By: Meekael Hailu
Miami University's first ever Green Week is officially underway! This is the first year that multiple organizations from Miami and Oxford are teaming up to focus on environmental causes and sustainable lifestyle practices. This week is 100 percent student-run and is featuring movie screenings, conventions, farmers markets, guest speakers and more.Miami University prides itself on being an environmentally aware campus, and rightfully so. Most of the practices and procedures that they perform are up to par with modern sustainability standards. But like most establishments that preach sustainability, sometimes there are lapses. There are still many individuals scattered across campus who are ill-informed and don’t understand what living a sustainable life truly means. The overarching issue with a lot of modern environmental problems, especially in the United States, stems from a lack of understanding and overall reason to change one's lifestyle for issues that they may not understand or personally experience directly. The green week’s main goal is to educate the misinformed on the dangers of what is happening throughout the natural world now, and how small lifestyle changes from us can help prevent major issues from continuing to occur.
Although the week is coming to a close, and the attendance of many events was under the expected amount, this is a huge step in the right direction for Miami University. There are still a handful of events left to attend such as Earthfest uptown on Saturday and a farmers market today at Armstrong! This student-led week that is dedicated to informing and educating students and professors alike on the environment shows how a dedicated group of students can make a change. This event will only grow more and more popular as the years go on, which can only result in the more influential change being spurred on this campus.
