How Villanova’s PESC tricked students about sustainability

What’s going on with our local universities? We introduce Villanova student Thomas Saldutti’s debut in the College Corner Column to discuss the latest campus updates.

How a Small Fire Can Ignite Big Change

We’re not your normal tree huggers.

The days of flower power and sit-ins seem a distant memory in contrast to the Millennial Generation. After spending hours upon hours in front of screens, it only takes a day in nature to instill a sense of awe and admiration for the natural world.

Instead of thinking of environmentalism as a crusade, I like to think of it as a smarter and more responsible way to interact with our surroundings. At Villanova, the President’s Environmental Sustainability Committee, known as PESC, combines the efforts of students, faculty, and staff to change the way an entire college interacts with the environment.

The student group portion of PESC is only made up of twenty students. We make up only a small part of the nearly 11,000 student population. If we spent all of our time hugging trees, recycling, and leading less impactful lifestyles in general, we still wouldn’t make that great of a difference. Thus, we’re tasked to come up with innovative ways to introduce the ideas behind sustainability to the entire student body.

How we reconsidered Freshmen Orientation at Villanova University

Recently, we hosted a set of activities during Freshman Orientation in order to make the incoming class aware of sustainable initiatives on campus. Our activities consisted of a recycling game that teaches players how to sort recyclables, a cardboard throne inspired by the Visit Philly chair that was created from recycled boxes, and a tie dying station. But these ideas didn’t spring up overnight. We had a dilemma:

How do you get the average student to care about recycling or leading less wasteful lives?

It is certainly an uphill battle, considering how consumerism is engrained in American culture. Plus, Villanova is by no means a liberal school. Without trying to draw political lines in the sand, our school’s conservative majority does not bring to mind a group ready to make sacrifices for the environment.

This activities fair offered a great opportunity to reach the entire incoming student body. We teamed up with the school’s recycling coordinator and taught students about recycling and reusing things – without them even realizing that they were learning. Our tie dye station drew a huge crowd to the table. Although it was a long day, the conversations sparked among the next generation of Villanovans made the event truly a success.

So here’s a positive spin on the extra climb we face on campus: If we can come up with ways to convince Villanova students that environmentalism is a worthwhile concern, then we have some serious potential.

Moving forward, we have a number of events planned to keep engaging the Villanova Community. Stay tuned for news on our Zero Waste Football game, Solar S’mores cookouts, and our Third Annual Campus Sustainability Day!  We’ll also interview campus leaders working towards building a sustainable future.

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