Recycling on campus has become as normal as a trip to the Cafe, but it may soon become obsolete.
Due to budget cuts, an employee of the Environmental Health & Safety Department was relieved of his duties. This faculty member just so happened to be the head of the recycling program on campus. The employee’s name has not been disclosed, but as of now there is no permanent replacement for the position.
The Senior Environmental Specialist of the university, Ryan Mitchell, is taking over the responsibility of this program for now. On top of this other duties he will now have to go around the campus to maintain the university’s recycling program until a replacement is found or the program will cease to remain.
LaRae Donellan, advisor of the Green Coalition and a professor at FAMU is upset at this news.
“It was bad enough that we only had one person picking up the recycling; now we have only part of a man,” said Donellan.
Working closely with the students, Donellan knows that this will be devastating to them.
“This is important to the students,” she said. “We were just starting to make forward movement with the program and now it’s at risk.”
Donellan was correct about students’ reactions. Upon discovery of this news, several students decided to take matters into their own hands.
Jaimee Austin, a second year education student from Tallahassee, is worried about how this will affect the students.
“This is really sad and unfair,” said Austin. “We need this on campus. What kind of message are we sending the students about recycling by cutting it?”
Thomas Johnson, a first year business administration student from Miami, wants to be proactive.
“If I have to go around and pick up the trash myself, I will.” said Johnson. “At the end of the day, it’s the students’ university and I will take care of it in any way I can.”
Johnson is serious about wanting to help the university with the recycling program. He plans to get a group of his friends together and propose a solution to the environmental department.
More students doing the same may be the fix.
“Sometimes it’s up to us to change what we don’t like in times like these,” said Donellan. Who knows what affect this will have on the university in a couple of years if we don’t solve this problem?”