter their political party or ideology. Under Kara Gold’s leadership, Shades of Gray built a coalition among groups on campus and groups in the Starkville community.
“Given how little attention has been paid to Earth Day before at MSU, I would have been happy with one event – but to have an entire day of activities was really impressive,” continued Britton. “I learned a great deal about local environmental groups and student action groups – like Students for a Free Tibet, Habitat for Humanity. It was fun to see students enjoying the perfect weather and the community on a day celebrating the environment. Also, the tree planting will be a lasting tribute to Earth Day 2003.”