Wallace State emphasizes recycling during annual Earth Day celebration

HANCEVILLE – Wallace State Community College continued its tradition of celebrating Earth Day as more than 100 students attended Wednesday’s event at the School of Nursing and Center for Science.
Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics was the Earth Day guest speaker. She discussed her scuba diving expeditions over recent years, pinpointing majestic marine life she has captured through photography, including those affected by pollution. Karolewics displayed pictures of a pucker fish, flamingo tongue, sponge and sergeant major fish, among others.  She also shared a picture of a turtle she encountered which had a six-pack plastic ring stuck around it.
In addition, Karolewics played a pair of YouTube video clips, describing the negative impact pollution and litter can have in oceans.
“I want you to think about the impact our willingness to recycle can have or our unwillingness to litter can have,” Karolewics said. “Littering bothers me because it gets carried away. It gets carried away into our environment and gets buried under our soil. It affects our life. You are individually and collectively responsible for the human condition. You are responsible for the person next to you, your nation, your children and your neighbors’ children and the environment in which they have to live. Our resources are finite. We can’t create more air. We can’t create more water. We can’t create more land. We have to take absolute care of what we have.”
Karolewics and Wallace State’s Dr. Bill Moss, the Director of Student Development and one of the main organizers of Wallace State’s Earth Day event, both informed students about the college’s continual recycling efforts. Recycling cartons, boxes or bags are scattered throughout buildings on campus and Wallace State’s Green Team coordinates a recycled-items pick up each Friday.
Caps and gowns adorned by Wallace State’s graduates each May are made from recycled plastic bottles. Karolewics said each gown takes about 23 bottles to make and about 11,500 bottles are recycled each year.
Wallace State is also a tobacco-free campus, which Karolewics added is a valuable component of protecting the Earth.
Wednesday’s attendees were given a free T-shirt and treated to free pizza. All of the pizza boxes and soda cans were recycled.
Wallace State recognizes Earth Day each year, whether it’s planting trees on campus or the college hosting a variety of speakers to commemorate the event.
Earth Day activities are sponsored each year by the Wallace State Green Team.
For more information about the Wallace State, visit wallacestate.edu.
 

 
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722    256-352-8443 direct
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu
 
Kristen Holmes
Communications & Marketing Director
Wallace State Community College
801 Main Street NW | Hanceville, AL 35077
E-mail: kristen.holmes@wallacestate.edu
Office: 256.352.8118 | Cell: 256.339.2519 | Toll Free: 866.350.9722
Be One of Us. Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu.