XU students fill GSC to celebrate and commemorate Earth Day weekend

By Michael Colglazier, Staff Writer

The Xavier Student Sustainability (XSS) Club welcomed students to Gallagher Student Center (GSC) where they hosted the Xavier Eco Fest to celebrate Earth Day and promote sustainable living last Friday.

According to XSS, the second annual eco-celebration aimed to uplift and center the Xavier community around the topic of sustainability.

“Eco Fest sought to bring the Xavier community together in a fun, but also educational, way to bring awareness to sustainability practices both on campus and around the community as a way to celebrate Earth Day,” XSS board member Jenna Millecker said.

A number of Xavier student organizations and clubs tabled at the event, offering entertainment and insight on how to live a life that honors Earth. 

Xavier’s Outdoors Club promoted spending more time doing activities outside, the Commuters Activity Board provided tote bags for students to decorate as an alternative to plastic bags and at the Xavier Art Society and XU Fashion table, students could customize and paint the newly acquired clothing they picked out in XSS’s clothing swap. 

Meanwhile, Xavier Live provided music, with many different students performing their favorite songs as students perused the activities in GSC.

XSS also organized a raffle for three different bags, each containing various sustainable and ethically-sourced products for those hoping to change their lives for the greener.

Additionally, a variety of businesses set up shop at Eco Fest, putting up tables all around GSC for visitors. Businesses such as Ripple, the Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance, Fill More Waste Less and others discussed the various ways consumers can be more conscious of the products they are consuming. 

These businesses offered alternative ways to consume products, such as using reusable dryer balls rather than dryer sheets for laundry or using a stainless steel water bottle rather than a plastic one.

In spite of the weather’s lack of cooperation with the event, XSS felt the event was a major success and holds promise for upcoming years. 

“This year we wanted to go big for Eco Fest as it was our second year doing it. The goal was to have it be so amazing that it becomes tradition as Xavier’s Earth Day celebration,” XSS Co-Chair Paige Loboschefski said.

“We started planning in August and got together a list of clubs and businesses we wanted to be present. I think it turned out really well because it brought together a lot of different people in the Xavier community in a creative way. We hope that next year more clubs and businesses will get involved and hopefully mother nature will be a little more happy, too,” Loboschefski said.

“I thought Eco Fest was a very cool experience for me,” sophomore economics major Alyssa Dolan said.

“I enjoyed walking around and seeing everything that was offered and the different clubs that contributed to putting the event together. My favorite part was the clothes swap, looking at the clothes offered and the live music provided by XU live,” she added. 

Eco Fest will continue to be hosted in the years to come. Any student interested in celebrating Earth Day on campus is encouraged by XSS to reach out.