Students on the Pace campus are often seen walking around with some sort of cup in their hands. Whether students sip tea from the paper tea cups throughout class, guzzle jungle juice out of the plastic, red solo cups up at the houses or hydrate with the Aquafina water bottles that are kept cold in Kessel, liquids are a constant for Pace students, staff and faculty alike. Somehow, all of these empty, recyclable materials manage to miss the recycling bins completely and end up lining the floor around the garbage cans on campus.

“People are always throwing trash out the car windows or into the woods,” said sophomore communications major James Hoag. “It doesn’t seem like anyone really cares.”

Littering is only one of the many environmentally damaging habits that Pace students practice regularly. As a tribute to Earth Month, a number of Pace organizations, associations, clubs, staff and faculty have been addressing various earth-related issues by spreading awareness and offering involvement opportunities in coordination with the Environmental Center.

“We used to celebrate the traditional Earth Day but it was not enough time to get many people involved,” said Director and Academic Coordinator of the Pace Environmental Center Angelo Spillo. “We followed with two years of Earth Week, but ten years ago I started Earth Month and it grows each year. The best part of Earth Month is that it is a true collaboration of the Pace community. This year we are promoting over 38 events many of them are now student initiated and run.”

From tree planting and campus hikes, to bottled water tasting demonstrations and short films, Pace aims to open the eyes of seemingly ignorant students to pave the way for a cleaner future. Students are encouraged to help pick up the trash and havoc at the Townhouses on Apr. 28 as caused by the previous day’s celebratory antics.

“Pace definitely tries to better the planet through awareness attempts and activities,” said sophomore accounting major Jess Varghese, “but not everyone is into it.”

It is important to remember that Pace is a tiny fraction of the universe, which Spillo points out is making similar efforts in cleaning up the cluttered and fairly contaminated planet.

“I feel the whole world needs to do a better job when it comes to being sustainable,” he said.

Pace is proof that when everyone works in conjunction with the resources provided to better the earth, it is possible to progress.

“We have a long way to go but being an optimist, and reflecting over my 35 years here, I can say now more than ever, Pace is moving in a more sustainable direction,” said Spillo. “Our GreenPace Sustainability Committee, for instance, has a good number of faculty, staff and students working on numerous plans and ideas.”

Hopefully, these opportunities will draw students out of old habits and will have an influence on even a fraction of the many people who knowingly, or unknowingly, harm the planet. Pace provides all of the necessary means needed to keep a clean environment such as separate garbage and recycling stations as well as interactive involvement opportunities throughout the year.

“The Center is dedicated to environmental education, so everything we do is in some way designed to help people become aware of environmental issues,” said Spillo. “We support Pace’s academic programs, and public awareness through community outreach. This includes teaching environmental classes, sponsoring public seminars and lectures as well as programs for high school students to name a few.”

Every little effort is necessary, appreciated and will ultimately, eventually culminate to a cleaner Pace.