Sustainability can seem rather inaccessible while in college, as many aspects of our lives are fundamentally out of our control. Although college students lack some agency over their level of sustainability, some students have found unique ways to incorporate sustainability into their everyday lives.

The Trinitonian asked students around Coates Library about the importance of sustainability, and how we can be more mindful of our sustainable practices.

Odi Aneji, first-year international studies major
Would you consider yourself to be sustainable?
“I would consider myself to be sustainable. I recycle, and I do other sustainable activities.”
Is sustainability important to you?
“Yes, because in order to create a lasting environment then we all have to be sustainable.”
Are you more sustainable at home or on campus?
“I’m actually more sustainable here because there are more recycling initiatives and other ways to be sustainable.”
What sustainable practices do you participate in?
“I recycle, and I also don’t use plastic water bottles. I always have a reusable one on me.”
What is the importance of Earth Day to you?
“Celebrate the beauty of the Earth we were given.”
Do you think it’s hard for college students to be sustainable?
“I think it would be difficult if there weren’t sustainable initiatives around the campus. But Trinity has created sustainable initiatives around the campus.”

Katherine Webster, senior Spanish, history and French triple-major
Would you consider yourself to be sustainable?
“Yes, I do my very best. I bring all of my own bottles and containers. And I reuse any plastic I get, and I try to be environmentally conscious when I drive or walk to school.”
Is sustainability important to you?
“Yes, super important. It’s one of the key things I look for. I really judge a business and college based on how much plastic they wrap their stuff in.”
Are you more sustainable at home or on campus?
“Probably at home because I think it’s hard to recycle here.”
What is the importance of Earth Day to you?
“I think Earth Day is great as a symbolic gesture, but we really need to be doing things year-round. Participatory stuff like that isn’t always that helpful. I love Earth Day, but it shouldn’t only be one day.”
Do you think it’s hard for college students to be sustainable?
“Yes, I do. I think because you’re so reliant on the campus services and the food they provide, and the containers that they are using. It’s really hard if you’re stuck on campus. You’re doing the best with what you have.”

Zaley Tabor, first year neuroscience major
Would you consider yourself to be sustainable?
“I try to be as sustainable as I can. Of course, no one is perfect and I definitely want to improve how sustainable I am.”
Is sustainability important to you?
“Sustainability is very important to me because when we are not living sustainably we are destroying our planet.”
Are you more sustainable at home or on campus?
“I’d say my habits are about the same at both. I kind of just carried my sustainable habits over to college when I moved.”
What sustainable practices do you participate in?

“I like to limit my purchasing of plastic, disposable products. For example, I never purchase one-time-use plastic utensils or straws and try to limit my use of plastic bags. I try to bring my plastic bags with me to the store so I don’t have to grab new ones. I also try to limit how many clothes I buy and try to thrift as much as possible.”
What is the importance of Earth Day to you?
“Earth Day brings awareness to the damage that we are doing to our planet and I hope more people implement some sustainable practices.”
Do you think it’s hard for college students to be sustainable?
“I think it can be hard for college students to implement sustainable practices because of budget issues and also because of a lack of education on how we can all do our part to be more eco-friendly.”

Elizabeth Spuskanyuk, first-year neuroscience major
Would you consider yourself to be sustainable?
“Although I try to be sustainable in my choices, I think overall I’m probably not.”
Is sustainability important to you?
“Sustainability is very important to me, and I have always tried to be conscious of how sustainable my choices are. From the food I eat to the practices I take throughout my day, I try to be mindful of the impact they may have on the environment.”
Are you more sustainable at home or on campus?
“I am definitely more sustainable at home than on campus. On campus, I’ve found it really hard to avoid using single-use plastic, as most of the products available at POD, the restaurants in Coates and even some desserts at Mabee come in plastic packaging. At home, my family would try to limit purchasing plastic by using reusable grocery bags and produce bags, using reusable cups and metal straws, recycling and growing veggies in our backyard.”
What sustainable practices do you participate in?
“I try to be sustainable by doing simple things such as shutting off the tap when necessary, turning my lights off when leaving my dorm, using a reusable water bottle, recycling when possible, etc. I also try to have a more sustainable lifestyle as a vegetarian. I originally became vegetarian in an effort to be more environmentally conscious, as I had learned that the production of meat, more specifically beef, takes an immense amount of water and energy that has been proven to be detrimental to the environment.”
What is the importance of Earth Day to you?
“I think Earth Day is important because it not only celebrates the Earth and its beauty but also draws attention to problems harming the environment. It’s important to have a day to remind people that the Earth’s climate is changing and what steps we can take to help deter climate change.”
Do you think it’s hard for college students to be sustainable?
“I think it’s hard for college students to be sustainable. As I previously mentioned, most of the food on the upper campus comes in plastic, which definitely stacks up. Although the plates and utensils at Mabee are reusable, the amount of food waste that is accumulated every day is another unsustainable practice. Even in dorms, motion-sensor lights are a wasteful use of energy, as they turn off after a certain amount of time, even if the person has left the room and doesn’t need the light anymore.”

Molly Van Ackeren, first-year engineering major
Would you consider yourself to be sustainable?
“I would love to say I’m a sustainable person, but it’s hard to be when we lack things like recycling bins in the halls. However, I am a member of SGA’s sustainability committee, where we aim to fix issues like this one.”
Is sustainability important to you?
“Yes, I believe sustainability is so important because I want to protect the earth and preserve its beauty.”
Are you more sustainable at home or on campus?
“I am most definitely more sustainable at home because of recycling, signs and constant reminders out in public.”
What sustainable practices do you participate in?
“Recycling, reusing and trying to avoid plastic.”
What is the importance of Earth Day to you?
“The earth gives us everything we need to survive and more, and I believe that it needs celebrating.”
Do you think it’s hard for college students to be sustainable?
“I think it’s incredibly hard to be sustainable on campus because students’ minds at school are occupied with other stressful thoughts and it can be easy to forget. However, we can work together to make the school more sustainable.”