USG buys stickers to save trees
The Undergraduate Student Government allocated $175 on Tuesday to the purchase of 1,000 stickers, to be placed in on-campus bathrooms, that will remind students to be conscious of paper towel usage.
The stickers read, “Remember … These Come From Trees. This sticker will save up to 100 lbs. of paper every year. Help spread the word. Get yours at TheseComeFromTrees.com.”
Students are not sure if this will have a significant impact.
“People just get paper towels as they need them. Most educated people are aware that paper towels come from trees,” said Jasmine Wasserman, a freshman majoring in communication.
USC has been increasing its efforts to go green in the last year, with the Office of Sustainability releasing a baseline report on greenhouse gas emissions for 2001-2009 in January. The university also received a B- on its College Sustainability Report Card in October, and USC Transportation won an award for its sustainability efforts in September. USG University Affairs Director Tim Sae Koo said that he plans to package the stickers and present them to managers of USC buildings.
“It’ll be up to their discretion if and how they put them up,” Sae Koo said. “We didn’t want them to think it was vandalism.”
These stickers reduced paper towel consumption by 29 percent at the Hunt Valley Elementary School, according to Ben James, the third-grade teacher who conducted the study.
“This is a no-brainer, a low-cost way that won’t take a lot of work to potentially make a big environmental impact,” said Howard Wright, a member of the University Affairs committee.
Greek Senator Michael Geragos said this is a great example of how USG is working to improve the environment.
“It’s just a way to have students really see the way that we’re working to help the environment,” Geragos said.
Sorry, this action actually doesn’t represent USG “helping” the environment at all. It will likely have exactly no impact on the use of paper towels, it’s patronizing, and I agree with the last post- the stickers will get worn and ugly quick. If I managed any of the buildings, I’d refuse to stick them anywhere. How about stickers on the computers telling us the power comes from coal and oil? Or stickers in the parking garages encouraging us to drive less? Or stickers in Traddies saying “alcohol is bad for you”?
This has to be one of the stupidest ideas that I have ever heard. When I go into the bathroom, I have no interest in hearing about how paper towels come from trees. I know that they come from trees. They are made of paper; it is obvious. I also know, however, that the trees that supply the wood pulp for paper are very different from other kinds of trees. In fact, they are generally grown for that purpose! I find it distasteful to defile clean walls with stickers that will peel and age and are horrendously ugly to begin with.
So nice job, USG. You’re saving the environment. You might have started to offset the environmental damage caused by my parents’ new Honduras Mahogany dining room set. Keep up the good work.