Re: Trent's Green Grad...

My recent post on Trent's efforts to have a "green" graduation and my actual experience several days later highlights the difference between good intentions and real outcomes. Last week, Trent's three days of convocation ceremonies employed three different strategies to reduce the environmental impact of the graduation event. Unfortunately, all three strategies came away looking fairly chincy.

Its second annual "Bottled Water-Free" convocation was relatively successful and was highlighted by the stainless steel water bottles provided to each graduate. The water bottles, however, were of poor quality. The lids would not stay on properly and once just came right off when I picked up the bottle. Moreover, there were a few instances where the bottoms of the bottles blew off when they were dropped on the ground. I appreciate the effort Trent, but I'm not very confident that many of those bottles will be reused frequently in the future. 

The second lackluster effort fell on the shoulders of the student group, Sustainable Trent, of which, in the interest of full disclosure, I am an outgoing member. For several years, a handful of dedicated volunteers have worked to put together the Green Pledge, a voluntary pledge taken by graduates to keep the environment in mind when making major decisions in the future. Unfortunately, the main coordinator of the Green Pledge was unable to do it this year and wasn't picked up until the last minute. As I stood in line minutes away from procession, an ST volunteer handed me a pin and asked if I wanted to take the pledge. I knew what it was, so I took the pin. Another graduate behind me did not know what it was, but took it after a one line description. Unsurprisingly, very few graduates had a green pin on. It was a sad sight after such popularity in the past.

The third effort came in the form of free public transit passes to graduates and their guests. I'll admit that I didn't look too much into this and don't know how popular it was, but when looking into the logistics, it looked a little tedious. In order to ride for free, graduates and guests had to print out tickets from the website. Because many of the guests and graduates were coming in from out of town and staying in hotels, printing a piece of paper wouldn't be all that feasible and (forgive my assessment of human beings) most people wouldn't have thought about that ahead of time. Why not just make the Trent Express free that day for everyone? I would not be surprised, however, if the bus drivers just let everyone on anyways without the pass.

I hate to gripe about Trent's 'green' efforts, but they were hyped so much and yet so half-heartedly followed through on. And some people will likely tell me to not be so critical and just be happy Trent tried. But too bad. If you want to legitimize your 'green' reputation, do it with some effort.

But alas, this should not take away from the main occasion. A graduation is a special thing to celebrate, the ceremony was enjoyable and I offer congratulations to all the other graduates. It's a shame it couldn't have a been a little 'greener'.