Volume CXXXIII, Number 3 September 21, 2001 f

Reuse and ride
STACY VYNNE
Staff Writer

Think you have no time or money to help the environment? During the next few months, Bowdoin will be making it easier and beneficial for everyone to get involved. The following groups are working together to increase environmental awareness and excitement around campus: Dining Service, the Community Service office, Committee for a Sustainable Bowdoin and the Evergreens. If you want to win a bike, reuse a bag! Reusable lunch bags will be given to students volunteering at Common Good Day on September 22nd.

Bags will also be sold outside of Polar Express in Moulton Union within the next couple of weeks. Students can use Polar Points or cash to buy the canvas bags. Not only are they stylish, durable and large enough for you to sneak an extra cookie, but the canvas bags will prevent the brown paper bags from going to landfills as well as save our college money (more parsley on dinner plates!). Bags received by Common Good Day participants will carry a Dining Service and Common Good Day logo, while those bought on campus will sport the Sustainable Bowdoin logo.

How does reusing a bag help you to win a bike and other great prizes?
With each bag purchase, students receive a card, which is stamped for every visit to Polar Express. After 5 stamps (and 5 less brown bags used) the card is dropped into the raffle jar. On October 23rd, a card will be drawn and the winner receives a brand new ten speed bike! Additional prizes will be awarded.

Another simple way to help out on campus is to carry a reusable mug. Not only will this reduce the number of paper cups ending up in the trash, but the mugs remain hotter for longer periods of time, are cooler on the hands, and hold more liquid in comparison to the tiny cups provided in the dining halls. First-year students have no excuse, for each student received their own mug during orientation. If upper-class students have misplaced their mugs, new ones can be purchased at the café or store. As a Seattle native, I am proud to announce that reusable Starbucks mugs are also allowed! Carry a mug when eating in the dining hall in order to bring hot chocolate or tea back to your room. When customers bring their own mugs to the Café, they are charged the same price as a large coffee and in the near future discounts will be awarded. Not only is this alternative to paper cups cheap and easy, but it can also save you money!
Helping the environment does not have to consume enormous amounts of time or energy. By reusing lunch bags and mugs, students are contributing towards the school's commitment to becoming a more sustainable Bowdoin.

In the end, you'll be awarded by discounted coffee and possibly a brand new bike. Of course, if you want to commit yourself to environmental activism, come to an Evergreens meeting or visit Bowdoin's new Sustainability Coordinator, Keisha Payson, in Coles Tower!