A cube representing the amount of trash that can be recycled in half a day at Ole Miss is seen Monday. Photo: Thomas Graning, The Daily Mississippian.
Wednesday marks day two of The University of Mississippi’s Green Week. Events on the schedule include a sustainability fair, a Udall Scholarship workshop and the Eco-Fashion Gala.
The sustainability fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Union Plaza. According to Kendall McDonald, junior public policy major and Green Week intern, the sustainability fair will give students the chance to interact with the community regarding sustainability issues and how they affect our daily lives.
McDonald also said that participation among sororities and fraternities in the fair will factor into who wins the third annual Green Cup, the prize for a sustainability competition within the Greek system.
According to Shelby Williams, senior mechanical engineering major and Green Cup coordinator, the cup is a competition among Greek organizations and has been going on since the end of last semester.
“With sustainability initiatives growing on the Ole Miss campus, it is important that members of Greek organizations be aware of these initiatives, as well as know how they can reduce their own environmental impact,” Williams said.
The competition kicked off March 17, and chapters have been competing in different categories. This week chapters will receive points for participating in Green Week events. The winners of the cup will be announced Wednesday night at the Eco-Fashion Gala.
The Udall Scholarship workshop will be offered at 4 p.m. in Honors College Room 311. According to Andrus Ashoo, national scholarship adviser at the university, the award celebrates the Udall family by recognizing students committed to the environment and Native American students committed to tribal health care or policy.
The scholarship is awarded nationally to 50 students every year. In addition to receiving $5,000, the winners travel to Tucson, Ariz., for a four-day scholar orientation and receive access to the Udall alumni network. Kendall McDonald won honorable mention this year.
Ashoo expressed that the scholarship is very beneficial to students and to the university’s image.
“The Udall is great because it recognizes work and passion in areas for which we, as a university and a state, are not particularly well-known,” Ashoo said. “We want to be known for those things, though.”
The third annual Eco-Fashion Gala will be held at 7 p.m. in Bryant Hall.
According to Jeffery Peavy, senior theatre arts major and the gala’s creative director, the show will be expanded from the years before. There will be a pre-show green carpet photo-op, a sustainable and environmentally focused art exhibition, styled fashion from local Oxford boutiques, two musical performances, vegan- and vegetarian-friendly refreshments and the iconic eco-fashion category.
The gala will also include five visual artists and five eco-fashion designers.
Junior biology major Katelynn Dillard is one of the visual artists for the gala. She has created two pieces for the gala, using primarily household items.
“The first one I started is called ‘Industrial Flower,’” Dillard said. “It’s made of used guitar strings, can tabs, wire hangers, old twist ties and unwanted electrical cords.”
Teresa Hendrix, junior integrated marketing communications major, is an eco-fashion designer for the event. Hendrix created many of the promotions for the event.
“It was really satisfying to be significantly contributing to this event that revolves around two things I really believe in: sustainability and style, both through creativity,” Hendrix said.
Through the show, Peavy wants people to realize that sustainability doesn’t just mean naming things “green,” or recycling.
“Practicing a sustainable lifestyle means you are choosing to incorporate environmentalism in all its aspects — through natural resources, food, clothing, energy use and creativity,” Peavy said.
— Maggie McDaniel
mhmcdani@go.olemiss.edu
