As students fuel up on caffeine before morning classes, they may notice the poster in front of the coffee bar, gently encouraging them to bring in their own reusable cups. Spearheaded by Arthur Wellenstein ’27, the poster is part of a larger effort on behalf of the Buildings, Grounds and Sustainability Committee (BGS) to reduce waste in Peirce Dining Hall. Although a small reminder, the committee hopes that it will spark more campus discussions about waste, a part of its main goal to change the culture surrounding sustainability at Kenyon.
Led by Abby Warshauer ’27, BGS facilitates dialogue between students and the administration about sustainability initiatives on campus. Members of the committee often take on independent projects, Warshauer told the Collegian. She and Gwyn Kelley ’25 are planning a tree-planting initiative in March to belatedly recognize Kenyon’s bicentennial. The committee will partner with the athletic department, the Brown Family Environmental Center, and the buildings and grounds department to plant 60 trees.
Their initiatives, however, don’t stop at greenery. Committee members Sophia Waterston ’27 and Scott Speaker ’27 are working to create more thrifting opportunities on campus. “A big overarching goal of BGS is improving the culture of sustainability at Kenyon,” Warshauer said. Through these thrift initiatives, BGS hopes to reduce the waste that is so often produced by the chaos of moving out at the end of the spring semester. BGS hopes to partner with the Office of Residential Life, Kenyon facilities and the Office of Communications to implement better disposal practices at Kenyon and give discarded items a new life.
One of the committee’s explicit goals is to foster productive conversations between students and administration, connecting students with the many organizations that maintain Kenyon’s buildings and grounds projects. “Students have a lot of assumptions about administrative decisions, but we don’t often get to see behind the scenes,” Warshauer said. “There’s a lot of inertia behind decision-making… it takes a lot of collaboration.”
Through this collaboration, BGS hopes to make Kenyon’s culture more sustainable, one poster at a time. “I want Kenyon to be a place where, when you ask a Kenyon student ‘Are you passionate about the environment?’ they not only say ‘Yes, I am passionate,’ but they also say ‘I feel like I’m doing something about it by being part of this community,”’ Warshauer told the Collegian. “Putting up a poster in the coffee bar is a little thing, but the goal is that we’re contributing towards the community conversation.”
Those interested in joining BGS are encouraged to check the Student Council meeting minutes sent out every Monday, which include the next committee meeting dates. Anyone passionate about environmentalism and sustainability is welcome. Interested students can also email sc-bgs@kenyon.edu for more information.