Recycling program, students to 'keep it R.A.W.'

This week the HTH 458 class and the JMU Recycling Program are encouraging students to "Keep It R.A.W." all year long.

JMU's Recycling Awareness Week, sponsored by the Health Program, Planning and Evaluation class and the JMU Recycling Program, runs from March 18 to 22 and hopes to "promote [recycling] education and awareness," according to Anthony Marcuso, Operations Manager of JMU's recycling program.

Most students in the class feel as though the JMU community needs to play a more active role in reducing the amount of waste, which is why they are sponsoring Recycling Awareness Week, according to Dorsey.

Each year, health sciences professor Tom Syre's class works to create a campus-wide program that will heighten JMU's awareness of a certain cause.

Health 458 is divided into different teams, including marketing, evaluation and fund raising. The teams work together to sponsor a program that will benefit the JMU community. This year, while one of the sections is sponsoring Mental Health Awareness Week, Dorsey's section is sponsoring Recycling Awareness Week. The class has planned activities throughout the week to encourage students to recycle.

According to senior Liz Dorsey, CEO of the program organized by the Health Program Planning class, when it comes to recycling, "There is a problem that we need to correct."

Today on the commons from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be an activity called "Trash the Commons." The class is collecting trash from the Bluestone area in order to remove recycleables, Dorsey said.

"We want the student body to see … how much recyclable material is in the trash," Marcuso said.
There also will be information booths on the commons and the class will be handing out advertisement booklets, T-shirts and magnets, among other items, Dorsey said.

Tonight at 7 p.m., in Health and Human Services Building room 1302, Professor of Health Sciences Richard Travis will speak about the environmental effects of recycling and not recycling. After the talk, the movie "Biodome" will be shown.

Thursday, there will be information booths on the commons and at the Festival and Zane Showker Hall. The Health Program Planning class representatives will be handing out items on the commons today.

Additionally, until Thursday, there will be raffles sold for $1 each, where students can win anything from Luigi's Pizza to tanning to a free month membership at Nautilus Gym, Dorsey said. The raffle tickets are the main way that the class is raising money for the planned events, she said.

There will be competitions Friday among the on-campus Greek houses and among dorms to see who has accumulated the most recycling material. The recycling program will measure the amount of material.

According to Dorsey, the winner of the Greek Competition will receive $100 for their house and the winner of the Dorm Competition will receive $150 for their dorm. The Health Program Planning class has raised the money for the winners from the raffle and advertising booklet proceeds.
Of the week's events, Dorsey said, "I hope that some of the students learn that there are a lot of ways to recycle on campus."