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Seeds of Change hosted a day of awareness seeking to inform the campus of the mounting ailments afflicting the world around us.”We are trying to raise awareness of people and their waste. We want people to be more conscious of their waste,” said 22-year-old geology major Yuliana Parada, who is also the president of the club.

The group offered information, membership, a seed planted trinket of potted soil for anyone willing to commit to its upkeep, and smoothies churned by way of a bicycle powered generator as the day took a leisurely turn. Both productive and counterproductive to their mission, the lax atmosphere kept most of the campus in the dark as to the real purpose of this small enclave.

Jeff Postli, 25, architecture major, and new member to Seeds of Change, summarizes the event: “It wasn’t as big a turnout as I’d hoped but I like to see people doing something like this.” Those who did stop by were given a wealth of information on tangible methods to conserve, so every person could adopt such as reverting to reusable appliances that could stem the trend of excess waste.

However, as much time could have been dedicated to the individual, the small turnout did little to unearth the group’s ongoing struggle to change the face of the campus itself. “We want to add native plants that can exist in this environment and address the landscaping that’s not really water efficient,” said Yuliana Parada referring to the mirror ponds and spacious lawns of the campus.

The group just recently made headway when the college awarded a small piece of land that is being dubbed the “native garden” on the south side of the Vosloh Forum. The garden would serve as an example as to how efficiency could mix with the aesthetics that the college believes vital to the educational experience.

Dr. Ling O’Connor, professor of geology and advisor to Seeds of Change, said: “The problem is that education and the environment always seem to clash. What’s environmentally sound isn’t seen as important as allowing a student to sit and study on lush, green grass.” She adds, “We are really reaching a crisis concerning water and we have to face reality.”

It may be an uphill battle for Dr. O’Connor and the Seeds of Change but the community open to some of the proposed measures. Armine Esackanian, a 19-year-old administrative justice major, exemplifies this openness. “I for one would be for changing the look of this campus. I know the environments, along with other things in our world, are not good but if we work together, we can do something.

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