Change of Focus.

So my mind set when I began my final project and now that I have ended my final project has changed a great deal. Initially, I found myself throwing the blame on the Housing and Residential Life Services Office, or the Environmental Office on campus. And while those two departments still have a lot of work to do in making our dorms more environmental friendly, I can't say the blame should be dumped entirely on them.

The more I looked around Deatrick, talked to students and staff, the more I realized the blame lies with in the people this is effecting most--the residents of Deatrick Hall. Most students living in the dorm could care less about recycling. I went around to many of the girls on my floor and 24 out of 60 of them had no idea we even had a recycling bin in the hall. It's not that the resources aren't there, it's just that they aren't being used properly.

Sure, we could still use a few more recycling bins to make our efforts more noticeable, but all in all, I ended up needing to switch to focus of my project. Initially, it was all about getting the housing department to step up and be a better promoter for recycling. However, now that I see that they are already doing this, my project has focused to the students.

Being a community assistant in Deatrick, I am lucky enough to be in a position where I have a lot of influence over the students, which I think makes this project a bit easier. I am now working on organizing a program/presentation for January when we all come back from break to address the recycling issue in Deatrick. I have teamed up with an environmental company, NORESCO (which I will talk more about in my presentation) and have been in touch with some of their specialists in order to create a more effective program.

While the logistics and details of the program are still early on in development, my hope is that after attending my program, students of Deatrick will begin to care a little more about the dorm they are living in, as well as the impact they can have on our earth.